White House Historical Association

Daniel O. Ball

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"Daniel O. Ball," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/427.
Positions
Usher
Watchman
Years in President's House
circa 1869 – 1873
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
Daniel O. Ball was born in December 1836 in Warren, New Jersey.1 Ball worked as a miller until enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1856, serving in the Seminole Wars and the Utah Expedition.2 He also fought with Cushing’s battery at Gettysburg during the Civil War. Commissary-General J. B. Eaton later recommended Ball to President Ulysses S. Grant for a position at the White House.3 From 1869 to 1873, Ball held a variety of roles at the White House, including night-usher, watchman, and policeman. All of these roles suggest he was responsible for security onsite.4 By 1880, he and his family moved to Pennsylvania, where he worked as a laborer; they later returned to his home state of New Jersey.5 In 1907, he was admitted to the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., a residence for veterans.6 In his free time, Ball was active in patriotic and veterans organizations. He died on September 8, 1913, and was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton, New Jersey.7
  1. Daniel O Ball in the U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009; Daniel O Ball in the U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914, Ancestry.com. U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
  2. Ibid; “Civil War Veteran Dead,” Washington Herald, September 10, 1913, pg. 5; “Untitled,” Messenger-Press (New Jersey), August 15, 1907, pg. 3; “Over Ten Years in the US Army,” Trenton Sunday Advertiser (New Jersey), August 11, 1907, pg. 11.
  3. “Over Ten Years in the US Army,” Trenton Sunday Advertiser (New Jersey), August 11, 1907, pg. 11; “Daniel O. Ball Dead,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), September 10, 1913, pg. 16; “Shakes Hands Over Cannon with Foe of 50 Years Ago,” Salt Lake Herald (Utah), August 31, 1913, pg. 3.
  4. Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1874), pg. 227; Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870), 215; Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1872), 225.
  5. Daniel O. Ball in the 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Solebury, Bucks, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1107; Page: 85d; Enumeration District: 165, Ancestry.com; Daniel O Ball in the New Jersey, U.S., State Census, 1905, New Jersey State Archive; Trenton, NJ, USA; State Census of New Jersey, 1905; Reference Number: L-06; Film Number: 28.
  6. “Untitled,” Messenger-Press (New Jersey), August 15, 1907, pg. 3.
  7. Daniel O. Ball in the Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Death Certificates, 1874-1931, District of Columbia Public Library; Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C. Deaths, 1874-1945, Ancestry.com; “Daniel O. Ball,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24600044/daniel-o-ball; “Civil War Veteran Dead,” Washington Herald, September 10, 1913, pg. 5.
Birthplace
Warren, New Jersey, USA
Riverview Cemetery