Thirty-six Years in the White House

In his 1902 memoir, Thomas Pendel documents his experiences as White House doorkeeper from the Lincoln presidency to the adminstration of Theodore Roosevelt. First assigned to duty at the White House on November 3, 1864, Pendel had only been at the White House a short time when he was chosen to be Lincoln's guard. In his post, he observed not only the tragedy of two assassinations, those of Lincoln and Garfield, but also the joys of the personal lives of the Presidents and those who worked for him. As he notes, "there have been many happy days at the White House; many dark and dreary ones as well" (New York Times, October, 10 1886). Pendel's work is full of amusing anecodotes and insights into the personalities of those living and working in the White House.