White House Historical Association

Edward H. Booker

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"Edward H. Booker," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1035.
Position
Butler
Years in President's House
circa 1952 – 1960
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Biography
Edward Hayes Booker was born on February 26, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York. (1) In the 1930s, Booker served in the 369th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard –better known as the “Harlem Hellfighters.” (2) By 1952, he had relocated to Washington, D.C. and married White House Maid Rose Nicholas. (3) Details about Booker’s career are scarce but it seems that he worked at the White House because a 1979 Washington Post article about the Residence Staff called him a “retired butler” who had worked with longtime Maid Lillian Rogers Parks. (4) The exact dates of Booker’s tenure there are currently unclear, but since Parks worked at the White House through 1960, he was likely there in the 1950s and possibly after. Edward H. Booker died on November 8, 1987, and was buried at Rosemont Cemetery in Union, South Carolina. (5)
(1) “Edward Hayes Booker,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185289110/edward-hayes-booker; Edward H Booker, New York, U.S., New York National Guard Service Cards, 1917-1954, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Collection: New York, New York National Guard Service Cards, 1917-1954; Series: B2001; Film Number: 3, Ancestry.com.
(2) Ibid; “Remembering the Harlem Hellfighters,” National Museum of African American History and Culture, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/remembering-harlem-hellfighters.
(3) 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.
(4) “Backstairs Bunch,” The Washington Post (January 11, 1979), pg. B10.
(5) “Edward Hayes Booker,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185289110/edward-hayes-booker.
Birthplace
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Related Workers
Roselyn V. Nicholas Booker
Housekeeping and Laundry, circa 1950 – 1979
Lillian Rogers Parks
Housekeeping and Laundry, 1929 – 1960