Howard Williams

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"Howard Williams," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/470.

Positions: Steward; Cook; Messenger
Years in President's House: 1882 – 1885
Legal Status: Free Person
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black or African American
Presidency: Chester A. Arthur
Biography: Howard Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1837. He moved to Washington, D.C., around 1860 and was hired by Representative Samuel Hooper of Massachusetts as a servant. After Hooper died in 1875, Williams became the personal cook for New York Senator Roscoe Conkling. In 1882, following the resignation of White House Steward William T. Crump, Williams was hired as his replacement. He oversaw formal meals in this role, from selecting food and wine to arranging table decorations. Working alongside French chef Alexander Fortin, Williams presented refined and innovative dinners, featuring “architectural gastronomy,” dishes designed with vertical presentation and in which no entrée was repeated. Despite his success in impressing visitors with these presentations, President Grover Cleveland dismissed Williams in 1885. After leaving the White House, Williams served as superintendent of the Washington, D.C. household of Iowa Senator William B. Allison until the senator’s death. He later worked as a custodian of a home in Georgetown, a position he held until his death on March 22, 1914. (1)
: (1) Adrian Miller, The President's Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017), [166] https://archive.org/details/presidentskitche0000mill/page/166/mode/2up?view=theater&q=%22Howard+Williams%22; Evening Star (Washington, DC), March 25, 1914 [20] "Famous Chef Dead," obituary of Howard H. Williams, https://www.newspapers.com/image/332093316/?article=8c6d5371-724d-4917-b732-2bdc137e3d91&focus=0.12659091,0.74961424,0.2475152,0.9258196&xid=3355&_gl=1*1uffjdj*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NDM5ODgxNDEuQ2p3S0NBand6TWlfQmhBQ0Vpd0FYNFlaVUdDTzNjcHZqbUZhMEx5VEF2d1F3dXVtOGJ0d3kxT0szYklIVHZBM25OZWNpNzBVTzBSVnBob0MxcWdRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_dc*R0NMLjE3NDM5ODgxNDEuQ2p3S0NBand6TWlfQmhBQ0Vpd0FYNFlaVUdDTzNjcHZqbUZhMEx5VEF2d1F3dXVtOGJ0d3kxT0szYklIVHZBM25OZWNpNzBVTzBSVnBob0MxcWdRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTA1NzY3MzM3My4xNzQ4Mzk1NjE1*_ga*OTc0Nzg4NjY2LjE3Mzc1Njc1Nzk.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czVlMjViYWQ4LWI3YjQtNDY3OC05N2E5LTZkMWVjNmNjODFmNyRvOTEkZzEkdDE3NDg0ODkzNjEkajU5JGwwJGgw*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czVlMjViYWQ4LWI3YjQtNDY3OC05N2E5LTZkMWVjNmNjODFmNyRvODkkZzEkdDE3NDg0ODkzNjEkajU5JGwwJGgw. Ancestry.com, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Death Certificates, 1874–1931, entry for Howard H. Williams, accessed May 28, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62876/records/32537?tid=&pid=&queryId=63bd6a10-f88e-450c-a149-d8362eb5d381&_phsrc=fQN32&_phstart=successSource.
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Related Workers: William T. Crump
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1879 – 1882; Alexander Fortin
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1881 – 1885

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