White House Historical Association

Charles Taylor

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"Charles Taylor," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1006.
Position
Doorman
Years in President's House
circa 1944 – 1951
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Biography
Charles Taylor was born around 1910 in Illinois. (1) At some point prior to the 1940s, he relocated to Washington, D.C. and by 1944, he had joined Franklin D. Roosevelt’s White House staff as a doorman. White House doormen deliver mail, messages, and packages within the White House, open doors and operate elevators, carry luggage, and direct guests. (2) He continued to appear there on both Truman-era staff lists and census data through 1951. Taylor’s name was submitted for a salary increase that year, but further information about his tenure at the White House is limited. (3)
(1) Charles Taylor in the 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 503; Page: 73; Enumeration District: 1-684, Ancestry.com.
(2) "Roster of White House Employees, Revised, April 1, 1944," Folder: Investigative Case Files, 1934-1945, Records of the United States Secret Service, 1933-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
(3) Charles Taylor in the 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 503; Page: 73; Enumeration District: 1-684, Ancestry.com; “Memorandum to President Harry S. Truman re Salary Increases for White House Employees,” November 1, 1951, White House Files: President's Secretary's Files, Harry S. Truman Library, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/354584155; White House Staff Christmas Gift List of Bess W. Truman, 1946, Christmas Lists Subject File, Bess W. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/139308529.
Birthplace
Illinois, USA