Irvin H. McDuffie
Cite this Page
"Irvin H. McDuffie," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/900.
- Position
- Valet
- Years in President's House
- 1933 – 1939
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Biography
- Irvin Henry McDuffie, better known as “Mac,” was born on March 14, 1882, in Elberton, Georgia. (1) As a young man, he shined shoes in a barber shop, and later took up work as a valet to German Consul Erich Zoepffel-Quellenstein in Atlanta, Georgia prior to World War I. (1) Afterward, he was co-partner of a barber shop in Atlanta, where a patron recommended him to Franklin D. Roosevelt. A workplace accident scalded McDuffie’s leg, and he was seeking a different role outside of barber work. (2)
McDuffie began working as Roosevelt’s valet in Warm Springs, Georgia in 1927, and later at the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, New York; he then accompanied Roosevelt to the White House in 1933. Mac’s wife, Elizabeth or “Lizzie” McDuffie, also worked at the White House as a maid. They both lived upstairs in the Residence during their time on the staff, as Mac’s role as valet was an around-the-clock job. As Lizzie recalled in her unpublished memoir, The Back Door of the White House: “He traveled with [Roosevelt] to Europe, to South America, to Hawaii. He was with him on campaign trains and on vacation yachts. He nursed him through two cases of pneumonia. He cut his hair, helped him dress, rolled his wheel chair, ran his errands, put him to bed, and woke him up in the morning, whether at the White House, Hyde Park, or Albany.” (3)
The McDuffies also served as advocates on behalf of the Black community, arranging meetings between Black activists and the first family and conveying their concerns to the president. In particular, Lizzie campaigned for Roosevelt and promoted his work for civil rights. (4) In November 1939, Irvin McDuffie retired due to ill health and struggles with alcoholism, eventually transferring to a less demanding messenger position at the Treasury Department. He told the media he “had no regrets about leaving the White House because the task of keeping up with the President was too strenuous for him.” (5) Meanwhile Lizzie McDuffie remained on the White House staff. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column “it seems particularly strange to be here without him.” (6) Outside of work, McDuffie sang in the choir and served as a deacon at Liberty Baptist Church in Georgia and was an active Mason. (7) Irvin McDuffie died on January 30, 1956, and was buried at South-View Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. (8)
Thank you to the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site for providing research assistance with this biography. - (1) “‘Atlanta Negro to Serve as Valet for New President at White House’, December 28, 1932”. Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0182; “Irvin McDuffie,” Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/people/irvin-mcduffie.htm.
(2) “‘Roosevelt ’Wore Him Out,’ ex Valet Admits’, July 8, 1944”. Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0178.; “‘Roosevelt Hero to his Negro Valet’, December 30, 1932”. Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0183.
(3) Lizzie McDuffie, “Manuscript, The Back Door of the White House, circa 1960”. The Back Door of the White House, Unpublished Manuscript. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0260.
(4) Sarah Fling and Cameron Katz, “Lizzie McDuffie, White House Maid, Lobbied FDR on Civil Rights,” Teen Vogue, March 30, 2023, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lizzie-mcduffie-fdr-civil-rights.
(5) “‘Roosevelt ’Wore Him Out,’ ex Valet Admits’, July 8, 1944”. Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library.
(6) Eleanor Roosevelt, "My Day, November 25, 1939," The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital Edition (2017), accessed 3/3/2026, https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1939&_f=md055433; “‘McDuffie Out as F.D.R. Valet’, December 16, 1939”. Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0181; “‘Roosevelt ’Wore Him Out,’ ex Valet Admits’, July 8, 1944”. Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0178; “Irvin McDuffie,” Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/people/irvin-mcduffie.htm.
(7) McDuffie, Lizzie. “Manuscript, The Back Door of the White House, circa 1960”. The Back Door of the White House, Unpublished Manuscript. Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/auc.090:0260.
(8) “Irvin Henry ‘Mac’ McDuffie,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211607846/irvin_henry-mcduffie. - Birthplace
- Elberton, Georgia, USA
- Related Workers
- Elizabeth McDuffieHousekeeping and Laundry, 1933 – 1945
- George C. FieldsValets, Lady's Maids, and First Family Attendants, Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, circa 1933 – 1942