John Hiser was born in Germany around 1867 and immigrated to the United States as an infant in 1868, later becoming a naturalized citizen.¹ He was first listed on government payroll in 1895 as a laborer in the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds. At some point, he was assigned to the White House, where he worked as a gardener and florist.² He likely helped his nephew, also named John Hiser, secure a job as an engineer at the White House.³ In 1921, Hiser’s daughter Winnifred made national news. During the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, she caught the attention of President Warren G. Harding and received a kiss, a pat on the head, and a $1 bill from the president.⁴ Hiser is listed through 1929 as a laborer with the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, but he is listed as unemployed in the 1930 census, indicating that he retired around the time that the Hoovers moved into the White House. Presidential transitions are a common time for retirements among longtime staff.⁵ John Hiser died on April 2, 1932, and was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.⁶

John Hiser in the District of Columbia, U.S., Select Deaths and Burials Index, 1769-1960, Ancestry.com. District of Columbia, U.S., Select Deaths and Burials Index, 1769-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, Ancestry.com\; John Hiser in the 1920 US Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Hyattsville, Prince Georges, Maryland; Roll: T625_674; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 91, Ancestry.com.
Official Register of the United States Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1895), 444; John Hiser in the 1920 US Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Hyattsville, Prince Georges, Maryland; Roll: T625_674; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 91, Ancestry.com.
John Hiser’s brother, Paul Jr., was John E. Hiser’s father. See John Hiser Family Tree, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/842481/person/274406387/facts?_phsrc=GAH501&_phstart=successSource; Paul Hiser Jr. Family Tree, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/842481/person/632852545/facts.
“President Kisses Little Maid as Eggs are Rolled on White House Lawns,” Evening Star, March 28, 1921, pg. 1; “Harding Kisses One Egg Roller,” Times Herald, March 28, 1921, pg. 9.
Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (Washington, D.C.: R. L. Polk and Co., 1929), 800; John Hiser in the 1930 US Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Edmonston, Prince George, Maryland; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0032; FHL microfilm: 2340613, Ancestry.com.
“Former White House Employe Succumbs,” Evening Star, April 4, 1932, pg. 9.

Birthplace

Germany

Prospect Hill Cemetery

Related Worker: John E. Hiser
Trades, circa 1901 – 1953