White House Historical Association

Ferdinand Whitlow

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"Ferdinand Whitlow," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/419.
Positions
Footman
Valet
Years in President's House
circa 1870
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
Ferdinand Whitlow was born in the District of Columbia around 1852.1 In 1860, he was listed as a waiter in the District; his young age indicates that he may have been enslaved. Later, he attended Howard University.2 In 1870, a newspaper article outlining Ulysses Grant’s White House staff lists him as President Grant’s body servant and footman; he is also included in Grant’s household in that year’s federal census.3 Whitlow may have been related to Grant’s steward, John Henry Whitlow.4 Further details about his life and tenure of service at the White House are unclear.
  1. He also had an account at the Freedman’s Bank in D.C. See ​​Ferdinand Whitlow in the U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874; ARC Identifier: 566522; Record Group Number: 101; Record Group: Records of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1863-2006, Ancestry.com.
  2. Ferdinand Whitlow in the 1860 US Federal Census, The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Washington Ward 4, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M653_103; Page: 189; Family History Library Film: 803103, Ancestry.com. Ferdinand Whitlow in the U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935, Ancestry.com. U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
  3. Ferdinand Whittlow in 1870 US Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 1, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_123; Page: 210B, Ancestry.com; “The White House-The Retinue of a Republican President,” The Greeneville Democrat (Ohio), June 1, 1870, pg. 2.
  4. Henry Whitlow in the 1870 United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 1, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_123; Page: 210A, Ancestry.com.
Birthplace
Washington, D.C., USA
Unclear from Context
Related Worker
John H. Whitlow
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1870 – 1877