White House Historical Association

James Van Vleck

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"James Van Vleck," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/441.
Position
Doorkeeper
Years in President's House
circa 1875
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Unclear from Context
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
In September 1875, the Official Register of the United States listed a James Van Vleck of New York as doorkeeper at the President’s House.1 In this role, Van Vleck assisted with access to the White House and the Executive Offices, maintained order, and escorted visitors into the Executive Mansion. Further information about his life is difficult to discern. Earlier that year, newspapers in Washington, D.C. reported that a “James Van Vleck” was charged with bribery and fraud by his employer, sometimes listed as the Post Office Department and sometimes the Treasury Department. These charges were later dismissed.2 It is unlikely that someone charged with such a crime would be hired at the White House just a few months later. An 1873 city directory lists two James Van Vlecks living in D.C.-- one working for the Post Office, and one for the Treasury; otherwise, it is difficult to separate the two in existing documentation, or to determine if they are the same person that worked at the White House.3
  1. Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1876), 270.
  2. “The Post Office Frauds,” National Republican, April 13, 1875, pg. 1; Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1876), 270; “Postal Frauds,” Washington Chronicle, April 15, 1875, pg. 7.
  3. Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (William H. Boyd,1873), pg. 467.
Birthplace
New York, USA
Unclear from Context