Solomon Johnson
Cite this Page
"Solomon Johnson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/372.
- Positions
- Guard
- Barber
- Years in President's House
- circa 1864
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Abraham Lincoln
- Biography
- Solomon Johnson was born around 1842 in Petersburg, Virginia, though little is known about his early life. During the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, Johnson served as a bodyguard at the White House and performed barbering duties for Lincoln to earn additional income. According to historian John E. Washington, Lincoln supported Johnson’s appointment to a position in the Treasury Department and later advocated for his advancement. Johnson entered the department as a messenger in the early 1860s and had become a clerk by 1867, eventually rising to higher-level clerkships. While employed in the Treasury Department, he continued barbering part-time and reportedly also served as a barber to President Andrew Johnson.1 Johnson remained in federal service in Washington, D.C., until his death on November 24, 1885. His exact birth date and burial location are unknown. Information about Johnson’s early life, Civil War–era experiences, and federal employment comes from historian John E. Washington, who knew the Johnson family and interviewed them; additional documentation confirming Johnson’s specific White House duties has not yet been located.2
- John E. Washington reported that Solomon Johnson performed barbering duties for Abraham Lincoln and later for President Andrew Johnson while employed in federal service. In White House staff records, however, Charles H. Lemos is identified as the official White House barber during this period, suggesting that Johnson’s barbering work may have been informal, part-time, or conducted outside an official staff position.
- John E. Washington, They Knew Lincoln (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1942) 135-141; Lehrman Institute, “Employees and Staff: William Johnson (–1864),” Mr. Lincoln’s White House, accessed November 30, 2025, https://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/residents-visitors/employees-and-staff/employees-staff-william-johnson-1864/index.html.
- Birthplace
- Petersburg, Virginia, USA
- Unclear from Context
- Related Worker
- William H. JohnsonTrades, Valets, Lady's Maids, and First Family Attendants, Operations, Facilities, & Events, 1861
- Related Association Content
- https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slaverys-mark-on-lincolns-white-house