Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860), King of Westphalia and Wives

[Marengo]

Jérôme, King of Westphalia (Ajaccio, 15 November 1784 - Paris 24 June 1860); married 1stly in Baltimore on 24 December 1803 (annulled 1805) Elizabeth Patterson (Baltimore February 1785 - Baltimore 4 April 1879); married 2ndly by proxy at Stuttgart on 12 August 1807 and in person at Palais des Tuileries (rel.) on 22 August 1807 and (civ.) on 23 August 1807 Princess Catharine of Württemberg (St.Petersburg, 21 February 1783 - Lausanne, 28 November 1835); married 3rdly (rel.) 1840 (civ.) in Paris on 19 January 1853 Giustina Pecori-Suárez (Florence 27 November 1811 - Florence, 30 January 1903)

Reign: 1807 - 1813

Dynasty: Bonaparte

Son Jérôme & Elizabeth: Jerome Napoleon

Children Jérôme & Catharina: Princess Catharine Bonaparte, Princess Mathilde Demidoff di San Donato and Prince Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte

Parents Jérôme: Carlo Maria Buonaparte and Marie Laetitia Ramolino

Parents Elizabeth: William Patterson and ?

Parents Catharina: King Friedrich I of Württemberg and Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Siblings Jérôme: Josephe, King of Spain; Napoleone and Maria Anna Buonaparte; Emperor Napoleon I of the French; Maria Anna Bonaparte; Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, Prince of Musignano; Elisa, Duchess of Lucca and Princess of Piombino; King Louis I (Lodewijk) of Holland; Pauline, Duchess of Guastalla; and Caroline Murat, Queen of Napels and Sicily.

Siblings Catharina: King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, Princess Sophia of Württemberg and Prince Paul of Württemberg

 

[Marengo]

From wikipedia:

Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort (15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia (1807-1813). After 1848, when his nephew Louis Napoleon became President of the French Republic, he served in several official roles.

Jérôme was born Girolamo Buonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica as the eighth and last surviving child, fifth surviving son, of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. He was a younger brother of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lucien Bonaparte, Elisa Bonaparte, Louis Bonaparte, Pauline Bonaparte and Caroline Bonaparte.
He studied at the Catholic college of Juilly, and then served with the French navy before going to the United States. On 24 December 1803, Jérôme married Elizabeth Patterson (1785-1879), daughter of Baltimore merchant William Patterson and his wife Dorcas Spear. Napoleon was unable to convince Pope Pius VII to annul their marriage, so he annulled their marriage himself. Elizabeth was pregnant at the time with a son, and on her way to Europe with Jérôme. When they landed in neutral Portugal, Jerome set off overland to Italy to attempt to convince his brother to recognize the marriage. Elizabeth then attempted to land in Amsterdam, but Napoleon had issued orders barring the ship from entering the harbour. Being with child Elizabeth went on to England where Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Camberwell Grove, Camberwell, London, England. Jérôme never saw Elizabeth again.

Read more here.

 

[Marengo]

From wikipedia:

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (Baltimore, Maryland, 6 February 1785 - Baltimore, Maryland, 4 April 1879), known as "Betsy", was the daughter of a Baltimore, Maryland merchant, and was the first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, and sister-in-law of Emperor Napoleon I of France. Elizabeth's father, William Patterson, had been born in Ireland and came to North America prior to the American Revolutionary War. He was a Catholic, and the wealthiest man in Maryland after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
They were married on December 24, 1803, at a ceremony presided over by John Carroll, the Archbishop of Baltimore. Betsy quickly became known for her risqué taste in fashion, starting with her wedding dress.
Jerome's brother Napoleon ordered his brother back to France. He further demanded that his brother have the marriage annulled. Jerome ignored Napoleon's initial demand that he return to France without his wife.
In the fall of 1804 Jerome and a pregnant Betsy attempted to return to France in time for his brother's coronation, but a number of false starts delayed them. When they finally arrived, Elizabeth was denied landing in continental Europe by order of Napoleon. Jerome traveled to Italy in an attempt to reason with his brother, writing to his wife, "My dearest Elsa, I will do everything that must be done," but she would never see him again. After remaining in limbo, unable to disembark in either France or the Netherlands, she gave birth to a son on July 7, 1805, in London. Jerome gave in to his brother, returned to the French Navy and married the German princess Catharina of Württemberg. (His marriage to "dearest Elsa" had not yet been dissolved.)

Read more here.

 

[Marengo]

From wikipedia:

Princess Catharina Frederica of Württemberg (February 21, 1783 - November 29, 1835) was the second wife of Jérôme Bonaparte.
Catharina was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia to the later King Frederick I of Württemberg and Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
She was Jérôme Bonaparte's second wife, married on August 22, 1807 in the Royal Palace at Fontainebleau, France. She was queen consort of the Kingdom of Westphalia. When the kingdom was dissolved after the downfall of the Napoleonic Empire she followed her husband into exile.

Read more here.

 

[V.F.H.78]

List of the most important mistresses of Jérôme :

- Blanche Carrega, baroness Keudelstein
- Maria Antonia von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, countess von Truchsess-Waldburg
- Diane Waldner von Freundstein, countess von Pappenheim
- wife of the général de Coudras
- countess von Bocholtz
- countess von Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg
- Anna, marchioness Azzolino
- countess Collin de Plancy

Illegitimate children :

- 1811 : Charles-Henri Bach (son of the countess von Lowenstein-Wertheim)
- 1811 : Jenny von Gustedt (daughter of Diane Waldner von Freundstein, countess von Pappenheim)
- 1813 : Mélanie von Wertheim-Wietersheim (daughter of countess von Lowenstein-Wertheim)
- 1813 : Pauline von Schönfeld (daughter of Diane Waldner von Freundstein, countess von Pappenheim)

 

[CyrilVladisla]

At one time it was agreed that Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte (1805-1870), son of Elizabeth Patterson and Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860), would marry Charlotte, Joseph Bonaparte's daughter.
​

 

[Ralf]

Dissolved marriage of Jérôme

The marriage between Jérôme and Elizabeth Patterson ended on March 21, 1805. Does anyone know where/in what city that dissolvement took place?

 

[CyrilVladisla]

The marriage between Jérôme and Elizabeth Patterson ended on March 21, 1805. Does anyone know where/in what city that dissolvement took place?

Napoleon had the marriage dissolved in the French courts.
The American Bonaparte: The Story of Elizabeth Patterson – Persephone Magazine

 

[Ralf]

Thanks. I already suspected it to be in Napoleons French court in Paris, but wasn't sure.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

The American Bonapartes

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Elizabeth Patterson married Jerome Bonaparte.

 

[An Ard Ri]

They were married on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1803 by the Bishop of Baltimore.

Elizabeth was Scotch -Irish and raised Presbyterian but not sure if she converted to Roman Catholicism.

 

[Blog Real]

Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, and Queen Catharina
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Jérome_und_Katharina_von_Westphalen.jpg

Jérôme Bonaparte photographed in the 1850s by Disdéri
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Jerome_bonaparte.jpg

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Why did Queen Catherine's father King Frederick I of Wurttemberg try to convince Catherine to leave her husband Jerome and go back home to Wurttemberg?