White House Historical Association

Alphonso A. Jackson

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"Alphonso A. Jackson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/784.
Position
Kitchen Assistant
Years in President's House
circa 1930 – 1941
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Herbert Hoover
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Biography
Alphonso Augustus Jackson was born in the early 1880s in Washington, D.C.1 He worked as a porter and grocery clerk in D.C., and during World War I, he served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Mess Attendant 3rd Class.2 He was first listed on staff at the White House in 1930 as a kitchenman, and by 1940, he was head kitchenman. In this role, he likely assisted with the daily upkeep of the kitchen, including polishing silver, washing dishes, preparing vegetables and fruits, and cleaning workspaces.3 In his free time, Jackson was a member of the Chandelier Club– a social group of African-American White House domestic employees who gathered outside of work.4 Jackson passed away in 1941 and may have still been employed at the White House at that time. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.5
  1. Different sources list 1881, 1883, and 1884. Alphones Jackson in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00570; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 1-509, Ancestry.com; Alphonso A. Jackson in the Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Marriage Certificates, 1870-1920, District of Columbia Public Library; Washington, DC, USA; Washington, D.C. Marriage Certificates, 1870-1920. 
  2. Alphonso Jackson in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 162; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0094, Ancestry.com; Alphonzo Jackson in the 1910 United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T624_150; Page: 4b; Enumeration District: 0050; FHL microfilm: 1374163, Ancestry.com; Alphonso Augustus Jackson in the U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962, Ancestry.com. U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
  3. Christmas 1930, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1930, 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; Alphones Jackson in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00570; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 1-509, Ancestry.com; For a description of various titles, see Job Descriptions for Hotels and Restaurants Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office Department of Labor, 1938), 95.
  4. “Chandelier Club,” Washington Times, March 25, 1932, pg. 4, Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062236/1932-03-25/ed-1/seq-4/.
  5. “Jackson, Alphonso,” Evening Star, November 2, 1941, pg A-10, Chronicling America, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-11-02/ed-1/seq-10/; “Jackson, Alphonso A,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdKYWNrc29uEghBbHBob25zbw--/.
Birthplace
Washington, D.C., USA
Arlington National Cemetery
Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-chandelier-club