White House Historical Association

William Furmage

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"William Furmage," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/429.
Position
Gardener
Years in President's House
1870 – 1873
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
William Furmage was born in Scotland on March 27, 1828.1 At some point in the years that followed he moved to the United States; in 1861, he became a naturalized citizen.2 Furmage is first listed as a gardener at the White House in an 1870 newspaper account of Ulysses S. Grant’s staff. Official government documents list him as a laborer for public buildings through 1873, meaning that he likely worked on the grounds of other government buildings throughout Washington, D.C. such as the U.S. Capitol Building.3 Afterward, Furmage worked as a florist in the city until his death on August 25, 1881. He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.4
  1.  “William Furmage,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11286872/william-furmage.
  2. William Firmage in U.S., Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Index to Naturalization Records of the U.S. Supreme Court for the District of Columbia, 1802-1909; Microfilm Serial: M1827; Microfilm Roll: 1, Ancestry.com.
  3. “The White House-The Retinue of a Republican President,” The Greeneville Democrat (Ohio), June 1, 1870, pg. 2; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth of September 1873 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1873), 228; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth of September 1871 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1872), 225.
  4. “Condensed Locals,” Evening Star, August 27, 1881, pg. 4;“William Furmage,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11286872/william-furmage.
Birthplace
Scotland
Glenwood Cemetery