Norwood C. Williams Jr.
Cite this Page
"Norwood C. Williams Jr.," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1033.
- Positions
- Messenger
- Butler
- Years in President's House
- circa 1952 – 1993
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Norwood Clark Williams Jr. was born on August 10, 1928, in Washington, D.C. (1) As a young man, he worked at Camp Lichtman in Virginia and as a deliveryman for local department stores. (2) Williams and his parents lived in an apartment on W Street in D.C.’s LeDroit Park neighborhood; their upstairs neighbor in the building, Alonzo Fields, was maitre d’ at the White House. (3) Williams’ mother, Mary, asked Fields to hire her son, and soon after, Norwood Williams joined the White House staff as a butler. Although the exact date of his hiring is unclear, it appears to be sometime after 1951. (4) Over the next several decades, Williams was a member of the butler staff, and he also served as a messenger, delivering newspapers, documents, mail, and other time-sensitive materials to and from the White House. He recalled: “"The messenger's job is to get it there. We are the conveyor belts. If they don't get it, they can't act on it." (5) He retired in 1979, but continued to work part-time as a butler at State Dinners and other major White House events through about 1993. (6) After retirement, Williams shared his experiences at the White House with the public and cared for his elderly mother. (7) Williams passed away on July 25, 2003. (8)
- (1) Norwood Clark Williams, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards For District of Columbia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 247, Ancestry.com.
Ibid; Norwood C Williams Jr, 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: 4812; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 1-1118, Ancestry.com.
(3) Ibid; “Working in the White House,” Interview, October 18, 1994, C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/working-in-the-white-house/108445.
(4) He is listed as a deliveryman on the 1950 Census, and does not appear on a 1951 staff list, so he likely joined in 1952 or later. Norwood C Williams Jr, 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: 4812; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 1-1118, Ancestry.com; “Working in the White House,” Interview, October 18, 1994, C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/working-in-the-white-house/108445; “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.
(5) “Working in the White House,” Interview, October 18, 1994, C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/working-in-the-white-house/108445; “Workers at the White House: A Photo Essay by Roland Freeman,” Smithsonian Folklife, https://folklife-media.si.edu/docs/festival/program-book-articles/FESTBK1992_43.pdf.
(6) “Working in the White House,” Interview, October 18, 1994, C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/working-in-the-white-house/108445; “Williams, Norwood C.,” Press of Atlantic City (Atlantic City, NJ), August 9, 2003, pg. 3; Wendell G. Garrett, Our Changing White House (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1995), pg. 213.
(7) “Working in the White House,” Interview, October 18, 1994, C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/working-in-the-white-house/108445.
(8) “Williams, Norwood C.,” Press of Atlantic City (Atlantic City, NJ), August 9, 2003, pg. 3. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA