The records of the Colored Orphan Asylum, preserved in the New-York Historical Society library, listed Rachel Saunders as a pastry cook at Clinton Hall (Beekman and Nassau streets), a hotel that was the first building occupied by New York University. Like many domestic servants, she was forced to "live out," that is, at her employer's.

To hear an imagined conversation between Rachel Saunders and black leader David Ruggles, click on the audio icon.