White House Historical Association

Étienne Lemaire

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"Étienne Lemaire," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/117.
Position
Steward
Years in President's House
1801 – 1809
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Thomas Jefferson
Biography
Étienne Lemaire was born in France, however his birthdate and details about his early life remain unknown. In 1801, he worked in the Philadelphia household of William Bingham. French diplomat Philippe de Létombe recommended Lemaire to take over as maître d'hôtel, or steward, at the White House for Joseph Rapin.1Jefferson agreed to hire Lemaire, writing “I would prefer him to any other."2 Lemaire began working at the White House in August 1801, earning $30.00 per month and remained there for the entirety of Jefferson’s presidency.3 In his role as steward, he trained staff, shopped for the household, paid bills, and managed the White House. Jefferson’s granddaughter later described Lemaire as “a portly and well-mannered frenchman…of whose honesty his master had a higher opinion than the world at large, and who I fancy made a small fortune in his employ. But he was a useful man and merited reward.”4 When Jefferson’s presidency ended in 1809, he wrote Lemaire, “I must supply now in writing, what I then could not express, the sense of my attachment to you & satisfaction with your services. They were faithful & skillful, and your whole conduct so marked with good humour, industry, sobriety & economy as never to have given me one moment’s dissatisfaction…”5 Lemaire returned to Philadelphia, but struggled. In the fall of 1817, Lemaire loaned money to a man that went bankrupt. In despair, Lemaire drowned himself. Jefferson’s former White House Chef."6 Jefferson wrote “... I sincerely lament the unfortunate fate of poor Le Maire whom I never suspected of gloom enough to bring himself to so tragical an end…”7
  1. “To Thomas Jefferson from Philippe de Létombe, 11 July 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-34-02-0420. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 34, 1 May–31 July 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007, pp. 544–546.]
  2. “From Thomas Jefferson to Philippe de Létombe, 15 July 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-34-02-0433. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 34, 1 May–31 July 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007, p. 568.]
  3. “Memorandum Books, 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/02-02-02-0012. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Second Series, Jefferson’s Memorandum Books, vol. 2, ed. James A Bear, Jr. and Lucia C. Stanton. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997, pp. 1062–1089.]
  4. “Étienne Lemaire,” Monticello, Accessed May 5, 2025, https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/etienne-lemaire/.
  5. “Thomas Jefferson to Étienne Lemaire, 16 March 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0041. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 55–56.]
  6. “Honoré Julien to Thomas Jefferson, 7 November 1817,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-12-02-0137. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 12, 1 September 1817 to 21 April 1818, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, pp. 176–177.]
  7. “Thomas Jefferson to Honoré Julien, 25 December 1817,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-12-02-0224. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 12, 1 September 1817 to 21 April 1818, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 273.]
Birthplace
France
Unclear from Context
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Christopher Süverman
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Joseph Dougherty
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Abraham Golden
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Edward Maher
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William Fitzjames
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Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/a-well-ordered-household
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/ushers-and-stewards-since-1800
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slavery-in-the-thomas-jefferson-white-house
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slavery-and-french-cuisine-in-jeffersons-working-white-house