White House Historical Association

Michael Maxey

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"Michael Maxey," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/840.
Position
Grounds Laborer
Years in President's House
circa 1929 – 1932
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Herbert Hoover
Biography
Michael Maxey was born around 1865 in Washington, D.C. (1) He was employed as a gardener by the Bureau of Public Buildings and Parks on assignment at the White House. It is unclear when he began working there, but from 1929 to 1932 he was included on First Lady Lou Hoover’s annual Christmas lists as a laborer and yardman, indicating his help on the White House Grounds. On the 1932 list, he is listed as “retired” for the first time. (2) Michael Maxey died on September 24, 1947, and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (3)
(1) Michael Maxey in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0139; FHL microfilm: 2340031, Ancestry.com.
(2) Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, 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; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R.L. Polk and Co., 1929), 1051.
(3) “Maxey, Michael,” Washington Daily News, September 26, 1947, pg. 78.
Birthplace
Washington, D.C., USA