White House Historical Association

Perry Green

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"Perry Green," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/506.
Position
Stables
Years in President's House
circa 1886 – 1898
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Grover Cleveland First Term
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland Second Term
William McKinley
Biography
Perry Green was born around 1852 in Maryland. The 1880 Census listed his occupation as “Drives Hack,” meaning that he drove a hackney, a type of carriage, transporting Washingtonians around the city.1 In 1889, an Evening Star article about the White House noted “There are but four men employed at the stables…Perry Green came in under the Cleveland regime.”2 City directories from 1885 list his occupation as “driver,” but from 1886 on as “hostler” suggesting he joined the White House stables that year.3 Further information about Green’s life and work is scarce, but after he died on March 25, 1898, his death certificate listed his occupation as “hostler.” This suggests he may still have held this role at the White House until his passing. Green was buried at Columbian Harmony Payne Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Burials there were later disinterred during Metro construction and moved to National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Maryland.4
  1. Perry Green in the 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: 122; Page: 441c; Enumeration District: 042, Ancestry.com; “Uncovering the Fascinating History of Washington’s Hackmen: Pre-dating Uber Drivers by 160 Years,” Ghosts of DC, August 31, 2015, https://ghostsofdc.org/2015/08/31/history-of-the-washington-d-c-hackman-i-e-taxi-driver/.
  2. “Harrison’s Horses,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 13, 1889, pg. 9, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1889-04-13/ed-1/?sp=9&r=0.638,0.028,0.366,0.219,0.
  3. Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (Washington, D.C., 1885), 419; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (Washington, D.C., 1886), 416.
  4. Perry Miller Green in the Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Death Certificates, 1874-1931, District of Columbia Public Library; Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C. Deaths, 1874-1945, Ancestry.com; “Green,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 26, 1898, pg. 7.
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
National Harmony Memorial Park (formerly Columbian Harmony Payne Cemetery)