Portrait of John E. Fulton (“Uncle Remus”)

Portrait of John E. Fulton (“Uncle Remus”)
Photographer unknown
Circa 1923
Vanderbilt University Photographic Archives
Vanderbilt University Special Collections

A former enslaved person of President Andrew Jackson, John Fulton worked at Vanderbilt as a waiter for the university’s bachelor professors from 1885 to 1914 before entering the service of Chancellor James Kirkland. Over his decades of service, students formed strong bonds with Fulton and would come to him for paternal guidance, referring to him as “Uncle Remus” for his tales of the early days of the university.