White House Historical Association

Paul K. Blackiston

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"Paul K. Blackiston," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/676.
Position
Butler
Years in President's House
circa 1914 – 1923
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Woodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
Biography
Paul Kennedy Blackiston was born in Leonardtown, Maryland on April 13, 1895.1 Little is known about his early life. In December 1925, newspapers reported that Blackiston was arrested after “participating in an attempted $6000 pay roll robbery.” The newspapers also noted that Blackiston was a former White House butler who had served presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge.2 He left the White House about eight months into Calvin Coolidge’s presidency.3 Further details about his White House service remain unknown. In March 1926, Blackiston and his accomplices were sentenced to fifteen years in a penitentiary.4 According to his World War II draft card, by 1942, he was living and working in Boston, Massachusetts.5 Further information about his later life remains unknown.
  1. “Paul Kennedy Blackiston U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,” Ancestry, accessed May 28, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1002/records/8089527?tid=&pid=&queryId=0d861c77-b957-4350-82c9-57630069822a&_phsrc=OuO1322&_phstart=successSource.
  2. “Former White House Butler Held as Bandit,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 20, 1925. “$6000 Payroll Man, Held Up, Fells 3, Killing Assailant,” The Washington Post, December 20, 1925, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1037531233/?match=1&terms=Paul Blackstone.
  3. “Hold-Up Pair Get 15 Years,” The Washington Times Herald, March 20, 1926, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044645279/?match=1&terms="hold up pair".
  4. “Hold-Up Pair Get 15 Years,” The Washington Times Herald, March 20, 1926, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044645279/?match=1&terms="hold up pair".
  5. “U.S., World War II Draft Registration Card, 1942 for Paul Kennedy Blackiston,” Ancestry, accessed June 1, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1002/images/miusa1939b_082500-05922?ssrc=&queryId=b4092c00-1935-40be-8de0-f803adbb9d5d&usePUB=true&pId=8089527.
Birthplace
Leonardtown, Maryland, USA
Unclear from Context