Roselyn V. Nicholas Booker
Cite this Page
"Roselyn V. Nicholas Booker," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1034.
- Position
- Maid
- Years in President's House
- circa 1950 – 1979
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Roselyn V. Booker (nee Nicholas), better known as Rose, was born on March 5, 1905, in South Carolina. (1) Little is known about her early life, but prior to 1950 she relocated to Washington, D.C. By then, she worked as a maid for the White House; at the time, President Truman had ordered a massive renovation of the home, so she and the other staff worked across the street at Blair House, where the first family temporarily lived. (2) Shortly after joining the staff, Booker witnessed the assassination attempt on President Truman’s life outside of Blair House on November 1, 1950. (3) In 1952, she married Edward H. Booker, who also worked at the White House as a butler (though his years of service are unclear). (4) Rose Booker remained on staff through at least 1979, cleaning rooms, making beds, caring for linens, and more. (5) Further information about her tenure is limited. She passed away on September 15, 1993, and was buried at Rosemont Cemetery in Union, South Carolina. (6)
- (1) Rose Nicholas, 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: 3463; Page: 75; Enumeration District: 1-882, Ancestry.com; “Edward Hayes Booker,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185289110/edward-hayes-booker.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Lillian Rogers Parks, My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House (Fleet Publishing Co., 1961), pg. 57-58.
(4) Edward H Booker, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Marriage Bureau Listings, 1921-1990, DC Public Library; Washington, DC; District of Columbia Marriage Bureau Listing, 1921-2000, Ancestry.com; “Backstairs Bunch,” The Washington Post (January 11, 1979), pg. B10.
(5) “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; “Backstairs Bunch,” The Washington Post (January 11, 1979), pg. B10.
(6) “Edward Hayes Booker,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185289110/edward-hayes-booker. - Birthplace
- South Carolina, USA
- Related Workers
- Edward H. BookerKitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, circa 1952 – 1960
- Lillian Rogers ParksHousekeeping and Laundry, 1929 – 1960