Hester Johnson
Cite this Page
"Hester Johnson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/743.
- Position
- Laundress
- Years in President's House
- 1926 – circa 1930
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Hester Johnson was born in Maryland ca. 1882. (1) She began working as a laundress at the White House in 1926 and continued to be documented on staff there through 1930, though it is possible her work extended beyond that date. (2) In this role, she likely assisted with the cleaning of linens such as bedsheets, napkins, towels, and other household goods in the White House. Johnson died on September 20, 1944 and was interred at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Maryland. (3)
- (1) Hester Johnson in 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0036; FHL microfilm: 2340028, Ancestry.com.
(2) ibid; 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) “Johnson, Hester,” Evening Star, September 21, 1944, pg. 12. - Birthplace
- Maryland, USA