John Francis McKenna (1841 – December 16, 1898) was an Irish American civil servant who served as Chief Usher of the White House in Washington, D.C., from 1887 to 1889.
[1][3] He married Bridget McIntyre, and they had five children: James (1863), John Jr. (1866), Alice (1871), Mary (1875), and Charles (1877).
[7] For reasons of ill health,[8] White House Chief Usher Edson S. Densmore resigned from his post in late July 1887.
President Grover Cleveland, a former Governor of New York, appointed McKenna the Chief Usher on July 31, 1887.
Densmore was asked to rejoin the White House in February 1889 in order to oversee preparations for the inauguration of President-elect Benjamin Harrison.
[9] President Harrison asked Densmore to stay on as chief usher on his very first day in office.