Julius Wheeler

Julius Wheeler was born sometime in the 1870s in Washington, D.C.¹ Little is known about his youth, though a newspaper article from his time in the White House claimed that Wheeler “ha[d] been about a stable ever since he was a child.”² By 1900, he was still living in D.C. and working as a coachman for a private family.³ In 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became president, Wheeler began working at the White House as a coachman. In this role, Wheeler drove the president and first family around D.C. in the presidential carriages. On Sundays, he often drove the president into the countryside for Roosevelt’s weekly hikes. Wheeler also accompanied the first family to Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s property in New York, when they summered there and continued to serve as their coachman.⁴ The president and first family evidently trusted Wheeler. A newspaper article claimed “Frequently, Wheeler told his friends, the robust President scoffed at Secret Service protection, claiming that ‘Julius is enough for me.’”⁵ 

While coachman, Wheeler wore livery, or a uniform, consisting of “a long dark blue coat, with silver buttons, tight fitting white breaches [sp.] and boots, together with a high black hat, upon which appears the White House cockade” or small ribbon, “of red, white and blue silk.”⁶ Wheeler appears to have been quite skilled at his job. A newspaper article claimed that Wheeler was “the best colored coachman the capital ever saw in action. Tradition says he could make a pair of r’aring mustangs behave simply by telling them in their own way they were to have the honor of having a President ride behind them.”⁷ Despite his skill, Wheeler suffered an injury on the job in February 1905. While driving a carriage near the White House, an automobile drove close and frightened the horses, who “ran on the sidewalk, striking an iron fence. The carriage was upset and the driver . . . thrown to the ground, receiving a severe bruise on the right hip. The horse that struck the fence was thrown and a gash cut in its breast.” Fortunately, the carriage had no passengers at the time, and both Wheeler and the injured horse made full recoveries and returned to work.⁸ 

When Roosevelt’s presidency ended in March 1909, Wheeler resigned his position at the White House, likely because Roosevelt’s successor, William Howard Taft, preferred automobiles to coaches and phased out use of the presidential carriage. Wheeler began working as the personal messenger for Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeigh. He continued in this role for subsequent treasury secretaries until he retired in 1933. Wheeler remained in touch with the Roosevelt family; the ex-president’s sons would often visit him at the Treasury Department when they were in D.C.⁹ In 1918, Wheeler may have briefly worked again at the White House. That year, amidst World War I, the government instituted a ban on driving automobiles on Sundays to preserve gasoline for the war effort. To set a good example, President Woodrow Wilson refused to drive to church and instead expressed interest in using a horse-drawn carriage. Amidst difficulty finding a coachman, Wheeler’s name was thrown out, and he offered his services, though it is unclear if he ended up driving President Wilson.¹⁰ 

After retiring in 1933, Wheeler was elected mayor of North Brentwood, Maryland. He passed away on November 3, 1935.¹¹ He was buried at Columbian Harmony Cemetery. Burials there were later disinterred during Metro construction, and moved to National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Hyattsville, Maryland.¹²