White House Historical Association

Dennis Brown

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"Dennis Brown," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/438.
Positions
Laborer
Waiter
Years in President's House
circa 1870
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
Dennis Brown was born in Maryland around 1831.1 The 1870 Census listed his occupation as a waiter at the White House.2 That year, he also appeared on a list of President Ulysses S. Grant’s White House staff as a laborer.3 It is unclear if he worked at the White House prior to or after this year, as documentation is scarce. Additionally, there were several men named Dennis Brown working as laborers in D.C. at this time, making it difficult to learn more about his life.4
  1.  Denis Brown in the 1870 United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 1, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_123; Page: 54B, Ancestry.com.
  2. Ibid.
  3. “The White House-The Retinue of a Republican President,” The Greeneville Democrat (Ohio), June 1, 1870, pg. 2.
  4. See William H. Boyd, Boyd’s Directory of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria (Washington, D.C., 1871), 40.
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
Unclear from Context