White House Historical Association

Abraham Caldwell

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"Abraham Caldwell," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whitehouseworkers.org/Detail/workers/956.
Position
Custodian
Years in President's House
circa 1942 – circa 1954
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Biography

Abraham Caldwell was born on December 11, 1900, in Newberry, South Carolina.1 At some point prior to the 1930s, Caldwell relocated to Washington, D.C. He worked as a bricklayer prior to joining the White House staff around 1942.2 Caldwell worked as a janitor on the “night cleaning force,” working in both the Residence and the West Wing.3 

He appeared on staff lists through 1954, when the D.C. directory listed him as a White House employee; further details about his tenure are unknown.4 Abraham Caldwell died on September 25, 1965, and was buried at National Harmony Memorial Park in Landover, Maryland.5

  1.  Abraham Caldwell in the 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: 34, Ancestry.com.
  2. Ibid; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (Washington, D.C.: R. L. Polk and Co., 1933), 317.
  3. Abraham Caldwell in the 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: 34, Ancestry.com; "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.
  4. Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (Washington, D.C.: R. L. Polk and Co., 1954), 198; Abraham Caldwell in the 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 2137; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 1-110, Ancestry.com.
  5. Abraham Caldwell in the Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., Hall Brothers Funeral Home, 1941-1999, DC Public Library; Washington DC; Halls Brothers Funeral Home Washington DC, 1941-1999, Ancestry.com.
Birthplace
Newberry, South Carolina, USA
Burial Place
National Harmony Memorial Park
Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.