William Williams
Cite this Page
"William Williams," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/291.
- Position
- Coachman
- Years in President's House
- circa 1850
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Millard Fillmore
- Biography
- Due to both a scarcity of sources and the commonness of his name, it is difficult to discern much information about William Williams outside of his work at the White House. (1) At this time, information about his work there is limited to a single source. In August 1850, Williams appeared on a financial document detailing wages owed to White House domestic workers compiled shortly after President Millard Fillmore took office. The list included staff names, as well as their position, salary, and race. Williams was recorded among Black staff (alongside Benjamin Quarles, Charles Beal, Robert Blaxton, Mary Ann Day, and Julia Ball) and identified as a coachman earning $16 per month. (2) Some of the other staff members on the list also worked for Fillmore’s predecessor, Zachary Taylor, but it is unclear if Williams did. (3) It is also unclear how long Williams worked at the White House. There is no known evidence that he worked under President Franklin Pierce which would mean he stopped working there before Pierce’s Inauguration in March 1853.
Thank you to Michael Cohen and Amy Larrabee Cotz, editors of the Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore papers, for providing research assistance with this biography. - (1) The 1850 Census lists several men of color named William Williams living in Washington, DC, any of which could be the man who worked at the White House. For examples, see “William M Williams” in the 1850 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/19363133?tid=&pid=&queryId=ded0a907-acfd-4ead-99b5-15cfe18f57ae&_phsrc=KCT2338&_phstart=successSource; “William Williams” in the 1850 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/19378097?tid=&pid=&queryId=37711d35-b178-459b-94cd-b10f3f6cc5c6&_phsrc=KCT2336&_phstart=successSource; and 1850 United States Federal Census for Wm. Williams, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4193082-00008?queryId=409f67b1-d24d-47ba-a2a9-2535135d8041&usePUB=true&_phsrc=KCT2394&_phstart=successSource&pId=19707513.
(2) Wages due Servants in President’s House, August 31, 1850, Millard Fillmore Papers, 1850, New York Heritage Digital Collections, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY, https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/sunyoswego/id/29515/rec/51.
(3) One of the presidential households we know the least about is that of Zachary Taylor. Documentation is scarce, as most of his personal papers were lost when Union soldiers occupied his family’s plantation in Louisiana during the Civil War. Furthermore, Taylor’s tenure as president was short, as he died in office less than two years into his term, meaning he produced fewer records to begin with. As a result, only a handful of individuals have been identified as working at the Taylor White House. Records are even more scarce for the enslaved workers in President Taylor’s household. - Birthplace
- Unclear from context
- Related Workers
- Charles BealKitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, circa 1850
- JemmyTransportation, circa 1851
- Benjamin QuarlesKitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, circa 1850
- Robert BlaxtonTrades, circa 1850
- Mary Ann DayHousekeeping and Laundry, circa 1850
- Julia BallHousekeeping and Laundry, circa 1850