Burch L. Talbert
Cite this Page
"Burch L. Talbert," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/606.
- Positions
- Florist
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- circa 1931 – 1942
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Burch Latimer Talbert was born in Cheltenham, Maryland on January 23, 1890.1 Talbert worked as a florist and gardener in the D.C. area, and around 1931, he was assigned to the White House from the Office of Public Buildings and Parks. His brother George D. Talbert had worked as a florist and gardener at the White House since 1908 and may have helped him to secure this position.2 In 1942, Talbert’s draft card listed his employment location as the White House greenhouses, suggesting that he worked there through at least that date. Located on the National Mall near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, these facilities provided florals and greenery for White House events. These greenhouses were demolished later that year to make way for a local highway expansion, but Talbert continued to work for the National Park Service in the years that followed. As a result, his exact tenure at the White House is unclear.3 Burch L. Talbert died on October 21, 1963, and was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.4
- Burch Latimer Talbert in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 067, Ancestry.com; “For Retiring White House Arranger, Life is a Bowl of Flowers,” Washington Post, February 2, 1961, pg. C19.
- White House Employees, 1932, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1932, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Xmas List 1931, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1931, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Burch Latimer Talbert in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 067, Ancestry.com.
- Burch L Talvert in the 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 3465; Page: 25; Enumeration District: 1-964A, Ancestry.com; “Fewer Posies at White House,” Times Herald, March 15, 1942, pg. 10.
- “Burch Latimer Talbert,” Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/4689620/person/102025652993/story?_phsrc=hhV746&_phstart=successSource.
- Birthplace
- Cheltenham, Maryland, USA
- Cedar Hill Cemetery