June 18, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte’s retreat at Waterloo, signaled the end of his empire and the beginning of his exile. But Napoleon wasn’t the only Bonaparte on the throne at that time, for he had appointed his siblings to kingdoms across Europe.
Napoleon named himself Emperor of France; his brother Louis was crowned King of Holland; the Bonaparte sister Elisa was granted the title of Duchess of Tuscany. All of these reigns ended in 1815, and the Bonapartes scattered to the wind after relinquishing these thrones.
Two of Napoleon’s seven siblings lived in the United States at one time or another, before and after 1815. While not every Bonaparte sibling had a name that begins with the letter J, this story is muddied by the fact that both brothers who did establish themselves in the U.S. for a time had J-names: Joseph and Jerome Bonaparte.
The Man Who Has Been King: Joseph Bonaparte in New Jersey
Joseph was the eldest Bonaparte sibling and first landed in Philadelphia, after Napoleon lost at Waterloo. Joseph had been formerly named King of Spain and King of Naples by his brother, but fled Europe after his defeat. (He had been a popular ruler in Naples, but was loathed in Spain. His Spanish subjects nicknamed him Pepe Botellas, something like, “Johnny DrinksALot.”)
On July 25, 1815, Joseph arrived in the U.S. under the alias “Suviglieri.” President Madison allowed Joseph into the country, but as a private citizen, and would not deal with him in a diplomatic capacity. “The Man Who Has Been King” was a fitting moniker for this king without a crown (and also title of his biography by Patricia Tyson Stroud.)
So what was Joseph to do except collect a few new girlfriends (his wife stayed in Europe and didn’t visit New Jersey, though their daughters did) and spend the spoils of several nations? (Indeed, it is believed that Joseph had his people sell off the Crown Jewels of Spain to be able to pay for his new life in America.)
What followed was the years-long construction of the Point Breeze Estate, 2,000 acres of land in Burlington County, NJ. Because exotic gardens were the ultimate status symbol in Joseph’s milieu, Point Breeze became one of the most spectacular gardens in North America. It would later be used as one of the models for the construction of Central Park in NYC.
All told, Joseph spent 17 years at his New Jersey estate, fathering two illegitimate children with one of his several mistresses. He did spend his final years reunited with his wife, who was at his side when he died in 1844 in Italy.
Big Connor Roy Energy: Jerome Bonaparte in Maryland
Jerome was the youngest Bonaparte sibling and the first to visit the fledgling United States of America. This is the sibling who most resembles Connor Roy from the HBO prestige drama Succession, about adult siblings duking it out to inherit their father’s corporate media empire (credit to my brother George for that savage observation). Unfortunately, Connor thinks of himself as Napoleon, but he isn’t. He’s Jerome.
In 1803, Napoleon sent Jerome to the Caribbean to repress a slave revolt, but Jerome didn’t make it. (Not for any moral objection to slavery, mind you.) Instead, he landed in America and started socializing, attending parties, and displaying his wealth. Within six months of landing in America, Jerome had married Elizabeth Patterson, a wealthy American but certainly not from the European aristocracy. His choice of wife was considered such a disaster that the family went to great lengths to separate them. Napoleon himself once prevented her ship from docking in France and sent a pregnant Elizabeth back to the States.
A Better Bonaparte: Elizabeth
Arguably, Elizabeth’s life is much more interesting to learn about than Jerome’s. Elizabeth could be petty and messy, but she also lived in a fascinating time for American history. Her bold life and choices need to be understood within the larger picture: “Much was still open to debate in American society, culture, and politics during her early years as a wife, mother, and later divorcee. Her choices – and Americans’ reactions to them – illustrate how much gender roles and expectations were in transition.” All around Elizabeth in polite society, wealthy Americans were deciding, Does the aristocracy still exist? Folks were talking about what this new social order would be like, even though it was still full of the same people and old money, classism, and presumptions that white Europeans were more refined.
This also made Elizabeth a target: She married a king, in a society that rejected rule by monarchy! What to do with an American woman who marries that brother of an enemy of America, Napoleon? For one thing, a raunchy limerick circulated about her scandalously revealing attire as a newlywed.
An American (white) middle class was emerging and with it, more democratic values (though of course American women could not vote or hold public office.) But women could influence in the private realm, as tastemakers, fashion icons, or the belles of balls. There was a collective sense that women were cultural ambassadors to the old ways of Europe, and could pull the country to a more monarchical culture if not policed by peers and commentators.
Yes, I am saying it: In the early 19th century, white American women could aspire to be pre-Internet influencers for a culture of aristocratic values, or for a more radical and democratic philosophy. And so, Elizabeth was often raked over the coals through gossip and social isolation, for folks to make a broader point: We are not Europe and we reject those “Old World” ways.
…And then the youngest Bonaparte sibling did her dirty! Jerome went back to France ahead of Elizabeth, where Napoleon had the marriage annulled. (Later, Napoleon married off Jerome to a German princess.) “Marriage to a Bonaparte brought Elizabeth as close to national and international celebrity as was possible for a woman; she then continued to cultivate her reputation through a provocative public appearance centered on French fashions and manners.” Elizabeth Patterson married Jerome Bonaparte, and bore him a son. Could this American one day be mother to an Emperor? All around her, minds were blown.
Jerome had abandoned her, yet Elizabeth remained a public figure to be commented upon and disdained. She always was a respectable lady, but the court of public opinion does what it does. “Such criticism reached its height in the early 1810s as she received an official divorce from the Maryland legislature, negotiated with Napoleon about becoming a duchess, and made her first extensive trip to Europe.” As Elizabeth might say, the haters only fueled her.
Later in lif, she wrote of her former husband Jerome Bonaparte: “The sentiment of contempt to old Jerome is in my heart, & circulates with every drop of blood in my body. I look upon him as belonging to the lower type of humanity.” She sometimes referred to him as, “The old Bigamist Gentleman Jerome the double-distilled traitor.”
Elizabeth Bonaparte stayed spicy to the last. She would collect a generous pension throughout her life but never reunite with her husband, who became King of Westphalia. (She claimed her title, though, and declared herself and her sons to be royalty.) Her grandson Charles Joseph Bonaparte would go on to serve in the cabinet of president Theodore Roosevelt.
Sources
Veit, Richard, PhD. “Past and Future Archeology at Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze Estate.” Lecture, The Bordentown Historical Society, Bordentown, NJ, May 13, 2023.
Lewis CMB. “Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte: An American Aristocrat in the Early Republic.” 1st ed. University of Pennsylvania Press; 2012.
