Edward C. Sullivan
Cite this Page
"Edward C. Sullivan," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/713.
- Position
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- 1913 – 1952
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Edward Charles Sullivan was born in Manassas, Virginia, on September 30, 1889. Sullivan was born on a farm, and from a young age studied flowers and plants. (1) He began working at the White House under President Woodrow Wilson in 1913 as a handyman and laborer, recalling: “President Wilson kept sheep on the lawn, you know…They roamed around loose and we were always following behind patching up shrubbery the darned things ate up.” (2) During Herbert Hoover’s presidency, he worked in the White House greenhouses near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall, which provided flowers and greenery for White House events. (3) He was later promoted to foreman gardener, supervising the White House gardens and grounds and the team of florists and gardeners onsite, and working with presidents to meet their needs. After the Truman Renovation of the White House (1948-1952), Sullivan supervised the replanting of the Rose Garden. (4)
When Sullivan retired in 1952, President Harry S. Truman gifted him a photograph framed with historic wood from the mansion. (5) He died on November 13, 1956. Florists from the White House Bouquet Room served as pallbearers at his funeral, and he was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland. (6) - (1) Charles Edward Sullivan 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; Edward Charles Sullivan in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 066, Ancestry.com; “E. C. Sullivan, Gardener Under Six Presidents, Dies,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 15, 1956, pg. 14.
(2) “Retiring White House Gardener Recalls Wilson’s Sheep on Lawn,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), October 29, 1952, pg. 8.
(3) Ibid; Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; White House Employees, 1932, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1932, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Xmas List 1931, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1931, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
(4) “E. C. Sullivan, White House Ex-Gardener,” Washington Post, November 15, 1956, pg. B2.
(5)"Roster of White House Employees, Revised, April 1, 1944," Folder: Investigative Case Files, 1934-1945, Records of the United States Secret Service, 1933-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York; Edward C Sullivan 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: 3465; Page: 74; Enumeration District: 1-971A; “E. C. Sullivan, Gardener Under Six Presidents, Dies,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 15, 1956, pg. 14.
(6) Ibid; “Sullivan, Edward Charles,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 15, 1956, pg. 14. - Birthplace
- Manassas, Virginia, USA