Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (born February 6, 1785, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.—died April 4, 1879, Baltimore) was one of America’s first international celebrities, known for her fashionable clothing, witty remarks, fierce independence, and ties to the Bonapartes of France. She was married briefly to Jérôme Bonaparte, king of Westphalia and youngest brother of Napoleon I.

Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of William Patterson, one of the wealthiest merchants in Maryland, and Dorcas Spear, the daughter of a Baltimore flour merchant. Little is known about her early years or schooling, but she most likely was enrolled in a local academy for young women, where she learned French, drawing, and other subjects considered appropriate for a genteel young woman. By the time she met the future French emperor Napoleon’s brother, who was visiting the United States as a lieutenant in the French navy, she was renowned for her extraordinary beauty and intelligence and was one of the most sought-after young women in Baltimore.

In spite of her father’s objection, Elizabeth and the lieutenant married on Christmas Eve in 1803, when she was but 18 years old and he 19, and instantly they became one of the most celebrated and gossiped-about couples in the country. She scandalized society still further when she adopted French dress, which featured low-cut bodices and revealing sheer fabrics. It was the look she chose for her portrait by Gilbert Stuart. Nevertheless, their marriage did not have Napoleon’s blessing, and Jérôme abandoned her in April 1805, soon after they sailed to Europe to reconcile with his brother. The pregnant Elizabeth, who was not allowed to enter France, disembarked in London without her husband, and there in July she gave birth to their son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. She returned to her father’s house in September. Napoleon arranged for the annulment of the marriage so that Jérôme could marry Princess Catherine of Württemberg and become king of Westphalia. Elizabeth, who never remarried, was known as “Madame Bonaparte” until her death. She received an official American divorce from the Maryland legislature in 1812 and enjoyed an independent financial and legal status that was rare for adult women in that period.

Over the years, Elizabeth did not lose her ability to set tongues wagging. She continued to wear French styles, and she rode in a coach decorated with the Bonaparte family crest. Further, instead of modestly withdrawing from society after her divorce, as most women in her position would have done at that time, she boldly maintained her place as one of the most fashionable and influential women in the new nation. In fact, her mastery of aristocratic French forms of dress, behaviour, and speech made her welcome in elite circles at home and abroad. She even became a friend of Dolley Madison while the latter was first lady. Yet Elizabeth denigrated the American republic at every opportunity and frequently proclaimed the superiority of monarchy and aristocracy over republic and democracy. Her ties to Napoleon through her son, her aspirations to the aristocracy, and her ready anti-Americanism caused many Americans, including the majority of the members of Congress, to perceive her as a threat to the republic. Because of her and her son, Congress in 1810 proposed and overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment (the Titles of Nobility Amendment) that would have prevented any American citizen from receiving a title or money from a king or an emperor. The amendment fell short of ratification by just one state.

After the War of 1812 and Napoleon’s exile in 1815, Elizabeth spent much of the remainder of her life traveling between Europe and America, becoming well known in European aristocratic circles while still maintaining her celebrity in the United States. Notable Europeans including novelist Lady Sydney Morgan, the marquis de Lafayette, Germaine de Staël, and Charles Talleyrand befriended her. She even became friends with her ex-husband’s sister Pauline. During her long life, she crossed the ocean many times, more than most women—or even men—of her station. Preferring European society and culture, she lived in Europe for many years, yet she always called the United States home.

Although she desperately wanted her son to marry European royalty, he instead married a wealthy Baltimore woman and lived in Maryland most of his life. In the 1860s, after the death of her ex-husband, she and her son traveled to France to bring suit against the Bonapartes and her ex-husband’s estate for proper recognition of her son as a legal heir. Although French public opinion was on their side, their suit was unsuccessful.

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Elizabeth made a final trip to Europe in 1863–64. Thereafter she spent her last years living frugally in a Baltimore boardinghouse, from which she carefully managed her properties, stocks, and other financial affairs. Despite her gender, she achieved renown over the years and was considered as savvy as any businessman in Maryland. Near the end of her life, dressed in her then-outdated French clothing, she was rarely seen in public, except while out collecting her rents. When she died at age 94, she was worth more than $1.5 million. Her first grandson, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, Jr., served in the French army and protected Empress Eugénie, Napoleon III’s wife. Her second grandson, Charles Joseph Bonaparte, was a secretary of the navy and an attorney general under U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. She remained in the public imagination for many years: the movies Glorious Betsy (1928) and Hearts Divided (1936)—both based on the play Glorious Betsy (1908) by Rida Johnson Young—tell her life story.