White House Historical Association

Mildred C. Taliaferro

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"Mildred C. Taliaferro," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whitehouseworkers.org/Detail/workers/1212.
Position
Laundress
Years in President's House
1970 – 1987
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Biography

Mildred Catherine Taliaferro was born on April 2, 1927.1 Details about her life are limited at this time, but from 1970-1987, Taliaferro worked as a laundress at the White House.2 From a small shop in the basement of the White House, laundry attendants like Mildred washed, dried, and pressed linens for use at the White House. 

Mildred Taliaferro passed away on September 12, 1993, and was buried at Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Oakpark, Virginia.3

  1. “Birthdays,” Undated, folder: folder “Birthdays (Residence Staff),” box 29, Betty Ford White House Papers, Gerald R. Ford Library, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0018/81556614.pdf; Mildred Catherine Taliaferro in U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901/records/37568872.
  2. White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026;  U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations (Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations) Vol. 1 (1974), pg. 47-48.
  3. “Mildred C. Taliaferro,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/243574446/mildred-c.-taliaferro. 
Birthplace
Unclear from Context
Burial Place
Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery