Christopher Süverman
Cite this Page
"Christopher Süverman," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/126.
- Position
- Footman
- Years in President's House
- 1801 – 1802
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Thomas Jefferson
- Biography
- Johann or John Cristoph Süverman (often referred to as Christopher) was born in Germany, although his birth year is unclear. Passenger lists suggest he immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1793.1 Christopher served as a footman at the White House. He joined the staff in 1801 and was paid $14.00 per month.2 Coachman Joseph Dougherty insinuated that Christopher, and his wife Betsy, also employed at the President’s House, may have stolen items, including money and linens, from the Executive Mansion and its staff in April 1802.3 In June 1802, the Süvermans left the White House because Christopher began to lose his eyesight; Jefferson continued to provide charitable donations for the two.4 In 1810, Jefferson wrote: “Suverman was a servant of mine, a very honest man. he has since become blind, and gets his living by keeping a few groceries which he buys & sells from hand to mouth. he is miserably poor…”5 Also in 1810, Christopher took in former White House footman and body servant to Meriweather Lewis, John Pernier. When John passed away by suicide in April 1810, Christopher paid for the burial.6 Information about his later life and death is unclear.
- “Johann Christoph Suvermann in the U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index,” Ancestry, Accessed February 14, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7486/records/3307319?tid=&pid=&queryId=bc4baf3d-0145-4303-b797-d9f5dac1152e&_phsrc=OuO19&_phstart=successSource.
- “Memorandum Books, 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/02-02-02-0011. [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. 1032–1061.]
- “To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph Dougherty, [on or before 25 April 1802],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-37-02-0262. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 37, 4 March–30 June 1802, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010, pp. 331–332.]; Lucia Stanton, “Those who labor for my happiness’: slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), 48.
- “Memorandum Books, 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/02-02-02-0012; “To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph Rapin, 17 May 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-37-02-0380; “From Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Rapin, 3 June 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-37-02-0433. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 37, 4 March–30 June 1802, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010, p. 536.]
- “Thomas Jefferson to William D. Meriwether, 21 August 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-03-02-0020.
- “John Christoph Süverman to Thomas Jefferson, 5 May 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0321. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 2, 16 November 1809 to 11 August 1810, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005, pp. 364–365.]; Lucia Stanton, “Those Who Labor for My Happiness:’ Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello,” (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), 53.
- Birthplace
- Germany
- Unclear from Context
- Related Workers
- John PernierTransportation, Valets, Lady's Maids, and First Family Attendants, 1804 – 1807
- Étienne LemaireUshers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1801 – 1809
- Mary Murphy DoughertyHousekeeping and Laundry, 1801 – 1809
- Elizabeth Süverman1801 – 1802
- Joseph DoughertyTransportation, 1800s
- Related Association Content
- https://www.whitehousehistory.org/a-well-ordered-household