George F. Robinson
Cite this Page
"George F. Robinson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/515.
- Positions
- Fireman
- Engineer
- Years in President's House
- circa 1891 – 1896
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- George F. Robinson was born in Indiana around 1852.1 Robinson lived in Indianapolis but moved to Washington, D.C. at some point, and by 1891, he worked at the White House as a fireman/engineer. President Benjamin Harrison was also from Indiana, which may have played a role in Robinson’s hiring at the White House.2 He continued to serve as a fireman during Grover Cleveland’s second term, appearing in the 1893 and 1895 official registers.3 Robinson kept fires in the fireplaces located throughout the rooms of the White House and serviced the furnaces. George Robinson likely remained in the role until his passing the following year on February 24, 1896. He was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.4
- George F Robinson 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.
- Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1891), 21.
- Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893), 27; Official Register of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1895), 27.
- George F Robinson 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; “Robinson,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), February 25, 1896, pg. 7.
- Birthplace
- Indiana, USA
- Rock Creek Cemetery
- Related Worker
- Alfred J. RoachTrades, circa 1887 – 1889