Margaret McHugh
Cite this Page
"Margaret McHugh," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/346.
- Position
- Laundress
- Years in President's House
- circa 1860
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- James Buchanan
- Biography
- Margaret McHugh was born around 1832 in Ireland, and at some point she moved to the United States. Little is known about her life; however, she is documented as living and working in President James Buchanan’s White House in 1860, serving as a laundress.1 As a laundress, McHugh worked alongside fellow laundress Bridget Hane washing clothing, bedding, and other household textiles for the first family, a labor-intensive task that required heating large quantities of water and scrubbing items by hand. It is possible that McHugh served for the entirety of James Buchanan’s presidency; however, no additional documentation has been identified to confirm the length of her 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
- Related Worker
- Bridget HaneHousekeeping and Laundry, circa 1860