William McKenzie
Cite this Page
"William McKenzie," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/400.
- Positions
- Gardener
- Grounds Laborer
- Years in President's House
- circa 1865 – 1873
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- In 1870, a man named William McKenzie was listed as a laborer at the White House Conservatory during Ulysses Grant’s presidency. In this role, McKenzie likely propagated and maintained the variety of flowers and plants in the greenhouses, including orchids, roses, ferns, and more.1 According to government registers, he worked as a laborer for the Office of Public Buildings, Grounds, and Works between 1865 and 1871; he was likely engaged in White House work throughout this period. These records indicate that he was born in Scotland, and city directories list that he continued to work as a gardener through the 1880s. However, further information about his life and White House tenure are unknown.2
- “The White House-The Retinue of a Republican President,” The Greeneville Democrat (Ohio), June 1, 1870, pg. 2.
- Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1866), 145; Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1864), 119. Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1868), 188; Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870), 216; Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1872), 225; Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1874), 228; William H. Boyd, Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (1886), 574.
- Birthplace
- Scotland
- Unclear from Context