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Scholarship
A British Traveler's Observations of Van Buren's Servants
Martin Van Buren was sometimes criticized for his kingly airs, but during his administration the White House was sparsely staffed. The 1840 census of Washington, D.C., indicates that only two or three white servants, and about five free “colored persons,” resided in the Executive Mansion, although others may have lived elsewhere.1The British writer James Silk Buckingham (1786–1855), a former Member of Par
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Scholarship
A White House Maid Remembers a Moment of Panic
For evening receptions, Grace Coolidge favored gowns with trains. Columnist Vylla Poe Wilson remarked in January 1926, " Mrs. Coolidge does not let the fact that she wears a train . . . interfere with the careful line of the gown itself. . . . [It] is never allowed to drag the gown."1Maggie Rogers, who served as Grace Coolidge's maid, regularly ensured that the First Lady's costume
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Scholarship
A White House Worker Remembers President Wilson
White House staff in the Woodrow Wilson administration experienced both the death of Wilson's first wife, Ellen Axson Wilson, on August 6, 1914; and Wilson's second marriage, sixteen months later. Chief Usher Ike Hoover recalls this sensitive period in the life of President Wilson, and its effect on the White House as a home and workplace.After Ellen Wilson's death, writes Hoover, "
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Scholarship
An Uneasy Reaction to a White House Servant's Memoir
One of the most important 19th-century accounts of life in the White House was Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. Behind the Scenes was the memoir of Elizabeth Keckly, dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln. Keckly (her name on some documents is spelled “Keckley”) was an independent businesswoman, and not technically a memb
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Scholarship
Benjamin Latrobe Expresses Indignation About Dolley Madison's Servants
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Architect of the Capitol and Surveyor of Public Buildings under Jefferson, had advised the Madisons about changes to the White House even before they arrived in 1809.1 He continued to consult with Mrs. Madison about her household until about 1813.2Latrobe once visited the White House in Mrs. Madison's absence, to make sure that the curtains had been laundered.
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Article
Glimpses of the Old Family Dining Room
The Family Dining Room on the State Floor of the White House today is used primarily for smaller formal dinners and working lunches. The space, adjacent to the State Dining Room, also often serves as a staging area for State Dinners. White House families have traditionally dined in the Family Dining Room since about 1825 when President John Quincy Adams and
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Scholarship
The First Fan
While both President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge were well known baseball supporters, not everyone realized that of the two, Grace Coolidge was by far the more knowledgeable and enthusiastic fan. Bucky Harris, who managed the Senators during their great run of 1920s success, said she was “the most rabid baseball fan I ever knew in the White Ho
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Article
President Kennedy's Rose Garden
The inspiration for renewing the rose garden at the White House came from President Kennedy in 1961. My involvement began at a picnic on a hazy summer day in August at our beach house on Cape Cod, surrounded by sand dunes, the sea, and sailboats. It was a picnic for a few friends and included President and Mrs. Kennedy. Hardly had
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Scholarship
Barbara Bush and the White House Artisans
First Lady Barbara Bush chose a theme of "family literacy" for the Blue Room tree of 1989. She had the Executive Residence staff create 80 soft-sculpture characters from literature. Tiny books completed the motif. In 1990, Mrs. Bush revisited "The Nutcracker" with little porcelain dancers. White House florists dressed the figurines, and a castle from the Land of Sweets was constructed by White
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Article
Reflections After the Fire
This shaving mirror, one of a pair, has a remarkable history. It not only reflected the face of President James Monroe but may have been a witness to the flames that engulfed the White House in August 1814. According to Monroe family history, Elizabeth Monroe and Dolley Madison were walking the grounds of the White House in 1816 when they spotted large
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Article
The White House Social Secretary
The White House Historical Association began an oral history project in 2010 under the guidance of Maria Downs, the Association’s public affairs director and the White House Social Secretary during the Gerald Ford administration. Ms. Downs recognized that important insights into White House history were slipping away with the passing of social secretaries. They rarely wrote or spoke of their ex
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Article
Presidents on Horseback
Military heroes who risked their lives in devotion to the nation have long been attractive presidential candidates. The image of a uniformed officer on a warhorse was a powerful symbol of leadership and executive ability. Presidents depicted in equestrian art include military heroes such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford