Thomas Brown

Little is known about Thomas Brown outside of his work as a laborer for the public grounds in Washington, D.C. He appeared in the 1855, 1857, and 1859 official registry of federal government employees listed as a laborer of public grounds, a job that entailed maintaining the landscape of public buildings and parks in D.C. including the White House, Lafayette Square, and the Capitol. 

Brown was listed alongside several other laborers who are confirmed to have worked at the White House under head gardener John Watt.¹ The registry mentions that Brown was born in England but provides no further information. It is unclear at this time if his tenure as public gardener extended beyond the years 1855-1859. Thomas Brown appears in Washington, D.C. city directories as late as 1906 working as a gardener, but the directories do not specify where he worked.²