Jérôme Napoléon "Bo" Bonaparte (also referred to as Patterson-Bonaparte, 5 July 1805 – 17 June 1870) was an American farmer, chairman of the Maryland Agricultural Society, and first president of the Maryland Club. He was the son of Elizabeth Patterson and

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

, brother of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Biography

Bonaparte was born in 95 Camberwell Grove,

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, London, but lived in the United States with his wealthy American mother, Elizabeth. His mother's marriage had been

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almo ...

by order of Jérôme's uncle,

. The annulment caused the rescission of his right to carry the Bonaparte name, although the ruling was later reversed by his cousin,

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. He graduated from Mount St. Mary's College (now Mount St. Mary's University) in 1817 and later received a law degree from Harvard, but did not end up practicing law. He was a founding member of the Maryland Club, serving as its first president. In November 1829, Jérôme Napoleon married Susan May Williams, an heiress from Baltimore, and it is from them that the American line of the

House of Bonaparte The House of Bonaparte (originally ''Buonaparte'') is a former imperial and royal European dynasty of French and Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, the son of Corsican nobleman Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte (née ...

descended. They had two sons:

Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II (November 5, 1830 – September 3, 1893) was a French-American military officer who served in the United States Army and later in the French Army. He was a member of the American branch of the House of Bonaparte. Ea ...

(1830–1893), who served as an officer in the armies of both the United States and France, and

Charles Joseph Bonaparte Charles Joseph Bonaparte ( ; June 9, 1851June 28, 1921) was an American lawyer and political activist for progressive and liberal causes of French noble descent. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, he served in the cabinet of the 26th U.S. pre ...

(1851–1921), who became the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

and

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

, and also created the Bureau of Investigation, which was later rechristened the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. Jérôme Napoleon had refused to wait for an arranged marriage to a European princess, instead opting for the $200,000 fortune that Susan brought to the marriage. In an attempt to match the railroad heiress's

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

, the groom's maternal grandfather, William Patterson — one of the wealthiest men in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

— gave the couple Montrose Mansion as a wedding gift. Bonaparte died in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, at age 64 and is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Constitutional issues

It is speculated that Jérôme's prospective title is a reason the 11th Congress of the United States in 1810 proposed the Titles of Nobility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would strip an American of his citizenship if he accepted a title of nobility from a foreign nation. The amendment was not approved; at the time, it lacked the approval of only two state legislatures.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonaparte, Jerome Napoleon 1805 births 1870 deaths English emigrants to the United States Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte People from Camberwell Mount St. Mary's University alumni American people of Corsican descent Harvard Law School alumni English people of French descent English people of American descent Patterson family (Maryland) Sons of kings Burials at Loudon Park Cemetery