Susan May Williams Bonaparte (April 2, 1812 – September 15, 1881) was an American heiress and the wife of

Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte 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 Eli ...

, a French-American nephew of Napoléon I, Emperor of France and a Baltimore lawyer and landowner.

Biography

Susan was the daughter of Benjamin Williams, a native of

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, who became a prominent

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

merchant; and his wife, Sarah Copeland, widow of Nathaniel Morton. In 1827, Williams helped found the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

, the first railroad company in the United States, in response to the opening of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

and its competition with the port of Baltimore. In November 1829, Susan married Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte-Patterson, the son of Elizabeth Patterson, an American socialite, 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 ...

; their marriage had been annulled after three years on the orders of Napoléon himself so that his brother could make a more advantageous marriage. Jérôme Napoleon-Patterson, who had graduated from Harvard but found he preferred raising horses to working in law, soon became interested in Susan and the $200,000 fortune she had inherited. According to his uncle Henry Patterson, the match was purely mercenary on Bonaparte's part. 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 ...

, made the financial arrangements for the marriage and gave the couple Montrose Mansion as a wedding gift. Their wedding was conducted in secret behind the back of his mother, who was away in Europe at the time and hoping for an aristocratic match for her son; Susan and Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte never successfully reconciled after this rift. Their sons were the soldier

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) and the lawyer and government official

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). General

Lew Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Walla ...

described Susan as:

...staunchly Union, a tall, handsome, black-eyed, Franco-American woman, decidedly masculine in mind, but true to her woman's place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Susan May 1812 births 1881 deaths 19th-century American people Susan May Williams People from Baltimore Susan May Williams Patterson family (Maryland) Burials at Loudon Park Cemetery