White House Historical Association

Harrison F. Wilkerson

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"Harrison F. Wilkerson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/728.
Position
Houseman
Years in President's House
1926 – circa 1933
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Biography
Harrison Frank Wilkerson, better known as Frank, was born in Virginia in 1902.1 In 1926, he joined the White House staff as a houseman, a role that included cleaning, moving furniture, and assisting with other general household maintenance on the Second Floor of the Private Quarters.2 He worked alongside his brother, Luther, and nephew, William Wilkerson, likely helping them to obtain their positions on the White House staff.3 According to White House Maid Lillian Rogers Parks, President Calvin Coolidge nicknamed him “‘Frank the Frog’ because of his posture.”4 Outside of work, he and his brother played competitive horseshoes and they were both members of the Chandelier Club–a social group of African-American White House domestic employees who gathered outside of work.5 He left the White House with the Hoovers in 1933, although he continued to work for the federal government as an elevator operator.6  Wilkerson died on September 13, 1958, and was buried at Carver Memorial Cemetery.7
  1. Harrison Frank Wilkerson 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: 246, Ancestry.com.
  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. Recollections from White House Maid Lillian Rogers Parks indicate that Frank and Luther worked on the Second Floor while William worked on the Third Floor. Lillian Rogers Parks, My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House (New York: Fleet Publishing Co., 1961), 206-207; 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. Lillian Rogers Parks, It was Fun Working at the White House (New York: Fleet Press, 1969), 74.
  5. “Chandelier Club,” Washington Times, February 26, 1932, pg. 5, Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062236/1932-02-26/ed-1/seq-5/; “Tilghman of Brentwood First Colored Pitcher to Win Title,” Evening Star, August 11, 1929, pg. 2., Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1929-08-11/ed-1/seq-64/.
  6. See US Grant III to Eleanor Roosevelt, Letter, February 14, 1933, Folder: White House Functions: Records and Correspondence, Office of Social Entertainments, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
  7. “Wilkerson, Harrison Frank,” Evening Star, September 16, 1958, pg. A-14, Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-09-16/ed-1/seq-14/.
Birthplace
Virginia, USA
Carver Memorial Cemetery
Related Workers
Luther J. Wilkerson
Housekeeping and Laundry, circa 1929 – 1933
William M. F. Wilkerson
Lillian Rogers Parks
Housekeeping and Laundry, 1929 – 1960
William M. Wilkerson
Housekeeping and Laundry, circa 1930 – 1933
Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-chandelier-club