William Crawford
Cite this Page
"William Crawford," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/468.
- Positions
- Stables
- Laborer
- Years in President's House
- 1877 – 1881
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- James A. Garfield
- Biography
- William Stewart Crawford was born in 1863 in Winchester, Virginia. He began working at the White House in 1877 at age fifteen, performing various duties, including purchasing groceries and driving a carriage for the president. (1)
Crawford was present at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station on July 2, 1881, when President James A. Garfield was shot. According to testimony later summarized during the trial of Garfield’s assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, Crawford had just delivered the president’s luggage to the depot and was standing in the baggage room when he heard the first gunshot. Turning toward the sound, he saw Guiteau step forward and fire a second shot before fleeing the scene as Garfield was carried away for medical treatment. (2)
Crawford remained a member of the White House staff throughout Garfield’s lengthy illness following the assassination attempt. After Garfield died on September 19, 1881, Crawford received additional compensation for his service during the crisis and was listed in those records as a driver. (3)
Crawford continued his career in public service after his White House employment ended. He worked as a mail carrier for forty-six years, including on the last horse-drawn mail wagon route in Washington before it was replaced by an automobile in 1925. He retired two years later. Crawford died on January 22, 1951, and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (4) - (1) “William S. Crawford Dies; Was with Garfield at His Assassination,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), January 23, 1951, 12, https://www.newspapers.com/image/869816040/.
(2) “William S. Crawford,” The Evening Critic (Washington, D.C.), November 18, 1881, 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1043928314/?match=1&terms=%22William%20Crawford%22.
(3) “William S. Crawford Dies; Was with Garfield at His Assassination,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), January 23, 1951, 12, https://www.newspapers.com/image/869816040/; “Garfield’s Long Illness,” The New York Times (New York, NY), April 20, 1882, 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20586413/?terms=crawford&match=1.
(4) “William Stewart Crawford,” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/74284949/person/252678785884/facts?_phsrc=FZy16&_phstart=successSource; “William S. Crawford Dies; Was with Garfield at His Assassination,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), January 23, 1951, 12, https://www.newspapers.com/image/869816040/. - Birthplace
- Winchester, Virginia, USA