The Bouvier family or Bouvier-Lee-Auchincloss family is the family of former

First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis née Bouvier; through her, the Bouviers are connected by marriage with the Kennedy family and the Onassis family. The Bouvier family immigrated to the United States in 1815 and joined the American upper class over subsequent years. Members of the family have French, Irish, and English ancestry.

History

Michel Bouvier, a veteran of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, was a French cabinet maker who immigrated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1815. By the time of his death, he had become wealthy, owning a cabinet-making business and large lands which contained coal reserves. His sons John Vernou Bouvier Sr. and Michel "M.C". Bouvier worked on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

, relocating to New York and further growing the family fortune. His daughter Emma Mary Bouvier (1833–1883), married financier

Francis Anthony Drexel Francis Anthony Drexel (June 20, 1824 – February 15, 1885) was a Philadelphia banker and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of Philadelphia financier Francis Martin Drexel, and became senior partner in the firm Drexel & Co. following his fat ...

, the son of

Francis Martin Drexel Francis Martin Drexel (April 7, 1792 – June 5, 1863) was an Austrian-American banker and artist. He was the father of Anthony Joseph Drexel, the founder of Drexel University, and present-day J.P. Morgan & Co, and the grandfather of Katharine ...

and the brother of

Anthony Joseph Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel Burnham Lambert, Drexel & Co. of ...

who founded present-day J.P. Morgan & Co. and was influential in developing the private banking system of the United States.

John Vernou Bouvier Jr. John Vernou Bouvier Jr. (August 12, 1866 – January 15, 1948) was an American Wall Street lawyer and stockbroker who was a patriarch of the Bouvier family. He was the father of John Vernou Bouvier III as well as a grandfather of First Lady J ...

was born in 1866 and inherited from the family, some of which he lost in the Wall Street crash of 1929. He was also a successful attorney.

John Vernou Bouvier III John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III ( ; May 19, 1891 – August 3, 1957) was an American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Princess Lee Radziwill, and was the fathe ...

, the son of J. V. Bouvier Jr married

Janet Norton Lee Janet Norton Lee Auchincloss (formerly Bouvier), (December 3, 1907 – July 22, 1989) was an American socialite. She was the mother of the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Lee Radziwill, and the mother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Early l ...

in 1928. Her father was James Thomas Lee, who came from another prominent Manhattan family. His father, Dr. James Lee, was the superintendent of New York Public Schools, as well as a local physician. Lee became a lawyer in the real estate industry, before investing in real estate successfully and developing several luxury buildings in Manhattan, including the Peter Stuyvesant Apartments. John III and Janet had two daughters: Jacqueline, who married

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

in 1953 and later

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

; and

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

, who married

Michael Temple Canfield Michael Temple Canfield (born Anthony Kerslake; August 20, 1926 – December 20, 1969) was an American diplomatic aide and secretary at the US Embassy in London during the Eisenhower administration who later worked in London as an editorial repre ...

Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł Prince Stanisław Albrecht "Stash" Radziwiłł (21 July 1914 – 27 July 1976) was a Polish prince, later a British citizen, as well as a socialite and a businessman. He served as director of the Olympic Airways. Career Radziwiłł was a ...

and

Herbert Ross Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in theater and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He is known for directing ...

. Janet later married stockbroker and lawyer

Hugh D. Auchincloss Jr. Hugh Dudley Auchincloss Jr. (August 15, 1897 – November 20, 1976) was an American stockbroker and lawyer. He became the second husband of Nina S. Gore, mother of Gore Vidal, and also the second husband of Janet Lee Bouvier, the mother of First ...

, the son of Hugh D. Auchincloss Sr. and a stepfather of

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

. Their marriage produced

Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd Janet Jennings Auchincloss Rutherfurd (June 13, 1945 – March 13, 1985) was an American socialite. She was the half sister of the former First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and socialite Princess Lee Radziwill. Early l ...

, who married Lewis Polk Rutherfurd, grandson of

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as List of ambassadors of the United States to France, United States ambassador to France, as a United States H ...

, former Vice President of the United States. John Vernou Bouvier Jr's daughter

Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ( Bouvier; October 5, 1895 – February 5, 1977) was an American socialite and singer known for her reclusive and eccentric lifestyle. Known as Big Edie, she was a sister of John Vernou Bouvier III and an aunt of ...

married

Phelan Beale Phelan Beale (May 23, 1881 – June 12, 1956) was an American attorney and sportsman in New York City who was married to Edith Ewing Bouvier, an aunt of former First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Beale is probably best re ...

. They had children:

Bouvier Beale Bouvier Beale (February 13, 1922 – May 3, 1994) was an American lawyer. Beale was one of the sons of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and was also a brother of Edith Bouvier Beale, whose lives were highlighted in the documentary '' Grey Gardens' ...

, Phelan Beale Jr. and

Edith Bouvier Beale Edith Bouvier Beale (November 7, 1917 – January 14, 2002), nicknamed Little Edie, was an American socialite, fashion model, and cabaret performer. She was a first cousin of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill. She ...

. In 1975 Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter "Little Edie" were the subjects of a documentary called

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, ...

. It documented their day-to-day lives living in the dilapidated Grey Gardens mansion with raccoons and cats in increasing squalor. They are most known for their connection with the Kennedy family.

Residences

The residence most commonly associated with the family is

Lasata Lasata is an estate in East Hampton, New York, that was the childhood summer home of the future First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis until she was about 12. Description The two-story, gray-stucco mansion (also known as the ...

, the home of

East Hampton, New York East Hampton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York United States. It is located at the eastern end of the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town i ...

. John Jr's daughter,

purchased the Grey Gardens house in East Hampton and lived there with her daughter

into old age, failing to maintain the house as it became increasingly derelict. In 1975, a documentary film was made about the house and its occupants, the Bouvier Beales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouvier Family American families of French ancestry Business families of the United States Family trees