Edward Percy White, often known as “Doc” White, was born on November 10, 1887, in Washington, D.C. to Swedish parents. His father, Johan (John) White, operated a livery stable in Washington, D.C.¹ In 1913, he was transferred from a chauffeur role in the Army Quartermaster's Department to President William Howard Taft’s White House Garage.² His duties included driving presidents and caring for the fleet of White House automobiles. According to his obituary, “During a critical illness of President Wilson he was assigned sleeping quarters near the President’s bedroom on orders of the White House physician so that the latter could be alerted quickly in any emergency.”³ In 1919, he chauffeured King Albert of Belgium during a visit to D.C., and received a medal of the Order of Leopold II from the king.⁴ His brother, John E. White, was also a chauffeur at the White House. In 1929, Hoover garage memos and Christmas lists included White as a passenger car driver at the White House for Press Secretary George A. Akerson. By 1930, the census listed him as the operator of a gas station.⁵ Edward P. White died on February 20, 1969, and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.⁶

Edward White in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Registration State: District of Columbia; Registration County: Washington, Ancestry.com; Undated Family Tree, John Ernest White Family Memorabilia, Folder 3, The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
White’s obituary incorrectly states that he was the first chauffeur at the White House in 1909. “Is Minus a Garage,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 3, 1913, pg. 14, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045462/1913-03-04/ed-1/; “Edward P. White, First Chauffeur and Auto Mechanic for Presidents,” Washington Post, March 1, 1969, pg. B3.
“Edward P. White, First Chauffeur and Auto Mechanic for Presidents,” Washington Post, March 1, 1969, pg. B3.
“Edward White,” Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/2016827362.
Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Memo, Paul G. Rutten, April 2, 1929, Presidential Papers, Subject File, The White House-Garage Correspondence, 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Edward White in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, Blank, District of Columbia; Page: 50A; Enumeration District: 0385; FHL microfilm: 2340039, Ancestry.com.
“Edward Percy White,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/174259651/edward-percy-white.

Birthplace

Washington, D.C., USA

Glenwood Cemetery

Related Worker: John E. White
Transportation, circa 1917 – 1945