Thomas Dickson
Cite this Page
"Thomas Dickson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/329.
- Position
- Grounds Laborer
- Years in President's House
- circa 1855
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Franklin Pierce
- Biography
- Thomas Dickinson likely worked at the White House as a grounds laborer. He appears on the 1855 registry of federal government employees, listed as a laborer for the public grounds in Washington, D.C., which included the White House Grounds, Lafayette Park, and the Capitol grounds. Dickinson was listed alongside several other laborers who are confirmed to have worked at the White House under head gardener John Watt. The 1855 registry states that Dickinson was born in Scotland but appointed to his position from Washington, D.C., which implies he moved there sometime prior to 1855.1 Little else is known about Dickinson at this time, including if he worked as a grounds laborer prior to or after 1855.
- The register lists his place of birth but not his birth year. See 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.
- Birthplace
- Scotland
- Unclear from Context
- Related Worker
- John WattGardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, 1853 – 1861