Alonzo Cross
Cite this Page
"Alonzo Cross," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/847.
- Position
- Grounds Laborer
- Years in President's House
- circa 1929 – 1930
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Herbert Hoover
- Biography
- Alonzo Cross was born in Washington, D.C. on September 16, 1862. (1) Cross worked as a railroad laborer and government engineer prior to joining the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks staff in the 1920s. (2) First Lady Lou Hoover listed Cross on her 1929 staff Christmas list as an employee “under the supervision of Mr. Charles Henlock, Chief of the Horticulture Division.” (3) Cross may have worked for the White House prior to 1929, but documentation is scarce. He likely remained on staff until his passing just a few months later on February 27, 1930. His death certificate listed him as a laborer in D.C.’s propagating gardens, which often provided plants for White House events. Alonzo Cross was buried at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (4)
- (1) Alonzo Cross 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.
(2) Lonzo Cross in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 164; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 0132, Ancestry.com; Alonzo Cross in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_207; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 106, Ancestry.com; Boyd’s District of Columbia City Directory (R. L. Polk and Co., 1925), 494.
(3) Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
(4) Alonzo Cross 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; “Cross, Alonzo,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 2, 1930, pg. 7. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA