White House Historical Association

Edward Maher

Ask a Historian Download as PDF
Cite this Page
"Edward Maher," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/139.
Position
Footman
Years in President's House
1801
1802
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Thomas Jefferson
Biography
Edward Maher served as a porter/footman in the Jefferson White House, joining the staff on March 12, 1801. He was paid $12 per month and given a $2 alcohol allowance plus two suits of livery.1 He left the White House in October 1801, writing to Jefferson: “Sir as you Cant a ford me more weages I must See and beter my Self I am sorrey to leave you.”2 A letter from Steward Joseph Rapin in April 1801 contextualizes the situation, writing to Jefferson: “Since Your Excellency left, Edward has appeared at the house for only one half hour to eat his dinner. That was yesterday. Mr. McMunn, who came to see the house, told me that he had seen him at his house, complaining that you had given the preference to a Negro rather than to him to accompany you. I myself heard him murmuring that he would not wear similar clothing to what a Negro wears, while speaking of the livery.”3 Maher was upset that Jefferson chose an enslaved man, John Freeman, to accompany him on a trip to Virginia, rather than Maher. Maher later asked to rejoin the staff; Steward Étienne Lemaire wrote in May 1802: “Your former porter, Edward, dismayed at having left you when he did, out of an unthinking impulse rather than reflection, expressed all possible regret and assured me that if you should wish to re-engage him on your staff, he would be very pleased to return and would give you reason to be satisfied with his service and punctuality.”4 Jefferson expressed disinterest in rehiring Maher, writing: “I think it better not to take Edward. he is a very capable servant, but stands too much on etiquette. I like servants who will do every thing they are wanted to do. he is moreover so fickle that he has served all the masters in the world, never staying 6. months with the same.”5 Nevertheless, he was rehired for a few months before he was replaced with William Fitzjames.6 No information is currently known about Maher’s life before or after the White House.
  1. “Memorandum Books, 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/02-02-02-0011.
  2. “To Thomas Jefferson from Edward Maher, [9 October 1801],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-35-02-0344.
  3. “To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph Rapin, 3 April 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-33-02-0462.
  4. “To Thomas Jefferson from Étienne Lemaire, 10 May 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-37-02-0357.
  5. “From Thomas Jefferson to Étienne Lemaire, 14 May 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-37-02-0373.
  6. “To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph Dougherty, 11 May 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-37-02-0359.
Birthplace
Unclear from Context
Unclear from Context
Related Workers
Joseph Dougherty
Transportation, 1800s
Étienne Lemaire
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1801 – 1809
William Fitzjames
Transportation, 1802 – 1807
Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/a-well-ordered-household