Thomas Cooper
Cite this Page
"Thomas Cooper," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/344.
- Position
- Stables
- Years in President's House
- circa 1860
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- James Buchanan
- Biography
- Thomas Cooper was born around 1818 in Ireland, and at some point he moved to the United States. Little is known about his life; however, according to the 1860 Census, he worked for President James Buchanan, serving as a groom in the White House Stables.1 As a groom, Cooper cared for the horses—feeding, grooming, shoeing, saddling, and exercising them—and maintained equine equipment, stables, and carriages. It is possible that Cooper served for the entirety of James Buchanan’s presidency; however, no additional documentation has been identified to confirm the length of his service.
- 1860 U.S. Census, Washington, District of Columbia, Ward 1, p. 203, dwelling 1471, family 1470; National Archives microfilm publication M653, Washington, DC, https://www.archives.gov/research/census/presidents/buchanan.html.
- Birthplace
- Ireland
- Unclear from Context