Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/338

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
310
BONAPARTE
BONAPARTE

thology of the country. In 1828 he removed to Italy, in the revolution of 1848 was a leader of the republican party in Rome, and in 1849 was chosen vice-president of the constituent assembly. After the occupation of Rome by French troops, he returned to France, but was expelled by order of Louis Napoleon. Permitted to return to Paris in 1850, he became in 1854 director of the Jardin des Plantes. He published in the United States a supplement to Wilson's “Ornithology,” entitled “American Ornithology, or History of the Birds of the United States” (4 vols., Philadelphia, 1825-'33), containing more than 100 new species discovered by himself; also “Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson's ‘Ornithology,’” printed in the “Journal” of the academy of Philadelphia; a “Synopsis of the Birds of the United States” in the “Annals” of the lyceum of New York; a “Catalogue of the Birds of the United States” in the “Contributions” of the Maclurian lyceum of Philadelphia; and other papers on the same subject. In Italy he was the originator of several scientific congresses, and lectured and wrote extensively on American and European ornithology and other branches of natural history. He published “Specchio Comparativo delle Ornithologie di Roma e di Filadelfia” (Pisa, 1827), presenting a comparison between birds of the latitude of Philadelphia and Italian species; “Iconografia della Fauna Italica” (Rome, 1833-'41), an elaborate illustrated work on the fauna of Italy; “List of the Birds of Europe and North America” (1838); “Conspectus Generum Avium” (Leyden, 1850); “Revue critique de l'ornithologie Européenne” (Brussels, 1850); in collaboration with H. Schlegel, “Monographie des loxiens” (Leyden, 1850); and, after his return to Paris, “Catalogue des oiseaux d'Europe” (Paris, 1856); also a descriptive catalogue of pigeons and one of parrots, prepared in conjunction with M. de Pouancé and published after his death. His “Memoirs,” written by himself, appeared in New York in 1836.


BONAPARTE, Jerome, king of Westphalia, b. in Ajaccio, Corsica, 15 Nov., 1784; d. in Villegenis, near Paris, 24 June, 1860. He entered the navy in 1800, and in 1803, during a visit to the United States, married Miss Patterson, of Baltimore, without the consent of his family. This marriage was declared null by Napoleon in 1806. He was promoted to rear-admiral by Napoleon in 1806, and in the same year was transferred to the army, becoming a general of brigade. His corps gained some successes in Silesia in 1807, and in July of that year his brother placed him on the throne of the new kingdom of Westphalia. He married the princess Catherine of Würtemberg, in August, 1807, and reigned till the expulsion of the French from Germany in October, 1813. After Napoleon's return from Elba, Jerome joined him, and commanded a division at Waterloo, winning the special praise of Napoleon for his gallantry there. After living in exile at Trieste, Rome, and Lausanne, he returned to France in 1847, and became a field-marshal in 1850. —

His wife, Elizabeth Patterson, b. in Baltimore, Md., 6 Feb., 1785; d. there, 4 April, 1879. Her father, William Patterson, emigrated from Ulster to America when a lad, pushed his way in business, became the owner of a line of clipper ships, and, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, only excepted, was the wealthiest citizen of Maryland. At a ball at the house of Samuel Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, in the autumn of 1803, Capt. Jerome Bonaparte was introduced to Miss Patterson. They were mutually pleased; but her father, foreseeing that his daughter's marriage with a youth with such brilliant prospects would prove distasteful to the first consul, forbade the courtship, and sent his daughter to Virginia. The lovers contrived to correspond, and in a short time became engaged, and Jerome went so far as to procure a marriage license. The match was postponed until 24 Dec., 1803, when Jerome would have passed his nineteenth birthday. All legal formalities were carefully complied with; the contract was drawn up by Alexander Dallas, afterward secretary of the treasury, and the vice-consul of France, the mayor of Baltimore, and many other dignitaries witnessed the ceremony, which was solemnized by Archbishop Carroll. Joseph and Lucien advised Jerome to become an American citizen, and took steps to procure him a provision enabling him to live there in accordance with his rank. From first to last Napoleon remained obdurate. Jerome received a message from his brother to the effect that if he left the “young person” in America, his youthful indiscretion would be forgiven; if he brought her with him, she should not put a foot on French territory. Capt. Bonaparte and his wife sailed in March, 1805, on one of Mr. Patterson's ships, reached Lisbon, and found a French frigate there to prevent her landing. Jerome left his young wife and went to Paris to plead her cause with the emperor, while the vessel proceeded to Amsterdam. At the mouth of the Texel two men-of-war awaited her, and Elizabeth Bonaparte was forced to seek an asylum in England. Pitt sent a regiment to Dover to prevent mischief, so great was the multitude that thronged thither to witness her landing. A few days later her son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, was born, 7 July, 1805, at Camberwell. Here she continued to reside, constantly receiving messages and letters from Jerome, protesting his fidelity and affection. Napoleon applied to Pius VII. to dissolve the marriage, which the pontiff steadfastly refused; but a decree of divorce was passed by the imperial council of state. On condition of her going to America, the emperor