William Shepherd
Cite this Page
"William Shepherd," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/880.
- Position
- Grounds Laborer
- Years in President's House
- circa 1929
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Herbert Hoover
- Biography
- William Shepherd was born on August 16, 1894, in Washington, D.C. (1) Shepherd worked for the Office of Public Buildings and Parks, and as early as 1929, he was assigned to the White House under the supervision of Head Gardener Charles Henlock. (2) Shepherd may have worked on the gardens and grounds there or at the White House greenhouses near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall. It is unclear how long he was assigned there, but he continued to work for the Department of the Interior as a gardener in the years that followed. (3) Further information about his life is limited.
- (1) William Shepherd in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 062, Ancestry.com; William Shepherd in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0064; FHL microfilm: 2340028, 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; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R. L. Polk and Co., 1931), pg. 1452.
(3) William Shepherd Sr 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: 504; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 1-766, Ancestry.com. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA