Samuel Laurence Gouverneur (1799 – September 29, 1865) was a lawyer and civil servant who was both nephew and son-in-law to
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
, the fifth
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
.
Early life
Gouverneur was born in 1799 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. His father was
Nicholas Gouverneur (1753–1802), a merchant with the firm Gouverneur & Kemble,
and mother was Hester (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Kortright) Gouverneur (1770–1842), sister of the
First Lady Elizabeth Kortright Monroe. His younger sister, Maria Charlotte Gouverneur (1801–1867), was married to
Thomas McCall Cadwalader (1795–1873).
His maternal grandparents were Lawrence Kortright, a wealthy merchant, and Hannah (née Aspinwall) Kortright.
His paternal grandparents were Samuel Gouverneur (1720–1798) and Experience (née Johnson) Gouverneur (1720–1788).
He was a first cousin of
U.S. Representative Gouverneur Kemble (1786–1875) through his aunt Gertrude Gouverneur, wife of merchant
Peter Kemble.
He graduated from
Columbia College in 1817.
Career
In 1824, Gouverneur was elected as a People's Party (faction of the
Democratic-Republican party
The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...
) member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
, serving in the
48th New York State Legislature in 1825. He was aligned with
Assembly Speaker Clarkson Crolius, also from
New York County
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...
.
On November 19, 1828, he was appointed
Postmaster of New York City, succeeding former
U.S. Representative and
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Theodorus Bailey who died in office on September 6, 1828.
While in New York he invested in racehorses, and the
Bowery Theatre
The Bowery Theatre was a playhouse on the Bowery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Although it was founded by rich families to compete with the upscale Park Theatre (Manhattan), Park Theatre, the Bowery saw its most successful ...
along with
James Alexander Hamilton, son of
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
, and Prosper M. Wetmore.
Gouverneur served as
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
until July 4, 1836, when he was succeeded by
Jonathan J. Coddington.
Relationship with Monroe
Gouverneur served as
private secretary to his uncle, the fifth
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
who served two consecutive terms as President from March 4, 1817 until March 4, 1825. Gouverneur helped former president Monroe to press his claims to Congress to repay mounting debts. After Elizabeth Monroe's death in 1830, Monroe came to live at the Gouverneurs' home, and died there in 1831. Gouverneur was executor of Monroe's estate, which had to be sold off to pay the debts.
Monroe was buried in the Gouverneur family vault at the
New York City Marble Cemetery, until descendants had the remains moved to the
James Monroe Tomb in the
Hollywood Cemetery in
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
. A ceremony was held at the Gouverneur vault 175 years later, on July 8, 2006.
Monroe's personal papers were left to Gouverneur, who also was asked to support his wife's sister
Eliza Monroe Hay (also his cousin, then a widow).
Gouverneur started work on publishing the papers or a book on Monroe, but it was never finished. After Mrs. Hay died in 1840, the Gouverneurs moved to
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
where he worked in the consular bureau of the
U.S. Department of State from 1844 to 1849. After congress agreed to buy the papers of
President Madison, Gouverneur proposed a similar arrangement, which was concluded in 1850. Some personal papers would be retained for a few generations.
Personal life
On March 9, 1820, Gouverneur was married to
Maria Hester Monroe, his first cousin and the daughter of President Monroe. The wedding was officiated by the Rev.
William Dickinson Hawley[ Excerpt from ] and was the first wedding held in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
for a child of a president. The wedding was small, with only 42 guests and no cabinet members invited, and General
Thomas Jesup served as groomsman for Gouverneur.
The couple went on a brief one-week honeymoon, and upon their return, Commodore and Mrs.
Stephen Decatur
Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...
gave them a reception at the
Decatur House on May 20, 1820. Another ball was planned, but was cancelled due to Decatur's death two days later in a duel.
After moving to New York, the Gouverneur's bought and lived at 63 and 65
Prince Street at
Lafayette Street
Lafayette Street ( ) is a major north–south street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It originates at the intersection of Reade Street and Centre Street, one block north of Chambers Street. The one-way street then successively runs throu ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. Together, Samuel and Maria were the parents of four children:
* a daughter, who died in infancy (d. September 4, 1821)
* James Monroe Gouverneur (1822–1885), a
deaf-mute
Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both hearing impairment, deaf and muteness, could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak ...
who died at the Spring Grove Asylum 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 ...
;
* Elizabeth Kortright Gouverneur (1824–1868), who married Dr. Henry Lee Heishell, James M. Bibby, and Colonel G. D. Sparrier.
* Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, Jr. (1826–1880), who married Marian Campbell (1821–1914), and became the first U.S.
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
in
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(then spelled Foo Chow).
In 1832, the Gouverneurs' sold their Prince Street residence to Miles R. Burke. On June 20, 1850, his wife Maria died at the
Oak Hill estate, which was sold two years later in 1852.
In September 1851, the widower Gouverneur married Mary Digges Lee (1810–1898), a granddaughter of
Thomas Sim Lee (1745–1819). They retired to the Lee estate called "Needwood", near
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...
and
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac River, Potomac and Shenandoah River, Shenandoah Rivers in the ...
. This stressed family relations during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, with Gouverneur associated with the Union government, while his in-laws had deep roots in the Confederate states.
Death
Gouverneur died at his Needwood estate on September 29, 1865. His estate was left to his second wife.
Family
Descendants
His granddaughter Rose de Chine Gouverneur, born in China in 1860, married Roswell Randall Hoes (1850–1921) and died on May 26, 1933. Their sons Gouverneur Hoes (1889–1943) and Laurence Gouverneur Hoes (1900–1978) established the
James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library in the
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...
building that housed the
James Monroe Law Office, administered by the
University of Mary Washington
University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Established in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Fredericksburg, the institution later became known as Fredericksbu ...
.
References
Notes
Sources
External links
1799 births
1865 deaths
American politicians of Dutch descent
Members of the New York State Assembly
Monroe family
Personal secretaries to the president of the United States
Postmasters of New York City
Columbia College (New York) alumni
19th-century members of the New York State Legislature
*
{{Authority Control