Manzy H. Swygert
- Position
- Butler
- Years in President's House
- circa 1944
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Biography
Manzy Henry Swygert was born in Irmo, South Carolina on January 17, 1908.1 In 1940, Swygert worked as a chauffeur in D.C. in the private household of George Morris, a prominent attorney and art collector who owned an historic home in the Kalorama neighborhood.2 Soon after, he began working as a chauffeur for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), then a part of the State Department.3
During the 1940s, it seems that Swygert also worked at the White House, perhaps part-time. He appeared on the 1944 staff roster as a waiter, but little else is known about his work there.4 Swygert continued to drive for the USIA in the twenty-one years that followed, chauffeuring for the agency directors. He died on November 20, 1962, and was buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.5
- Manzy Henry Swygert, 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: 223, Ancestry.com; “Manzy Swygert,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 21, 1962, pg. 25.
- Ibid; Marny Swygert, 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00572; Page: 68B; Enumeration District: 1-546, Ancestry.com; Lucas Gillespie, “The Oldest Home in Washington… is from Massachusetts?" Boundary Stones, https://boundarystones.weta.org/2025/03/11/oldest-home-washington-massachusetts.
- “Manzy Swygert, Chauffeur for USIA Director,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 21, 1962, pg. 25.
- "Roster of White House Employees, Revised, April 1, 1944," Folder: Investigative Case Files, 1934-1945, Records of the United States Secret Service, 1933-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
- “Manzy Swygert, Chauffeur for USIA Director,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 21, 1962, pg. 25; “Swygert, Manzy H.,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), November 23, 1962, pg. 19.
- Birthplace
- Irmo, South Carolina, USA
- Burial Place
- Lincoln Memorial Cemetery
- Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.