Henry

All of the information on Henry, the coachman for President Franklin Pierce, comes from a newspaper article published in the Evening Star in September 1853. The article dispels a rumor that President Pierce forced his coachmen and footmen to wear livery - matching uniforms typically worn by servants in aristocratic households in Europe and some upper-class households in the early United States. To dispel this rumor, the article quoted the coachman “Henry” (no full name given) who claimed he bought his own clothes to wear while performing his job, which entailed a simple blue coat with brass buttons. 

The Evening Star article also provided some limited information on Henry’s life, stating that he previously worked for famed horse trainer Hiram Woodruff. Pierce first hired Henry as a hostler, or one who worked in a stable to care for and manage horses. His duties at the White House stables would have included cleaning the stalls and bringing in hay as well as feeding, brushing, shoeing, saddling, and exercising the horses. His duties might have also entailed tending to equine equipment like saddles and harnesses and general maintenance of the stables and carriages. The article further explained that once President Pierce transferred his coachman (unidentified by name in the article) to a different position in the household, he promoted Henry to coachman and doubled his salary.¹ Unfortunately, little else is known about Henry at this time, including his full name and how long he served at the White House.