David J. Walsh
Cite this Page
"David J. Walsh," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/856.
- Position
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- 1929 – 1959
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- David James Walsh was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on April 18, 1902. He was the son of Irish immigrants, and his father was a gardener. (1) Walsh followed in his footsteps, joining the Office of Public Buildings and Parks as a gardener in 1929. (2) Walsh appears to have been assigned to the White House greenhouses near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall, which provided greenery and floral for White House events. He is connected to those facilities through 1942, when his draft card listed the address of the greenhouses as his place of work; later that year, the greenhouses were demolished to make way for a local highway expansion. (3) Walsh continued to work for the National Park Service as a horticulturist for the duration of his career. He was engaged in White House work, which included erecting the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse for holiday celebrations and caring for trees and bushes on the White House Grounds. (4) He died on November 15, 1971. (5)
- (1) David James Walsh 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: 238, 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.
(3) David James Walsh 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: 238, Ancestry.com.
(4) David J Walsh 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: 3464; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 1-948, Ancestry.com; Connie Feeley, “Parks Arborist Retires,” Washington Post, December 14, 1959, pg. A14; “David J. Walsh, Arborist for District 30 Years,” Washington Post, November 21, 1971, pg. D10.
(5) Burial information was not included in his obituary. “David J. Walsh, Arborist for District 30 Years,” Washington Post, November 21, 1971, pg. D10; David J. Walsh in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014. - Birthplace
- Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA