White House Historical Association

Clara H. Richardson

Ask a Historian Download as PDF
Cite this Page
"Clara H. Richardson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1089.
Position
Maid
Years in President's House
1959 – 1979
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Biography
Clara H. Richardson was born on July 4, 1912 in North Carolina.1 Census data indicates that she was a housewife prior to joining the White House staff in 1959 as a maid.2 In this role, Richardson maintained the Private Quarters on the Second and Third Floors of the White House; some of her duties included making beds, cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms, and dusting and polishing objects. During Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, for example, Richardson was responsible for dusting First Daughter Lynda Bird Johnson’s collection of dolls from around the world.3 Richardson continued to work as a maid on staff until 1979.4 She passed away on September 8, 2000, and was buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland.5 
  1.  “Birthdays,” Undated, folder: folder “Birthdays (Residence Staff),” box 29, Betty Ford White House Papers, Gerald R. Ford Library; Clara Richardson, 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: 74; Enumeration District: 1-686, Ancestry.com.
  2. Clara Richardson, 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00563; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 1-311B, Ancestry.com; Clara Richardson, 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: 74; Enumeration District: 1-686, Ancestry.com; White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026; Political and Americana Memorabilia: Heritage Grand Format Auction #625 (June 22, 2005), pg. 151.
  3. 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; “The Working White House: Clara Richardson,” White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/the-working-white-house-clara-richardson-photo-1.
  4. White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026; Political and Americana Memorabilia: Heritage Grand Format Auction #625 (June 22, 2005), pg. 151;  U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations (Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations) Vol. 1 (1974), pg. 47-48.
  5. “Richardson, Clara,” The Washington Post, September 12, 2000, pg. B5. 
Birthplace
North Carolina, USA
Fort Lincoln Cemetery