Arthur Norris

All currently known information about Arthur Norris comes from a single source. In November 1902, the Brooklyn Eagle published an article describing the White House Stables under President Theodore Roosevelt. The article mentioned that Norris was the “first groom” and in charge of caring for the horses. It was a demanding job. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, “President Roosevelt maintains the largest stable of any of his predecessors of recent years.”¹ There were fifteen horses under Norris’s care, eight owned by the president and seven provided by the government.² The article did not reveal much information about Norris, other than to say he was “an Englishman” and answered to the stable foreman Edward J. Conover.³ 

It is unclear how long Norris worked at the White House, but he was not included on a list of White House Garage and Stables employees compiled in December 1910 under President William Howard Taft, and thus likely ceased working there before then.⁴ President Taft preferred cars to horses, and began to convert the White House Stables into the first White House Garage, which necessitated fewer grooms and horse-handlers.⁵ At this time, little else is known about Arthur Norris.⁶