White House Historical Association

Charles J. Pusey

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"Charles J. Pusey," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/582.
Positions
Doorkeeper
Clerk
Years in President's House
1901 – circa 1931
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Biography
Charles J. Pusey was born around 1867 in Havre de Grace, Maryland.1 He settled in Washington, D.C. and married a woman named Anna in 1890.2 Pusey worked as a railroad conductor for the Pullman Company. In this role, he met President William McKinley and traveled with the president on a trip to the Pacific Coast.3 In 1901, President McKinley appointed Pusey as a doorkeeper at the White House. In this role, Pusey coordinated the president’s schedule, managed access to the White House and the Executive Offices, maintained order, and ushered visitors into the Executive Mansion.4 In 1911, he appeared in an organizational staff chart, listed as a doorman earning $1,400 per year and working under Chief Usher Irwin “Ike” Hoover. He worked alongside W.L. Parker, William M. Pannell, and Walter L. Dunn.5 At some point between 1911 and 1914, he began working as a clerk for the president and likely continued in this role until his death in 1931. According to his obituary, his specific role was assistant to the disbursing officer.6 Pusey died on July 8, 1931, in Washington, D.C. and was buried at Angel Hill Cemetery in Havre de Grace, Maryland.7
  1. “Charles J. Pusey,” The Aegis, (Bel Air, MD), July 17, 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/868346845/?match=1&terms=Charles J. Pusey; “Charles J. Pusey in the 1930 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry, accessed April 8, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/7303221?tid=&pid=&queryId=b835c53a-a4b4-4926-8269-2ba97179f8c5&_phsrc=OuO886&_phstart=successSource; “White House Aide For 30 Years Dies,” The Washington Evening Star, July 9, 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/619002707/?article=6ba3a87a-0f0f-4567-bc06-f31613cb8ec9&focus=0.5018222,0.040992703,0.625163,0.3138396&xid=3355&_gl=1*g9buny*_gcl_au*Nzg0OTMyOTY1LjE3NzI4MjE1NzA.*_ga*MTc3OTAzNDc2NS4xNzcyODIxNTcz*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czgzZDFjODYwLTI3YzItNDZkNi04MmFkLTg4MzBmY2ZiNGEwOSRvMTMkZzEkdDE3NzU3NDE0MjIkajYwJGwwJGgw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czgzZDFjODYwLTI3YzItNDZkNi04MmFkLTg4MzBmY2ZiNGEwOSRvMTMkZzEkdDE3NzU3NDE0MjIkajYwJGwwJGgw.
  2. “Charles J Pusey in the 1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry, accessed April 8, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/7927386?tid=&pid=&queryId=7f8b943a-2dda-4765-a7de-a14599a48fa2&_phsrc=OuO888&_phstart=successSource.
  3. “Charles J. Pusey,” The Aegis, (Bel Air, MD), July 17, 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/868346845/?match=1&terms=Charles J. Pusey.
  4. “Charles J. Pusey in the U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959,” Ancestry, accessed April 9, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2525/records/2154820?tid=&pid=&queryId=f09e6a2e-0dad-41f0-977a-58a9428dab08&_phsrc=OuO896&_phstart=successSource; “White House Aide For 30 Years Dies,” The Washington Evening Star, July 9, 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/619002707/?article=6ba3a87a-0f0f-4567-bc06-f31613cb8ec9&focus=0.5018222,0.040992703,0.625163,0.3138396&xid=3355&_gl=1*g9buny*_gcl_au*Nzg0OTMyOTY1LjE3NzI4MjE1NzA.*_ga*MTc3OTAzNDc2NS4xNzcyODIxNTcz*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czgzZDFjODYwLTI3YzItNDZkNi04MmFkLTg4MzBmY2ZiNGEwOSRvMTMkZzEkdDE3NzU3NDE0MjIkajYwJGwwJGgw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czgzZDFjODYwLTI3YzItNDZkNi04MmFkLTg4MzBmY2ZiNGEwOSRvMTMkZzEkdDE3NzU3NDE0MjIkajYwJGwwJGgw.
  5. William H. Taft, William H. Taft Papers: Series 6: Executive Office Correspondence (Presidential Series No. 2), 1909-1913; 500K-502A, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss42234.mss42234-396_0020_1132/?sp=1053&r=0.22,0.264,1.185,0.429,0; “To Change Officials At The White House,” Elmira Star Gazette (Elmira, New York), March 3, 1909, https://www.newspapers.com/image/275759997/?terms=Thomas E. Stone&match=1&view=1up&seq=47&q1=william dubois.
  6. “Charles J. Pusey in the U.S. City Directories, 1822-1994, Ancestry, accessed April 9, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1030493334?tid=&pid=&queryId=4429c222-b3cd-4bec-ac9d-1147d4b1bae0&_phsrc=OuO892&_phstart=successSource.
  7. “Charles J. Pusey,” The Aegis, (Bel Air, MD), July 17, 1931, https://www.newspapers.com/image/868346845/?match=1&terms=Charles J. Pusey.
Birthplace
Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
Angel Hill Cemetery
Related Workers
Irwin H. Hoover
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, Trades, 1891 – 1933
W. L. Parker
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, circa 1902 – 1911
William M. Pannell
Housekeeping and Laundry, Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1909 – circa 1936
Walter L. Dunn
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, circa 1903 – 1913
William M. Johnson
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1904 – circa 1909