Alexander Henry Benz was born on October 28, 1871, in Virginia.¹ Benz worked as a government florist for the majority of his career, initially at the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (then called the Government Hospital for the Insane) in Washington, D.C.² By 1903, government records listed him as a laborer for the Office of Public Buildings and Parks– but he was included with other staff known to be assigned at the White House such as Head Gardener Charles Henlock. He may have started at the White House earlier, but information is limited.3 He either worked on the White House Grounds, or in the White House greenhouses on the National Mall near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. These greenhouses provided plants and greenery for White House events. Staff lists, census data, and city directories indicate that he worked for the White House through at least 1931, although it is possible that he worked there beyond that time.4 By 1935, advertisements for funeral arrangements made by Benz appeared in local newspapers, so he had likely left White House service by that point. In his free time, he was a mason at Anacostia Lodge No. 21.⁵ Alexander Benz died on May 27, 1948, and was buried at National Memorial Park Cemetery in Idylwood, Virginia.⁶

“Henry Alexander Benz,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35640077/henry-alexander-benz.
Alexander Benz in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0315; FHL microfilm: 2340035, Ancestry.com; Alexander Benz in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_213; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 314, Ancestry.com. Alexander Benz in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 164; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0143, Ancestry.com; “St. Elizabeth’s Hospital,” National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/places/st-elizabeths-hospital.htm.
Official Register of the United States (Government Printing Office, 1903), 511.
Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R. L. Polk and Co., 1931), 243; Alexander Benz in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0315; FHL microfilm: 2340035, Ancestry.com.
Advertisement, Times Herald (Washington, D.C.), November 14, 1935, pg. 28; “Benz, Alexander,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), May 30, 1948, pg. 14.
“Benz, Alexander,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), May 30, 1948, pg. 14; “Henry Alexander Benz,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35640077/henry-alexander-benz.

Birthplace

Virginia, USA

National Memorial Park Cemetery

Related Worker: Charles Henlock
Gardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, 1886 – 1931