White House Historical Association

Agnes Thompson

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"Agnes Thompson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/773.
Position
Lady's Maid
Years in President's House
1929 – 1933
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Herbert Hoover
Biography
Agnes Thompson was born in Maryland; census data lists her birthdate ca. 1894, but her grave reads 1901– a large discrepancy.1 She began working for Herbert and Lou Hoover as a maid at their home in Washington, D.C. when Hoover served as secretary of commerce. Her husband, Leon, was Mrs. Hoover’s driver. Both Agnes and Leon Thompson went to the White House with the Hoovers in 1929. Agnes gave birth to a child while working on staff, and returned to her position soon after; meanwhile, Leon worked as a steward, and his brother Herman was a houseman on staff.2 As the first lady’s personal maid, Agnes traveled with Mrs. Hoover and helped her get ready. Mrs. Hoover even sent her to New York City to take a hairdressing course to improve her skills.3 The Thompsons left the White House with the Hoovers in 1933; in the 1940 census, she is listed as a stay-at-home mother.5 Agnes Thompson died on February 23, 1979, and is buried with her husband at Arlington National Cemetery.5
  1. See Agnes Thompson in 1930 US Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0286; FHL microfilm: 2340035, Ancestry.com; “Thomson, Leon,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghUaG9tcHNvbhIETGVvbg--/.
  2. “Oral History Interview with Mrs. Leon Thompson,” November 16, 1966, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Christmas 1930, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1930, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
  3. Lillian Rogers Parks, My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House (Fleet Publishing Co., 1961), 225.
  4. “Leon Thompson, Assistant to Hoover, U.S. Worker,” Evening Star, December 3, 1962, pg. 31; Agnes Thompson in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00567; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 1-413, Ancestry.com.
  5. “Thompson, Agnes Irene,” Washington Post, February 25, 1979, C12. “Thomson, Leon,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghUaG9tcHNvbhIETGVvbg--/.
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
Arlington National Cemetery
Related Workers
Leon Thompson
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, Transportation, Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1929 – 1933
Herman E. Thompson
Housekeeping and Laundry, 1930 – circa 1951
Katurah S. Brooks
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, Housekeeping and Laundry, 1931 – 1939