White House Historical Association

Melvon O. Carter

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"Melvon O. Carter," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/793.
Positions
Carpenter
Storekeeper
Years in President's House
1929 – 1972
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Herbert Hoover
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Biography
Melvon Owen Carter was born in Covington, Virginia on February 1, 1908.1 In 1929, he began working at the White House. Over the next several decades, he served in various roles including carpenter, general foreman, and storekeeper.2 As head storekeeper, he did all of the shopping for the first family in Washington, D.C.3 He also helped his nephews, Bonner and Howard Arrington, secure employment at the White House.4 Sources indicate that he left the White House in 1972 and died three years later. Melvon Carter is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Covington, Virginia.5
  1. Melvon Carter in 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: 38, Ancestry.com.
  2. Karen Peterson, “When ghosts walk, watch the White House,” The Oregonian, October 29, 1971, pg. 69; “President Harry S. Truman's White House Staff,” Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/white-house-staff; Melvon Carter in 1950 US Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 2527; Page: 44; Enumeration District: 1-1283, Ancestry.com.
  3. Patti Simmons, “New First Lady Takes Over Regiment of Household Help,” Jacksonville Journal Courier (Illinois), December 21, 1952, pg. 5.
  4. Frederick N. Rasmussen, Howard Bernard ‘Reds’ Arrington, 79; plumber kept White House flush,” Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2007, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-31-me-arrington31-story.html; “Serving First Family was a 365-Day Job,” News Journal (Mansfield, OH), August 18, 1992, pg. 11.
  5. “Melvon Owen Carter,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79850718/melvon_owen-carter.
Birthplace
Covington, Virginia, USA
Cedar Hill Cemetery
Related Workers
Bonner C. Arrington
Trades, 1950 – 1983
Howard B. Arrington
Trades, 1946 – 1979
Talmage L. Baty
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1945 – 1986