James J. Carmody
- Positions
- Grounds Laborer
- Years in President's House
- circa 1885 – circa 1888
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Grover Cleveland First Term
- Biography
James J. Carmody was born in Washington, D.C. around 1857.1 On June 16, 1886, he married a woman named Mary Ganey and they had four daughters and one son. 2
Carnody was employed by the War Department as a laborer between at least 1885 and 1903.3 In this role, he was assigned to work on the White House Grounds at various points. He first worked at the White House from April to May 1885. He returned from March to November 1886, February to May 1887, and again in 1888.4 Details about what specific work he performed there are currently unclear, but he likely assisted the White House gardeners. His duties may have included watering plants, mowing the lawn, planting seeds, and other related projects.
Carmody died on November 28, 1928, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.5- “James J. Carmody,” Washington Times Herald, December 1, 1928, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044644327/?match=1&terms="James Carmody"&search-id=065c4e3c-4a03-4fe6-b9a4-feb0693e7f30&search-rank=1.
- “Marriage Licenses," The Critic and Record, (Washington, D.C.), June 17, 1886, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044145394/?match=1&terms="James Carmody"&search-id=86a56caa-b159-4eeb-823e-0f22bb8f3af6&search-rank=5; “James Carmody District of Columbia, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1830,” Ancestry, accessed July 29, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60261/records/118407?tid=&pid=&queryId=68f88b2f-d1bc-464f-b3e4-4e17ea10e27b&usePUBJs=true; “Mrs. M.J. Carmody Dies,” The Washington Evening Star, March 24, 1926, https://www.newspapers.com/image/618516978/?match=2&terms="James Carmody"&search-id=86a56caa-b159-4eeb-823e-0f22bb8f3af6&search-rank=23.
- “James Carmody in U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959,” Ancestry, accessed July 29, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2525/images/40411_1821100517_0828-00526?queryId=0a10ef97-0230-47f7-abd3-401d3d771ce3&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=1295868.
- “Greenhouse and Grounds, Executive Mansion, Washington. D.C.,” August 23, 1888, National Archives and Records Administration, White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/the-working-white-house-list-of-workers.
- “Rites for James J. Carmody,” The Washington Post, December 1, 1928, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1037509643/?match=1&terms="James Carmody"&search-id=065c4e3c-4a03-4fe6-b9a4-feb0693e7f30&search-rank=2; "Mr. James F Carmody, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Death Certificates, 1874-1931,” Ancestry, accessed July 29, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62876/records/252939.
- Birthplace
- Washington, D.C.
- Burial Place
- Mount Olivet Cemetery
- Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.
- External Content