Judwin B. Minor
Cite this Page
"Judwin B. Minor," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/818.
- Positions
- Messenger
- Garage Staff
- Chauffeur
- Years in President's House
- 1929 – circa 1951
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Judwin Butler Minor was born in Washington, D.C. on December 15, 1897. He served in France during World War I as an Army cook. (1) After the war, Minor worked for the War Department but was later assigned to the White House Garage on August 15, 1929. (2) He had many titles, including truck and wagon driver, chauffeur, baggageman, laborer, and garageman. All of these suggest that he took on manual labor tasks in the garage, such as cleaning, transporting luggage and packages, as well as driving vehicles. (3) Minor continued to work in the garage through the Hoover and Roosevelt presidencies, but by 1944, he had moved to the messenger office at the White House. (4) In 1951, he was mentioned in a newspaper article as a messenger there; this is the last known reference to his work at the White House. Further information about Minor’s life and career is limited. (5)
- (1) Judwin Butler Minor in the 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: 160, Ancestry.com; Judwin B. Minor in the U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939, The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 147, Ancestry.com.
(2) U.S. Grant to Lawrence Richey, Letter, November 6, 1929, Presidential Papers, Subject File, The White House-Garage Correspondence, 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Charles G. Mortimer to Lawrence Richey, Letter, April 4, 1930, Presidential Papers, Subject File, The White House-Garage Correspondence, 1930-1933 and Undated, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
(3) Employees of the White House Garage, January 8, 1931, Presidential Papers, Subject File, The White House-Garage Correspondence, 1930-1933 and Undated, 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.
(4) "Negro Employees at the White House Executive Office, and White House Garage as of March 31, 1933," White House Office Personnel, 1933-1935; Records of the White House Office of Budget and Accounting, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
(5) “3 Pedestrians Injured,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), June 25, 1951, pg. 22; see also Judwin B Minor in the 1950 United States 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: 4813; Page: 14; Enumeration District: 1-1196, Ancestry.com. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA