James A. Mingo
Cite this Page
"James A. Mingo," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/907.
- Position
- Butler
- Years in President's House
- 1933 – circa 1940
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Biography
- James Alexander Mingo was born on December 10, 1903, in Portsmouth, Virginia. (1) Mingo worked as a waiter on a Virginia steamboat prior to being hired by Anna Roosevelt Dall, eldest daughter of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and her husband, Curtis Dall. (2) Mingo went on to work for the Roosevelt family as a chauffeur and waiter at their home on E. 65th Street in Manhattan, and later at the Governor’s Mansion in Albany while Franklin D. Roosevelt served as governor of New York. (3)
When Roosevelt became president in 1933, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt brought Mingo to the White House to serve as her chauffeur; upon finding out that position had been filled, she secured a position for him as a butler on staff. (4) While there, James Mingo worked with Mrs. Dall to secure better working conditions for the White House staff, successfully campaigning for the workers to get a full day off every other Sunday. (5) He often traveled with the Roosevelts to their home in Hyde Park, New York. When the president and first lady hosted King George VI and Queen Elizabeth there in 1939, Mingo worked the event and got an autograph from the queen. (6) The Roosevelts’ grandchildren, Ellie (Sistie) and Curtis (Buzzie), became close with Mingo, whom they called “Gogo.” (7)
In 1940, as President Roosevelt prepared to run for a historic third term, Mingo departed from the White House and began working for the postal operations wing of the Adjutant General’s office in the War Department. (8) He later worked as a postal clerk for the U.S. Post Office. (9) Outside of his civil service career, Mingo was active in several charitable and fraternal organizations in Washington, D.C. including the freemasons. James Mingo died on September 3, 1993, and was buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland. (10) - (1) James Alexander Mingo 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: 160, Ancestry.com.
(2) James Mingo Oral History, Transcript, May 8, 1992, National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY.
(3) Ibid. Kevin M. Burke, Robert Heinrich, and Steven J. Niven, “The Roosevelts and African American Civil Rights Leaders,” National Park Service, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-I29-PURL-gpo234715/pdf/GOVPUB-I29-PURL-gpo234715.pdf.
(4) James Mingo Oral History, Transcript, May 8, 1992, National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY.
(5) Alonzo Fields, My 21 Years in the White House (New York: Coward McCann Inc., 1960), pg. 107.
(6) James Mingo Oral History, Transcript, May 8, 1992, National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY; “The British Royal Visit,” Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.fdrlibrary.org/royal-visit.
(7) Ibid; Curtis Roosevelt, Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of My Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor, Ebook, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Too_Close_to_the_Sun/5Lk_yUbzKtIC?hl=en&gbpv=0.
(8) James A Mingo in the 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00569; Page: 62A; Enumeration District: 1-460, Ancestry.com; James Mingo Oral History, Transcript, May 8, 1992, National Park Service, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY.
(9) James A Mingo 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: 3465; Page: 72; Enumeration District: 1-976B, Ancestry.com.
(10) “Death Notices,” The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.), September 9, 1993, pg. C4. - Birthplace
- Portsmouth, Virginia, USA