Cassa Bawdry
Cite this Page
"Cassa Bawdry," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/386.
- Position
- Laundress
- Years in President's House
- circa 1865 – 1868
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Unclear from Context
- Presidency
- Andrew Johnson
- Biography
- Cassa Bawdry worked as a head laundress in the White House for President Andrew Johnson. Surviving financial records document her service from December 1865 to February 1868, during which she worked alongside fellow laundresses Charlotte Howard, Mary Sett, and Frances Scott.1 As a laundress, Bawdry would have assisted with the first family’s laundry, including washing, drying, and folding textiles. No additional records have been identified that shed light on her life or career.
- Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 167, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=167&st=image&r=0.03,0.275,0.772,0.423,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 417, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=417&st=image&r=0.23,0.287,0.63,0.345,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 552, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=552&st=image&r=0.12,0.3,0.812,0.445,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 629, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=629&st=image&r=0.008,0.745,0.57,0.312,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 653, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=653&st=image&r=-0.16,0.078,1.031,0.565,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 688, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=688&st=image&r=0.258,0.273,0.438,0.24,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 705, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=705&st=image&r=0.322,0.316,0.758,0.415,0.
- Birthplace
- Unclear from Context
- Unclear from Context
- Related Workers
- Charlotte HowardHousekeeping and Laundry, circa 1865 – 1866
- Mary SettHousekeeping and Laundry, circa 1867
- Frances ScottHousekeeping and Laundry, circa 1867 – 1868