James L. Wade
Cite this Page
"James L. Wade," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/934.
- Position
- Doorkeeper
- Years in President's House
- circa 1940 – 1964
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- James Lauary Wade was born on June 5, 1887, in Washington, D.C. (1) As a young man, he worked as houseman or cleaner for Ohio Representative Nicholas Longworth, husband of former First Daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth. (2) By 1940, he worked as a doorman at the White House, welcoming guests and managing the flow of visitors. (3) Wade would go on to have a long career that spanned two decades. During the Truman Renovation of the White House (1948-1952) he served at Blair House, where the president and first lady were staying, and witnessed the assassination attempt on President Harry Truman that occurred there on November 1, 1950. (4) Although the exact years of his tenure are unclear, Wade was still on staff during Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, as former maid Lillian Rogers Parks recalled seeing him work at an event at the White House following the 1964 election. (5) Further information about his life and career is limited.
- (1) James Lauary Wade 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: 071, Ancestry.com.
(2) James Lauary Wade in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm, Ancestry.com.
(3) “Colored Regular Employees of the White House Christmas, 1940," Folder: Christmas Subject File, Grace Tully Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
(4) “Trial Reveals Wounded Guard Killed Blair House Assassin,” Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia), March 4, 1951, pg. 16.
(5) Lillian Rogers Parks, It Was Fun Working at the White House (Fleet Press Co., 1969), 201; James L Wade 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: 3463; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 1-907, Ancestry.com; Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers. Textual Materials. Letitia Baldrige Files. Christmas: 1961 (2 of 2 folders). JBKOPP-SF037-009. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. - Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA