Harry W. Lambright
Cite this Page
"Harry W. Lambright," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/712.
- Position
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- circa 1918 – 1950
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Harry Whisner Lambright was born on May 20, 1900, in Frederick, Maryland. (1) It is unclear when Lambright began working for the White House. Records confirm he was there by 1918, but he may have started earlier. (2) He worked under Head Gardener Charles Henlock, raising flowers and greenery for use at White House events, preparing them for transport, and maintaining the White House greenhouse facilities, which were located near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall. (3) By 1940, he had been promoted to foreman gardener there, though in 1942, the greenhouse complex was demolished to make way for a local highway expansion. He continued his supervisory work elsewhere through at least 1950. (4) Further information about his career is limited. Harry W. Lambright died on April 23, 1959, and was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland. (5)
- (1) Harry Whisner Lambright in the U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For District of Columbia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 133, Ancestry.com; Harry Wisner Lambright in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm, Ancestry.com.
(2) Harry Wisner Lambright in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm, Ancestry.com; Harry Lambright in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_207; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 117, Ancestry.com.
(3) A. G. West, “President and First Lady Remember Their Friends With Flowers on Eastertide,” Washington Post, March 28, 1937, pg. F5; “Garden Veteran,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 9, 1932, pg. 17.
(4) It is unclear where he worked– the government continued to manage some White House gardens on the National Mall, or he may have been transferred to the White House Grounds. Harry Lambright in the 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00568; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 1-448B, Ancestry.com; Harry W Lambright in the 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 2528; Page: 36; Enumeration District: 1-1291, Ancestry.com; “Fewer Posies at White House,” Times Herald, March 15, 1942, pg. 10.
(5) “Lambright, Harry W.,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 26, 1959, pg. 18. - Birthplace
- Frederick, Maryland, USA