White House Historical Association

James H. McGrundy

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"James H. McGrundy," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/381.
Position
Fireman
Years in President's House
circa 1870
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
James H. McGrundy was born in Kentucky around 1835.1 McGrundy later relocated to Washington, D.C. and worked as a laborer.2 In 1870, newspapers published a list of President Ulysses S. Grant’s White House staff, and McGrundy was included as “assistant fireman” under fireman Henry Brooks. The role entailed caring for the White House furnaces, stoking fires throughout the home to warm the first family, and wheeling in wood and coal for use in the house. McGrundy’s exact tenure at the White House is unknown at this time, but by 1880 census data listed him as an engineer at an unnamed place of work.3 He later worked as a janitor for D.C.’s public schools.4 McGrundy passed away on August 2, 1888.5
  1. The 1870 Census places his birthdate around 1840, while the 1880 Census is closer to 1835. See James H. McGrundy in the 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 122; Page: 12d; Enumeration District: 023, Ancestry.com; James Mcgrundy in the 1870 United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 1, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_123; Page: 29B, Ancestry.com.
  2. Boyd’s Directory of Washington and Georgetown (Washington, D.C.: Boyd’s Directory Co., 1867), 388.
  3. “The White House-The Retinue of a Republican President,” The Greeneville Democrat (Ohio), June 1, 1870, pg. 2.
  4. James H. McGrundy in the 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 122; Page: 12d; Enumeration District: 023, Ancestry.com; Official Register the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1885), 623.
  5. “Died,” Times Herald (Washington, D.C.), August 2, 1899, pg. 2.
Birthplace
Kentucky, USA
Unclear from Context
Related Worker
Henry Brooks
Trades, circa 1867 – 1871