Edson S. Densmore

Edson S. Densmore (c. 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.

Early life and police career 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, 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. 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. 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." Densmore sued for divorce in mid-July 1886, which was granted in December. Emma Densmore was awarded custody of their children, but Edson sued—arguing that his wife was an unfit mother and that his eldest daughter was forced to work in a photography shop by her mother. Sources differ on where Densmore lived and what he did for employment for the next two years. The Washington Post claimed he worked for a travel agency in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But his home town newspaper said he went to work for Simonda Rolling-Machine Company in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and lived at the Fitchburg Hotel. (The New York Times also reported that he returned to Fitchburg.) Densmore agreed, He gave up his White House duties temporarily, and traveled to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and Lebanon, New Hampshire, to recuperate with friends and family. Jason was by his side at the deathbed. Densmore was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.