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Hiram S. Thomas in an undated portrait. Photographs
and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in
Black Culture, New York Public Library.
Everyone writing about Thomas describes him as
well spoken, witty, and engaging. He was a favorite of
President Grant and, later, of presidents Cleveland and
McKinley. He chatted with other prominent politicians
and saw to the culinary needs of heads of industry and
commerce, all patrons at the club. He was able to make a
good living, much more than most Black men of his time.
He married, and he and his wife, Julia, would eventually
have eight children: five daughters and three sons.
He left the Capitol Club and moved with his family
to Saratoga Springs, the resort town north of Albany
famous for its mineral springs, horse racing, gambling,
and luxury hotels. Anyone who was anyone came north,
out of the city, for “the Season.” Many stayed at the
Grand Union Hotel, which by 1876 could accommodate
2,000 guests and was billed as the largest hotel in the
world. At that time, it was owned by A.T. Stewart, the
ultra-wealthy owner of Manhattan’s largest department
store of the same name.
Hiram Thomas was hired as the hotel’s head waiter. An
1878 article in the St. Louis Globe (syndicated from the
New York Herald) describes the scene at dinner on a
typical night at the Grand Union. His staff, many of them
veterans of colored Union Army regiments, stood at
attention at the doorways.
“At 2 p.m. 200 colored waiters stand spotless in an
orderly array. The far-famed Hiram S. Thomas, a man of
gigantic but graceful frame, is their generalissimo. His
captains-general, attired like himself in full evening suits
of black, are stationed at equal distances apart down the
center aisle. The lieutenants stand along the sides. Every
table is attended, according to its size, with two to four
waiters, and every waiter is watched by the assistance of
the generalissimo…Watch the generalissimo! With what
intuition he comprehends the disposition and wish of
each hungry guest. Always polite and accommodating,
never hurried, yet performing his task with a celerity that
saves everyone from waiting, this potentate of the dining
room is an artist.”
Thomas did well here, and as his fame and reputation
grew, so did his bank account and ambitions. In 1888, he
took over the running of an upscale resort hotel on Saratoga
Lake called Moon’s, and brought his now-famous
class and elegance to what he renamed the Lake House.
In the beginning he owned only the restaurant; later he
bought the entire establishment. The hotel was mentioned
often in New York’s society pages, and Thomas referred
to as the well-known and respected colored man who
owned it.
The Lake House was most famous for its food. In the
summer of 1888, one of its chefs was Emeline Jones,
declared by her wealthy clientele to be the “best cook
in America.” Mrs. Jones was so admired, she had been
wooed by both Presidents Cleveland and Arthur to
come to the White House, but she declined. She went to
Washington to cook one meal for President Arthur and
then came back to Saratoga to work for fellow African
American Thomas.
Another African American chef at the Lake House also
made culinary history. His name was George Crum.
Local lore has it that he prepared some sliced potatoes
for a guest. The guest sent them back, saying they weren’t
sliced thinly enough. He sliced the potatoes thinner,
but they were again rejected. Frustrated, he sliced the
potatoes paper thin, deep fried them, put plenty of salt on
them, and sent them out one more time. The guest was
elated. Soon everyone at the Lake House wanted the new
“Saratoga Chips.” The potato chip was born.