Edson S. Densmore
| Edson S. Densmore | |
|---|---|
| White House Chief Usher | |
|
In office 1887–1887 |
|
| President | Grover Cleveland |
| Succeeded by | John McKenna |
|
In office March 1889 – November 13, 1892 |
|
| President | Benjamin Harrison |
| Preceded by | John McKenna |
| Succeeded by | Carlos E. Dexter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1849 Chelsea, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | November 13, 1892 (aged 42–43) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Edson S. Densmore (1849 – November 13, 1892) was an American civil servant who served as a Doorkeeper to the President of the United States from 1885 to 1887, and as Chief Usher of the White House in Washington, D.C., briefly in 1887 and again from March 1889 until his death in November 1892.
Edson S. Densmore was born about 1849 in Chelsea, Vermont, to William and Lydia A. Densmore. His father was a farmer, and he had at least two siblings: Milton (born in 1840) and Jason (born in 1846). Some time before 1860, his mother went insane, and Densmore ran away from home in 1861 to live with Chelsea residents Franklin and Sylvia Dearborn, their teenage daughter, and Dearborn's aged mother. His schooling was minimal.
By 1870, Densmore was living in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a carpenter and had married Emma A. Roberts. Their union produced two daughters, Annie and Elsie. In 1872, he joined the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPD). Tall, handsome, muscular, and intelligent, Densmore was often the point-man the D.C. police turned to for their most difficult cases. President Ulysses S. Grant specifically asked the MPD to assign Densmore to break up the District of Columbia's gambling dens on E Street NW. After his successes there, the MPD promoted him to sergeant. He was then assigned to the Willard Hotel and asked to break up a gang of gentlemen thieves who broke into wealthy people's rooms and stole money and jewels. Densmore ingratiated himself with the thieves, and broke the robbery ring. His incredible ability to remember faces and names proved critical in convicting the criminals. Offered a promotion to lieutenant, Densmore turned it down as he wanted to keep working on city streets rather than supervising others.
Having been assigned to guard the White House several times during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, Densmore resigned from the MPD on March 11, 1885, and joined the White House staff as a doorkeeper. Two years later, he was promoted to usher. It is likely that he was given the role of chief usher immediately. Although the role of usher had once only been to escort people from the entrance to the President, by 1887 it had become much more: "[Densmore] was the medium between the president and the hundreds who came by to see him, and had entire control the house. His rare gifts of insight into men and their motives, as well as his tact and discretion, rendered him invaluable for the performance of the delicate and responsible duties of his position, and he enjoyed the confidence and personal friendship of some of the most distinguished men in the country."
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