White House Historical Association

Richard M. Welch

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"Richard M. Welch," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/546.
Positions
Usher
Doorkeeper
Years in President's House
1894 – 1898
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Grover Cleveland Second Term
William McKinley
Biography
Richard Martin Welch was born in North Adams, Massachusetts in 1869.1 He later lived and worked in New York City, where he met President Grover Cleveland in 1894. Cleveland offered him a position at the White House, and Welch joined the staff that year as an usher/doorkeeper, managing access to the White House and the Executive Offices, maintaining order, and ushering visitors into the Executive Mansion.2 He remained in the role through 1898, and then transferred to the Pension Office.3 Later, he clerked for the post office.4 Richard M. Welch died on July 3, 1934, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.5
  1. Welch’s obituary says that he was born on May 24, 1876, but his gravestone reads 1869. “Richard Martin Welch,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194236626/richard-martin-welch; Richard M Welch in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 162; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0106; “Cleveland Aide, R. M. Welch, Dies,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 5, 1934, pg. 3.
  2. “Cleveland Aide, R. M. Welch, Dies,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 5, 1934, pg. 3; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1894), 1014; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1895), 943; Official Register of the United States (Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1895), 27.
  3. Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1898), 984; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1899), 1022; “Cleveland Aide, R. M. Welch, Dies,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 5, 1934, pg. 3.
  4. Richard M Welch in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_211; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 214, Ancestry.com; Richard M Welch in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0230; FHL microfilm: 2340033, Ancestry.com.
  5. “Cleveland Aide, R. M. Welch, Dies,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 5, 1934, pg. 3; “Richard Martin Welch,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194236626/richard-martin-welch.
Birthplace
North Adams, Massachusetts, USA
Mount Olivet Cemetery