White House Historical Association

Charlotte Howard

Ask a Historian Download as PDF
Cite this Page
"Charlotte Howard," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/385.
Positions
Maid
Laundress
Years in President's House
circa 1865 – 1866
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Andrew Johnson
Biography
Charlotte Howard, who also appears in records as Sophy Howard, was born in New York in the late 1840s.1 Little is known about her early life. She appears in President Andrew Johnson’s White House financial records as a chambermaid.2 In this role—and later a laundress—she likely performed a range of household tasks, including cleaning rooms, sweeping, laundering, and changing linens. Surviving financial records document Howard’s employment at the White House from June 1865 to July 1866, though she may have continued working there beyond those months. During her tenure as a laundress, Charlotte worked alongside assistant laundress Cassa Bawdry.3 In both the 1870 and 1880 Censuses, she was listed as a laundress.4 By 1897, she appeared in records as an evening charwoman—responsible for cleaning and light upkeep—for the Treasury Department.5 Little additional information has been identified about the remainder of her life.
  1. 1870 United States Federal Census, New York, Charlotte Howard; Ancestry, accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/13739411?tid=&pid=&queryId=317318d0-0139-45f8-9f4c-8ca627437169&_phsrc=fQN277&_phstart=successSource.
  2. Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10: Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 72; Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=72&st=image&r=-0.032,0.015,0.945,0.518,0.
  3. Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10: Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 72; Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=72&st=image&r=-0.032,0.015,0.945,0.518,0.; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10: Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 104; Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=104&st=image&r=0.27,0.022,0.788,0.432,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10: Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 199; Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=199&st=image&r=0.141,0.307,0.766,0.42,0.
  4. 1870 United States Federal Census (New York), Charlotte Howard; digital image, Ancestry, accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/13739411?tid=&pid=&queryId=317318d0-0139-45f8-9f4c-8ca627437169&_phsrc=fQN277&_phstart=successSource; 1880 United States Federal Census (New York), Charlotte Howard; digital image, Ancestry, accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/records/35137366?tid=&pid=&queryId=317318d0-0139-45f8-9f4c-8ca627437169&_phsrc=fQN277&_phstart=successSource.
  5. Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service, Mrs. Charlotte Howard, Washington, D.C.; digital image, Ancestry, accessed January 20, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2525/records/2668124.
Birthplace
New York, USA
Unclear from Context
Related Worker
Cassa Bawdry
Housekeeping and Laundry, circa 1865 – 1868