Edson S. Densmore

Edson Sidney Densmore was born in Chelsea, Vermont, on October 4, 1848.¹ At age twenty-five, he joined the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Force.² In March 1881, Densmore resigned from the police force to work as a White House doorkeeper during James A. Garfield’s presidency.³ Densmore was responsible for collecting all threatening letters addressed to President James Garfield and gathering all available information about the person to ensure that they did not gain access to the president.⁴ After President Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, Densmore assisted in the removal of the president from the White House to Francklyn’s Cottage, in Elberon, New Jersey, on September 6, 1881.⁵ Densmore helped carry President Garfield on a bed to a horse-drawn express wagon and rode next to the wagon driver. President Garfield died two weeks later, on September 19, 1881.⁶

Densmore likely left the White House afterward following the president’s passing. In 1885, Grover Cleveland appointed Densmore as doorkeeper.⁷ Shortly afterward, Densmore resigned and went to Massachusetts where he resided for a time. In the days leading up to Benjamin Harrison’s Inauguration on March 4, 1889, the Inaugural committee requested Densmore’s services to ensure Harrison’s safety.⁸ After the Inauguration, Densmore agreed to return to the White House and President Harrison appointed him chief doorkeeper (a precursor to the chief usher position) sometime between 1889 and 1890.⁹ Acting as the president’s bodyguard, he served as master of ceremonies—overseeing house management and the domestic staff.¹⁰ Densmore received a salary of $1,800, the highest among doorkeepers.¹¹ Densmore remained in this role until he died on November 13, 1892, of Bright’s disease and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.¹²