Lorena Acwith
Cite this Page
"Lorena Acwith," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/693.
- Position
- Laundress
- Years in President's House
- 1926 – circa 1931
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Lorena Seldon Acwith was born in Washington, D.C. on November 11, 1895. (1) In 1926, Acwith began working at the White House as a laundress. Her mother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Seldon, had worked as a laundress at the White House since 1919, and may have played a role in securing the position for Lorena. On the job, she likely assisted with the cleaning of linens such as bedsheets, napkins, towels, and other household goods in the White House. (2)
The following year, her husband, Norman, died. City directories indicate that Acwith worked at the White House through 1931– she may have been there beyond that year, but documentation is scarce. (3) Acwith died on May 8, 1966, and is buried with her husband at Arlington National Cemetery. (4) - (1) Lorena Acwith in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0036; FHL microfilm: 2340028, Ancestry.com; “Acwith, Lorena,” Arlington National Cemetery Armies Cemetery Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZhY3dpdGgSBmxvcmVuYQ--/.
(2) Ellen A. Riley to Lou Henry Hoover, January 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, Servants and Aides General 1929-1933, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
(3) In 1930, she was listed in city directories as a laundress at the White House; in 1931, she was listed as a laundress for Public Buildings and Parks, which could indicate that she was still on duty there, or at another government building in the city. Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia, Vol. LXXII (Washington, D.C.: R. L. Polk and Co., 1930), pg. 145; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia, Vol. LXXIII (Washington, D.C.: R. L. Polk and Co., 1931), pg. 149; “Deaths,” Evening Star, March 17, 1927, pg. 9, Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1927-03-17/ed-1/seq-9/.
(4) “Acwith, Lorena,” Arlington National Cemetery Armies Cemetery Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZhY3dpdGgSBmxvcmVuYQ--/. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA