White House Historical Association

Mary Heffernan

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"Mary Heffernan," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/735.
Position
Cook
Years in President's House
circa 1926 – 1931
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Biography
Though family accounts suggest Mary Heffernan worked at the White House, official documentation of her tenure has not been found. Mary Heffernan was born around 1894 in Moyvane, Ireland.1 The Heffernan sisters were related to Katherine “Kathy” Buckley through her sister's husband, Hugh Goulding.2 Buckley joined the White House kitchen staff in 1926; Mary and her sister Hannah joined Kathy as assistant cooks.3 With this familial connection, Buckley arranged for both sisters to assist her in the kitchen.4 Mary was likely employed as the third cook, a role that involved preparing baked goods and helping with ingredient preparation and more labor-intensive tasks as kitchen appliances were limited at the time.5 Specifics about Mary’s time at the White House are sparse.6 Beyond her White House service, further information about her life remains unknown.
  1. Vincent Carmody, Kathy White House: Kathy Buckley, Her Culinary Odyssey (Vincent Carmody, 2023) 31; The Herbert Hoover Library has executive staff lists in their collection, and Mary Heffernan is not listed among them. See Christmas 1930, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1930, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; 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; 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.
  2. Vincent Carmody, Kathy White House: Kathy Buckley, Her Culinary Odyssey (Vincent Carmody, 2023) 47.
  3. Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, Servants and Aides, 1929–1933, box 167, folder 5, digitized April 8, 2015; Vincent Carmody, Kathy White House: Kathy Buckley, Her Culinary Odyssey (Vincent Carmody, 2023) 31.
  4. Vincent Carmody, “Kathy White House,” IrishCentral, February 27, 2024, https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/kathy-white-house; Vincent Carmody, Kathy White House: Kathy Buckley, Her Culinary Odyssey (Vincent Carmody, 2023) 31.
  5. Vincent Carmody, Kathy White House: Kathy Buckley, Her Culinary Odyssey (Vincent Carmody, 2023) 33.
  6. She may have remained on staff as long as Katherine Buckley, who served until 1933; however, we can only confirm the documented years.
Birthplace
Moyvane, Ireland
Unclear from Context
Related Workers
Hannah Heffernan
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1926 – circa 1930
Katherine Buckley
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1926 – 1933