The Family That Served 13 Presidents In The White House Over Eight Decades

Presidents travel and spell from nan White House each 4 years aliases 8 years, but nan Ficklin family was a changeless beingness location for astir 8 decades, serving 13 presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama.

The 1 family by nan president’s broadside for one-third of America’s 250-year beingness includes Woodson Ficklin, his wife, immoderate of his brothers and sisters, and boy John Wrory Ficklin, who was conscionable 7 erstwhile he learned that his father, nan boy of a slave, was important.

Wrory Ficklin was sitting pinch his mother and brother, watching nan ceremonial sum for President John F. Kennedy connected TV successful nan family's Washington flat successful 1963, erstwhile she gasped.

His father, James Woodson Ficklin, was wearing a greeting suit and opinionated beside Kennedy's casket pinch different White House ushers. He was a White House butler astatine nan time, but Kennedy's widow, Jacqueline, asked that he subordinate nan ushers that day.

Woodson Ficklin worked a singular 44 years connected nan White House residence staff. His son, Wrory Ficklin, had a lengthy White House career, excessively — 40 years connected nan unit of nan National Security Council.

With his 2015 retirement, Wrory became nan past Ficklin employed location full-time, capping a grounds of family work documented successful his book, “An Unusual Path: Three Generations from Slavery to nan White House.”

“The book is my family’s history, it's African American history and it's our country’s history," he said.

“My dada and I some guidelines connected my grandfather's shoulders, and I for illustration to deliberation that we some contributed a batch to our country."

Family communicative starts pinch grandfather calved enslaved

The first section successful what Wrory Ficklin described arsenic a “truly American story” opens pinch his grandfather, James Strother Ficklin, who was calved a enslaved astir 1854 successful Rappahannock County, Virginia.

Strother was a h2o boy for nan Confederate service during nan Civil War. After emancipation, he did overseas jobs for nan family that utilized to ain him.

He remarried successful 1894 aft his first woman died during childbirth, and moved to Youngstown, Ohio, to flight racism successful Virginia and gain a surviving successful nan booming ember and alloy industries. Records showed they returned to Rappahannock immoderate years later, though it was unclear why.

Strother and his 2nd wife, Helen, had saved capable money to bargain 37 acres (0.15 quadrate kilometers) of onshore successful Amissville, Virginia, successful 1901. He built a location and farmed nan onshore to thief provender nan family. After Helen died while giving birth, Strother joined his 3rd wife, Vallie Lee Davenport, successful 1907. They had 10 children — 5 girls and 5 boys.

One of those boys was John Woodson Ficklin.

The Ficklin brothers worked together astatine nan White House

Woodson Ficklin was 15 erstwhile he moved to Washington successful 1934 to unrecorded pinch an older sister and her husband. He worked overseas jobs and went to precocious schoolhouse astatine night, graduating successful 1939 — nan twelvemonth an older brother, Charles, began activity arsenic a White House butler. Charles Ficklin helped him onshore a part-time position washing dishes and doing immoderate nan butlers did not person clip to do themselves.

Military work during World War II concisely interrupted their White House careers, but they received promotions aft they came home, pinch Charles Ficklin and Woodson Ficklin becoming caput butler and butler, respectively. Woodson Ficklin met President Harry Truman and First Lady Bess Truman connected his 2nd time arsenic a butler erstwhile he served nan mates breakfast.

New promotions followed nether Dwight Eisenhower, pinch Charles Ficklin becoming maître d’ — nan astir elder butler — and Woodson Ficklin taking complete arsenic caput butler, putting him successful complaint of six full-time butlers.

Woodson Ficklin succeeded his relative again successful March 1967, erstwhile Charles Ficklin retired.

Woodson Ficklin worked intimately pinch nan first ladies

Woodson Ficklin was now responsible for nan readying and execution of White House societal events, ranging from luncheons and authorities dinners to day parties and South Lawn barbecues.

There were visits by British royals and nan yearly information of Christmas parties, nan White House wedding of Richard Nixon's girl Tricia successful 1971, and Gerald Ford's girl Susan's determination to big her elder people prom astatine nan White House.

Along nan way, Woodson Ficklin earned nan spot and assurance of nan presidents and first ladies who relied connected his expertise. Some sent thank-you notes aft flawlessly executed events.

First woman Patricia Nixon wrote successful October 1969 astir “the awesome number of complimentary remarks we person pursuing each White House societal event,” according to a transcript of nan missive reprinted successful nan book. “Our family is astir grateful to you for nan clip and liking you give to make each juncture truthful enjoyable and memorable for our guests and for us.”

President Jimmy Carter expressed appreciation successful a March 1979 missive for nan activity Woodson Ficklin and his squad did surrounding nan signing of an Egypt-Israel bid treaty.

“Everything was cleanable and we are grateful,” Carter wrote.

Woodson Ficklin retired successful May 1983. In possibly nan biggest show of appreciation for his 44-year career, nan Reagans invited him and his wife, Nancy, to a authorities meal that twelvemonth for nan emir of Bahrain.

He is believed to beryllium nan first personnel of nan White House residence unit to beryllium a impermanent astatine a authorities dinner, and he became nan taxable of a media blitz arsenic a result. Woodson Ficklin sat astatine nan first lady's array and told an interviewer that she "put maine astatine easiness and made maine consciousness for illustration a guest.” Asked astir nan service, he replied, “Those are my boys. I trained them.”

Woodson Ficklin died successful December 1984 astatine 65.

Wrory Ficklin spent astir of his profession successful nationalist security

“Seeing my Dad connected tv was a large deal, and to spot him participating successful our president’s ceremonial work was beyond my youthful comprehension,” Wrory Ficklin wrote. He said years passed earlier he understood "the severity and nan importance” of his father’s work.

Yet Wrory Ficklin ended up doing important activity astatine nan White House, too, aft a summertime occupation during precocious schoolhouse delivering sealed envelopes betwixt nan White House and nan typical charismatic connected nan Watergate investigation. He besides worked for his begetter successful nan pantry during authorities dinners and different large events.

Wrory Ficklin joined nan NSC unit successful 1975, opening a 40-year tenure that overlapped pinch his begetter and different family members. He started by moving evenings arsenic a clerk while attending assemblage during nan time and by 1987 was training caller staff.

Under Obama, Wrory Ficklin was promoted to typical adjunct to nan president for nationalist information affairs. He retired successful 2015 pinch a typical petition for his boss, nationalist information advisor Susan Rice: Could he be a authorities dinner, for illustration his dad?

Wrory Ficklin and his wife, Patrice, were invited to nan 2015 authorities meal for Chinese President Xi Jinping. With immoderate insignificant alterations, he wore nan tuxedo overgarment and cummerbund his begetter wore successful 1983.

The meal was nan item of his career, he said.

“Just to acquisition firsthand nan value of nan service, nan precision of nan butlers, nan type of work that they provided, was a bequest to my dad, actually,” Wrory Ficklin said successful nan interview.