White House Historical Association

Peter

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"Peter," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/322.
Position
Butler
Years in President's House
circa 1853 – 1857
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Unclear from Context
Presidency
Franklin Pierce
Biography
Little is known about Peter, including his full name. Historian William Seale states that the President Franklin Pierce hired a butler named Peter to work at the White House. Prior to his time at the White House, Peter lived in Boston where he worked for some of Pierce’s friends.1 Peter the butler may have been the same individual as Pierre Vermeren (sometimes referred to in historical documentation as Peter), who worked as a butler at the White House during the presidencies of James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln.2 However, no known contemporary sources that discuss Vermeren mention him working for Pierce.3
  1.  William Seale, The President’s House: A History (White House Historical Association, 2008), 1:300.
  2. Seale speculates that they may have been the same person. See Seale, The President’s House, 1:300.
  3. See Pierre Vermeren’s obituary in the National Republican (Washington, D.C.) on July 23, 1883 (pg. 2) and the Washington Post on July 24, 1883 (pg. 4), which mention his time working at the White House under Buchanan and Lincoln but say nothing about him working for Pierce.
Birthplace
Unclear from context
Unclear from context
Related Worker
Pierre Vermeren
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1859 – 1861