White House Historical Association

James Stone

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"James Stone," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/320.
Position
Grounds Laborer
Years in President's House
circa 1855 – 1866
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Unclear from Context
Presidencies
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Biography
James Stone was born in Maryland around 1820.1 By 1850, he was living in Washington, D.C. working as a carpenter.2 Though it cannot be confirmed at this time, it is highly likely that Stone worked as a gardener at the White House for much of the 1850s and 1860s. From 1855 through 1861, Stone appeared regularly in the official registers of federal government employees, listed as a laborer on the public grounds in Washington, D.C., which included the White House Grounds, Lafayette Park, and the Capitol Building Grounds; he was often listed immediately after the head gardener at the White House, John Watt.3 Some of the other laborers listed are confirmed to have worked as gardeners at the White House, so it is likely Stone did as well. In 1863, government records list Stone as the foreman of public laborers, a position he held through at least 1866.4 The 1870 Census identifies Stone as a gardener, though it does not specify his place of employment.5 Outside of work, Stone was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization.6 Stone passed away on December 5, 1870, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.7 His obituary stated that Stone was “for many years foreman of the Public Gardens” and was “well and favorably known to a large circle of friends, both official and private. His acquaintance with public functionaries during the past twenty years was something remarkable.”8
  1.  There is a discrepancy in Stone’s year of birth. Census records generally list his birth year between 1815 and 1825. See “Janes Stone” in the 1850 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/19380197; “James Stone” in the 1860 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/records/10527894; and “James Stone” in the 1870 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/2112239.
  2. “Janes Stone” in the 1850 United States Federal Census.
  3. Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson, 1855), 95; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth of September, 1861 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1862), 96.
  4. See Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth of September, 1863 (Washington: Government Printing Office), 118, and “Letter from the Commissioner of Public Buildings” in Executive Documents Printed by Order of The House of Representatives during the First Session of the Thirty-Ninth Congress, 1865-’66 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1866).
  5. “James Stone” in the 1870 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/2112239.
  6. An Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Washington, D.C., announced in a local newspaper they were planning arrangements for Stone’s funeral, which suggests he was a member of their organization. See Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 5, 1870, pg. 2. 
  7. “James Stone” in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, accessed via Ancestry.com, 128743434.
  8. Obituary published in The Critic and Record (Washington, D.C.), December 6, 1870, pg. 3
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
Glenwood Cemetery
Related Worker
John Watt
Gardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, 1853 – 1861