Carroll F. Merson
Cite this Page
"Carroll F. Merson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/828.
- Positions
- Gardener
- Florist
- Years in President's House
- circa 1929 – 1951
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Carroll Franklin Merson was born in Burtonsville, Maryland, on April 16, 1909. (1) He worked as a gardener in the White House greenhouses, located near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall. The propagating gardens there supplied florals and greenery for events at the White House. As an employee of the Office of Public Buildings and Parks on assignment, it is difficult to discern exactly when he was detailed there; he first appears on White House staff lists in 1929. His father Charles F. Merson worked with him and may have helped him to secure the position. (2) Later, Merson was transferred to the bouquet room at the White House, where he was one of eleven team members responsible for arranging elaborate floral designs for White House events such as State Dinners.(3)
Carroll F. Merson continued to work there through at least 1951, when he appeared on a list of staff given salary increases by Harry S. Truman. (4) Merson died two years later, on December 17, 1952; it is possible that he was still on staff at the time of his passing, but documentation is scarce. He was buried in Burtonsville, Maryland at Union Cemetery. (5) - (1) Carroll Franklin Merson 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: 157; “Carroll Franklin Merson,” Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90770862/carroll-f.-merson.
(2) Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
(3) Blanche S. McKnight, “Flowers at the White House,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 7, 1948, pg. 117; "Roster of White House Employees, Revised, April 1, 1944," Folder: Investigative Case Files, 1934-1945, Records of the United States Secret Service, 1933-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
(4) “Memorandum to President Harry S. Truman re Salary Increases for White House Employees,” November 1, 1951, White House Files: President's Secretary's Files, Harry S. Truman Library, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/354584155; Carol A Merson in the 1950 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: 4811; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 1-1108, Ancestry.com.
(5) “Merson, Carroll F.,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 18, 1952, pg. 34. - Birthplace
- Burtonsville, Maryland, USA