Charles R. Gasaway
Cite this Page
"Charles R. Gasaway," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1039.
- Positions
- Houseman
- Butler
- Years in President's House
- circa 1947 – 1961
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Charles R. Gasaway was born around 1913 in Alabama. (1) He worked as a butler in Washington, D.C. prior to joining the White House staff around 1947 as a houseman. (2) His duties included cleaning and organizing rooms, moving furniture, and keeping both public and private areas tidy. He was recorded on the 1950 Census as a butler, serving first families and their guests. (3) Gasaway appears on White House staff lists through the start of the Kennedy administration in 1961. (4) Charles Gasaway died on December 16, 1962, and was buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland. (5)
- (1) Sources alternatively use “Randolph” and “Randall” as Gasaway’s middle name. See Charles Randall Gasaway, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Land Transfer Books, 1900-1962, DC Public Library; Washington, DC, USA; Land Transfer Books, 1900-1964, Ancestry.com; Charles Randolph Gassoway, Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014, Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia, Marriages, 1936-2014; Roll: 101169251, Ancestry.com.
(2) Ibid; 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; “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.
(3) Charles Gasaway, 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: 7; Enumeration District: 1-881, Ancestry.com.
(4) Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers. Textual Materials. Letitia Baldrige Files. Christmas: 1961 (2 of 2 folders). JBKOPP-SF037-009. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
(5) “Gasaway, Charles R.,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 19, 1962, pg. 33. - Birthplace
- Alabama, USA