Leonard Graner
Cite this Page
"Leonard Graner," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/842.
- Position
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- circa 1929
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Herbert Hoover
- Biography
- Leonard Graner was born in April 1872 in Washington, D.C. to German parents. (1) Throughout his career he worked as a florist and gardener for the Office of Public Buildings and Parks. (2) In 1929, Graner was included on Lou Hoover’s annual White House staff Christmas list as an employee assigned to the White House under the supervision of Head Gardener Charles Henlock. (3) He may have worked on the White House Grounds, but it seems likely that he was assigned to the White House greenhouses near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall given that earlier census data listed his place of work as “hot house.” Graner’s tenure working for the White House likely extended before or after 1929, but information is limited. He died on April 27, 1931, and was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (4)
- (1) Leonard Graner in the Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Death Certificates, 1874-1931, District of Columbia Public Library; Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C. Deaths, 1874-1945, Ancestry.com; “Leonard Graner,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/262620498/leonard-graner.
(2) Leonard Graner in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 158; Page: 44; Enumeration District: 0010, Ancestry.com; Leonard Graner in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_207; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 114, Ancestry.com.
(3) Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
(4) Leonard Graner in the Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Death Certificates, 1874-1931, District of Columbia Public Library; Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C. Deaths, 1874-1945, Ancestry.com; “Leonard Graner,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/262620498/leonard-graner. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA