White House Historical Association

Alexander McKerichar

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"Alexander McKerichar," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/316.
Position
Gardener
Years in President's House
1855 – 1875
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
Alexander McKerichar was born in Scotland on August 4, 1831. He began his gardening career at Dunkeld, the estate of the Duke of Atholl, before immigrating to the United States in 1851.1 After relocating from Virginia to Washington, D.C., in 1854, he spent a year working at the United States Botanic Garden and then went on to serve in a number of roles at the White House.2 In his autobiography, McKerichar claimed to have worked as foreman of the White House Garden beginning in June 1855 for “seven or eight years,” before being promoted to superintendent of the garden, where he remained until 1875.3 During his tenure as a White House gardener, he worked on the White House Grounds and the Conservatory, which formerly stood in the location of the modern-day West Wing. The Alexandria Gazette reported that in June 1875, McKerichar was dismissed from his role.4 While the reason for his dismissal is unknown, the Alexandria Gazette alleged that he voiced opposition to sending plants from the White House to private residences.5 Following his White House service, McKerichar served as superintendent of Glenwood Cemetery in Northeast Washington, D.C., and was an active member of the Freemasons and the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.6 He died on July 26, 1913, and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.7
  1.  “Illness is fatal at the age of 83,” Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), July 27, 1914. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1914-07-27/ed-1/seq-3/.
  2. In the 1855 Register, Alexander McKeirahan is listed as a laborer. "Official Register of the United States 1855". Government. Civil Service Commission, https://archive.org/details/officialregister56unit/page/n115/mode/2up?q=President's+House, 94; “Illness is fatal at the age of 83,” Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), July 27, 1914, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1914-07-27/ed-1/seq-3/.
  3. Ancestry.com. U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014; Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census; Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service. Digitized books (77 volumes). Oregon State Library, Salem, Oregon https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2525&h=2816971&tid=&pid=&queryId=9df18f8bb7cdcc53379c53e900a9c8de&usePUB=true&_phsrc=KGX215&_phstart=successSource; “Illness is fatal at the age of 83,” Alexander’s account of his roles while at the White House differs from the roles he is listed in in the Official Registers of the United States during his time at the White House. The Official Registers list Alexander in the following roles: 1855–Laborer; 1857–Laborer; 1859–Laborer on Public Ground; 1861–Laborer on Public Ground; 1863–Laborer on Public Ground; 1865–Gardener at the President’s; 1871– Laborer; 1873–Foreman.
  4. “The White House Gardener,” Alexandria Gazette, (Alexandria, D.C.), June 18, 1875, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85025007/1875-06-18/ed-1/seq-3/
  5. “The White House Gardener,” Alexandria Gazette, (Alexandria, D.C.), June 18, 1875, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85025007/1875-06-18/ed-1/seq-3/.
  6. “Social Matters,” Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), June 16, 1892, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1892-06-16/ed-1/seq-6/; “Masons at Banquet,” Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), October 21, 1903. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1903-10-21/ed-1/seq-14/
  7. “Illness is fatal at the age of 83,” Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), July 27, 1914, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1914-07-27/ed-1/seq-3/.
Birthplace
Scotland
Glenwood Cemetery
Related Workers
Patrick Corbet
Gardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, circa 1855 – 1857
George Field
Gardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, 1875 – 1877