Alonzo Williams
Cite this Page
"Alonzo Williams," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/660.
- Positions
- Floorman
- Houseman
- Messenger
- Years in President's House
- circa 1910 – 1931
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Alonzo Williams was born in Virginia around 1872.1 He joined the White House staff around 1910 during William Howard Taft’s presidency and remained on staff for over two decades.2 He took on a variety of roles throughout his tenure, including houseman and floorman (both janitorial positions) as well as laborer and messenger. In 1931, First Lady Lou Hoover listed Williams as “retired” on her annual Christmas list, indicating his departure from the White House.3 He died on February 13, 1933.4
- Alonzo L Williams in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0202; FHL microfilm: 2340032, Ancestry.com; Alozo L Williams in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_210; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 183, Ancestry.com.
- He may have joined the staff earlier; the first confirmed reference to his work there is in the 1910 Census. See 1910 United States Federal Census for Alonzo L Williams, Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 8, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T624_153; Page: 1b; Enumeration District: 0150; FHL microfilm: 1374166, Ancestry.com.
- Xmas List 1931, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1931, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
- For more about Williams’ passing, see “Retired Govt. Man Killed in Plunge,” The Afro-American, February 18, 1933, pg. 10; “Williams, Alonzo L.,” Evening Star, February 14, 1933, pg. 9. Burial information was not included in his obituary.
- Birthplace
- Virginia, USA
- Unclear from Context