White House Historical Association

John T. Rickard

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"John T. Rickard," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/423.
Positions
Doorkeeper
Usher
Years in President's House
circa 1875 – 1884
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Biography
John Thomas Rickard was born in Virginia on September 11, 1846.1 Around 1875, he joined the White House staff as a doorkeeper/usher.2 For the next nine years, Rickard oversaw access to the White House and the Executive Offices, maintained order, and ushered visitors into the Executive Mansion. As a result, he was well-known in Washington, D.C. and newspapers dubbed him a “presidential favorite.”3 When President James Garfield was shot in 1881 and transferred to a cottage in Elberon, New Jersey to recover, Rickard served as confidential doorkeeper onsite, managing the flow of doctors, press, and staff.4 After the president succumbed to his wounds, Rickard and his fellow doorkeepers oversaw crowd control during public viewing of the president’s body prior to its transport to Washington, D.C.5 Rickard continued to serve in the role under President Chester Arthur. He was briefly detailed to Arthur’s temporary residence at the home of Senator John P. Jones during the Tiffany renovation of the White House in 1881-1882.6 Rickard died on July 16, 1884 and was buried at Lovettsville Union Cemetery in Loudoun County, Virginia; he was still on staff at the time of his passing.7
  1. “John Thomas Rickard,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59910013/john-thomas-rickard.
  2. According to his 1884 obituary, he joined the staff nine years earlier. “Sudden Death of Doorkeeper Rickard,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 17, 1884, pg. 3; John T. Rickard in the 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 123; Page: 19a; Enumeration District: 044, Ancestry.com.
  3. “Pertinent Paragraphs,” The Critic and Record (Washington, D.C.), October 16, 1882, pg. 4; “Presidential Favorites,” National Republican (Washington, D.C.), April 5, 1884, pg. 7.
  4. “The End Not Yet, but Believed to be Rapidly Approaching,” The Critic and Record (Washington, D.C.), September 19, 1881, pg. 4; “Gone to Long Branch,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), September 7, 1881, pg. 1.
  5. “A Sad Tale,” The Critic and Record (Washington, D.C.), September 21, 1881, pg. 1.
  6. “The Departments,” The Critic and Record (Washington, D.C.), October 8, 1881, pg. 1.
  7. “John Thomas Rickard,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59910013/john-thomas-rickard; “Sudden Death of Doorkeeper Rickard,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 17, 1884, pg. 3.
Birthplace
Virginia, USA
Lovettsville Union Cemetery