William Dubois was born in New York in May 1832.¹ Dubois served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and afterward worked as an officer for the Metropolitan Police Force. Around 1880, he was detailed to the White House.² Initially he worked as a policeman but by 1893, he was listed as a doorkeeper, managing access to the White House and the Executive Offices, maintaining order, and ushering visitors into the Executive Mansion. In June 1896, newspapers reported that he had been appointed to the role of chief doorkeeper at the White House, replacing Carlos E. Dexter.³ He remained in this prominent position until 1902, when ill health led him to request a transfer to a less demanding position in the pension office.⁴ Outside of his career, Dubois was a Mason and an active member of the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church in D.C. He died on April 29, 1910, and was buried at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.⁵

William Dubois in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 164; Page: 26; Enumeration District: 0140, Ancestry.com.
Sources sometimes list 1880 or 1881 as his appointment date. “Things Heard and Seen,” Evening Star, May 24, 1902, pg. 18, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045462/1902-05-24/ed-1/; “Fixtures in the White House,” The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), March 5, 1893, pg. 22; “Funeral of Capt. Dubois,” Evening Star, May 1, 1910, pg. 21.
Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893), pg. 27; “Mr. Dubois Made Chief Usher,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), June 4, 1896, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1896-06-04/ed-1/seq-2/.
“Funeral of Capt. Dubois,” Evening Star, May 1, 1910, pg. 21; “Things Heard and Seen,” Evening Star, May 24, 1902, pg. 18, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045462/1902-05-24/ed-1/; “At the White House,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 20, 1902, pg. 1.
“William DuBois,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124718293/william-dubois; “Funeral of Capt. Dubois,” Evening Star, May 1, 1910, pg. 21.

Birthplace

New York, USA

Congressional Cemetery

Related Workers: Carlos E. Dexter
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1893 – 1896; Harris L. Atchison
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1886 – 1901; Thomas E. Stone
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1901 – 1911

Related Association Content: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/ushers-and-stewards-since-1800