James B. Haliday
Cite this Page
"James B. Haliday," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/367.
- Position
- Carpenter
- Years in President's House
- circa 1861 – 1865
- circa 1869 – 1877
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- James B. Haliday was born in June 1843 in Washington, D.C.1 By 1860, he was working as a carpenter in and around the District.2 According to William H. Crook, one of President Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguards, Haliday built stages for Tad Lincoln’s performances at the White House and played war games with him.3 The precise nature and duration of Haliday’s work at the White House are not fully documented. His obituary states that he served in some capacity during the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and later Grover Cleveland.5 While Crook’s memoir places Haliday at the White House during Lincoln’s presidency, surviving official records more clearly situate him there during the Grant administration. Correspondence from that period indicates that President Grant requested Haliday’s placement in “general service,” which may have included carpentry or related work; however, a notation in the record suggests that this specific request was not formally approved.5 Haliday died in October 1940 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.6 Given the limited and uneven documentary record, Haliday may have worked at the White House as a carpenter on a recurring or informal basis rather than as a permanently appointed employee. Census records consistently list his occupation as carpenter in Washington, D.C., and contemporary accounts suggest he was frequently present at the White House, developing a personal rapport with the Lincoln family. Still, the absence of definitive employment documentation leaves aspects of his service unresolved.7
- “James Burroughs (Borrows) Haliday,” Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/78236212/person/120064953629/facts?_phsrc=fQN271&_phstart=successSource.
- 1860 United States Federal Census, Washington Ward 7, Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, entry for James Halliday, Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4211363_00168?pId=10570610.
- William H. Crook, Through Five Administrations: Reminiscences of Colonel William H. Crook, Body-Guard to President Lincoln, ed. Margarita Spalding Gerry (New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1910) 21-23, https://archive.org/details/throughfiveadmin06croo/page/22/mode/2up?q="Haliday".
- “James Burroughs Haliday,” Find a Grave, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140170922/james-burroughs-haliday.
- John Y. Simon, ed., The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, vol. 22, June 1, 1871–January 31, 1872 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press for Mississippi State University, 1998) 134, https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=usg-volumes.
- 1940 United States Federal Census, Prince George’s County, Maryland, entry for James Haliday, Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-01557-00421?pId=149465643; “James Burroughs Haliday,” Find a Grave, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140170922/james-burroughs-haliday.
- 1860 United States Federal Census, Washington, District of Columbia, entry for James Halliday, Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4211363_00168?pId=10570610; 1870 United States Federal Census, Washington, District of Columbia, entry for James Haliday, Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4263352_00016?pId=269833; 1880 United States Federal Census, Washington, District of Columbia, entry for James Haliday, Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4240115-00951?pId=35170624; 1900 United States Federal Census, Washington, District of Columbia, entry for James B. Haliday, Ancestry.com, accessed January 15, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4119677_00040?pId=7952304.
- Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Glenwood Cemetery