Elizabeth Patterson
Elizabeth "Betsy" Patterson (born February 6, 1785 in Baltimore ; † April 4, 1879 ibid) was the first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860), Napoléon 's youngest brother.
Life
Patterson was the daughter of the Irish emigrant William Patterson, who had participated in the American Revolutionary War and had risen as a merchant in Baltimore to become the second richest man in Maryland - after Charles Carroll of Carrollton .
During his stay in the USA, Jérôme Bonaparte met and fell in love with Elizabeth in Baltimore. After only two months, on December 24, 1803, the couple were married in Baltimore Cathedral by the local Archbishop John Carroll . Napoléon, as head of the Bonaparte house , never recognized marriage. When Jérôme returned to France in 1805 , his pregnant wife Elizabeth was refused entry to France. She gave birth to her son Jérôme Napoléon in London . Napoléon annulled his marriage and married his brother to the Württemberg princess Katharina in 1807 in order to strengthen the ties between Württemberg and France.
Elizabeth returned to Baltimore with her son Jérôme Napoléon. She was paid a high annual compensation.
Elizabeth's sister-in-law Mary Caroll later married a brother of Arthur Wellesley , the British military leader who defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 .
Elizabeth died on April 4, 1879 in Baltimore at the age of 94.
Elizabeth's son Jérôme Napoléon founded the American line of the Bonaparte family.
Web links
literature
- Carol Berkin: Wondrous Beauty: The Life and Adventures of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2014, ISBN 978-0-30759-278-1
- Daniel Handerson: The golden bees. Betsy Patterson and the Bonapartes . Paul Zsolnay, Berlin-Vienna-Leipzig, 1938
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Patterson, Elizabeth |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bonaparte, Elizabeth Patterson; Patterson, Betsy (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | First wife of Jérôme Bonaparte |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 6, 1785 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baltimore |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 4, 1879 |
| Place of death | Baltimore |