White House Historical Association

Elbert P. Jenkins

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"Elbert P. Jenkins," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whitehouseworkers.org/Detail/workers/1136.
Position
Engineer
Years in President's House
circa 1961 – circa 1970
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Biography

Elbert Pierce Jenkins was born on November 5, 1913, in Dranesville, Virginia.1 By 1940, he lived in Washington, D.C., and worked as a janitor for the District’s public schools.2

Documentation of his service at the White House is currently scarce, but records demonstrate that he worked there as an engineer from at least 1961 to 1970.3 As an engineer, Jenkins helped maintain the various systems inside the White House, including HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration. 

Little else is currently known about Elbert Jenkins. He passed away on November 24, 1985, and was buried at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.4

  1. “Elbert Pierce Jenkins,” U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238/records/10364773?tid=&pid=&queryId=48f77eed-c90d-4098-8b5d-3e088cd2d73a&_phsrc=KCT3379&_phstart=successSource
  2. ibid.; “Elbert P Jenkins,” 1940 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442/records/18524702
  3. The first known White House record on which he appears is a Residence Staff list compiled in 1961 for the Kennedy administration. See “Christmas: 1961 (2 of 2 folders),” Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The last known record is a staff list from 1970 under President Richard M. Nixon. He does not appear on a similar staff list compiled in 1971, suggesting he retired sometime in either 1970 or 1971. See Untitled Staff List, 1970, Collection: White House Usher’s Office; Series: Rex Scouten’s Subject File; Folder: Residence Employees; Container 5, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.
  4. “Elbert Pierce Jenkins Sr.,” in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/108090496?tid=&pid=&queryId=4c7ba6b6-9619-4395-9535-4d37ee92e05e&_phsrc=KCT3377&_phstart=successSource
Birthplace
Dranesville, Virginia, USA
Burial Place
Columbia Gardens Cemetery
Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.
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