Before working for the First Lady, Florence Marsh served as the lady’s maid to one of the most formidable women in Washington—Bamie Roosevelt Cowles, the sister of Theodore Roosevelt. Bamie was so influential in Washington politics and her brother spent so much time consulting with her and doing business at her home that it was called the “Little White House.” Theodore’s daughter Alice once said that if Bamie had been a man, she would be president.
Years of working in both the White House and the Little White House would have prepared Florence Marsh for anything. Except The Thing.
One winter evening Florence Marsh was found in a dead faint. Butt related the story as he heard it:
“When she came to she showed such fright that it was necessary to give her something to quiet her down before she could discuss the cause of her fainting at all. She had not heard the ghost stories which were known among some of the older servants, or so she said, and therefore her experience is not doubted by the rest. It coincided exactly with experiences which others have been said to have had from time to time – except that she not only felt the pressure on the shoulder, but saw the figure.”
Florence had described what she saw to Mrs. Jaffrey. The figure, she said, was “that of a young boy with light hair, not well combed, and with sad blue eyes.” Based on the description, Archie Butt guessed that the boy might have been around 15 years old.
Archie knew he had to tell the President what was going on, but he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction the temperamental Taft might have. When Archie related all he knew, Taft was livid. He wanted all talk of ghosts in the White House to stop immediately, and he threatened to fire any servants who spoke a word about it. His greatest fear was that this story would leak to the press who would have a field day with the story. Taft also didn’t want this story to reach Mrs. Taft, who had said on her very first night at the White House that she felt “surrounded by ghosts.”
After yelling at Butt and making his point clear, Taft’s attitude softened. He was concerned about the press, but he wasn’t skeptical. He didn’t seem to doubt what the servants had seen. In fact, he was just as fascinated with the idea of the ghost as Butt was.