Sorting out the White House Staff

[kerry]

(06-09-2018 04:00 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(06-08-2018 05:42 PM)kerry Wrote:  ETA: Thought that just occurred to me. In place of McManus and Burns, Pendel and Dunn/Donn were hired from the police force as ushers/doorkeepers. Pendel claims he was clearly intended as a bodyguard - I forget if Dunn was as well. But Lincoln wanted no fuss and plain clothes, so they seem to have initially posed as ushers. Perhaps this was an intentional deception? And the other doorkeepers were somehow taken care of elsewhere? I don't see Crook mentioned much.

Kerry, I checked to see what names I had regarding the White House policemen, and here's what I found:

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In the fall of 1864 it was decided that a detail of the Washington Metropolitan Police force would be assigned to protect the President. This was at the request of Ward Hill Lamon, United States Marshall for the District of Columbia and a close friend of Lincoln's. Lamon had become increasingly fearful for the President's life. On November 3, 1864, the initial detail was composed of John R. Cronin, Alphonso Dunn (or Donn), Thomas F. Pendel, and Alexander (or Andrew) C. Smith. Changes were occasionally made, although the detail was never more than 5 officers at any one time. Other officers who served in the detail included William S. Lewis, William H. Crook, George W. McElfresh, Thomas T. Hurdle, Joseph Shelton, John F. Parker, and D. Hopkins. Parker was assigned to the detail sometime between late February and early April, 1865.

SOURCE: "The Mystery of Lincoln's Guard" by James O. Hall in the May, 1982, issue of the Surratt Society News, and "Lincoln's Missing Guard" by Frederick Hatch in the April 2006 edition of the Journal of the Lincoln Assassination.

Thanks! So far, I've only found evidence that Pendel and Dunn were announced in the newspapers, both times specifying they were replacing doorkeepers. Crook was definitely on the payroll for a long time after Lincoln's death, in various high level positions.

One source lists ushers and Sewards:

Richard Goodchild
Usher to James Buchanan, 1859–61
Usher to Abraham Lincoln, 1861

This is the steward Mary fired, but I'm not sure he was a steward.

Jane Watt
“Stewardess” to Abraham Lincoln, 1861–62


Pierre Vermereu
Steward to Abraham Lincoln, 1862 (?)

He was in a ton of administrations and held a ton of positions. I don't recall him being mentioned as a steward.

Mary Ann Cuthbert
Stewardess to Abraham Lincoln, 1862–63

If she still wasn't paid in 1866, that was a long time to go without complaining. She is listed as a housekeeper in directories after 1865, and then became a treasury clerk. She was generally referred to as a housekeeper when she worked for the Lincolns.


Thomas Stackpole
Steward to Abraham Lincoln, 1863–65
Steward to Andrew Johnson, April–June 1865

Stackpole seems to possibly have been steward in name only, but he had worked for several administrations in many positions, while also working outside the government in ships and engineering. He was also in charge of the WH grounds at some point. I am inclined to think the accusations of corruption against him are exaggerated. However, he was reportedly fired for displaying a WH punch bowl in a saloon, and then went into his ship business full time. In early 1866, when he was blamed for the White House plundering, he claimed, "I was appointed steward soon after the death of the late President," which is somewhat confusing, suggesting there had been no steward for some time.

William Slade
Steward to Andrew Johnson, 1865–69