Charles Bonaparte
father of the Emperor Napoleon, was born at Ajaccio in 1746; studied law at Pisa; and married, in 1768-without the consent of his uncles-a beautiful young patrician lady, named Letizia Ramolino. In 1768 he removed with his family to Corte, in order to assist General Paoli in defending the island against the French invasion. As the French prevailed, and further resistance was useless, useless, Charles Bonaparte attached himself to the NAPOLEON BONAPARTE French interest, and in 1771 was included by Louis XV. in the election of 400 Corsican families to form a nobility.
In 1773 Charles Bonaparte was appointed royal counselor and assessor of the town and Province of Ajaccio. In 1777 he was a member of the deputation of Corsican nobles to the Court of France. In this capacity he resided for some time in Paris, where he gained for his son Napoleon, through the interest of Count Marbœuf, a free admission into the military school at Brienne. In 1779 he returned to Corsica, and in 1785 went to Montpelier, dying the same year.
By his marriage with Letizia he left eight children: JOSEPH BONAPARTE, King of Spain; NAPOLEON (q. v.), Emperor of the French; LUCIEN BONAPARTE, Prince of Canino; MARIA ANNA (afterward named ELISE), Princess of Lucca and Piombino, wife of Prince Bacciochi; LOUIS BONAPARTE, King of Holland; BONAPARTE CARLOTTA (afterward named MARIE PAULINE); PRINCESS BORGHESE AN- NUNCIATA (afterward named CARO- LINE), wife of General Leclerc, afterward of Murat, King of Naples; JEROME BONAPARTE, King of Westphalia. These members of the Bonaparte family, with the children of BEAUHARNAIS (q. v.), adopted by the Emperor Napoleon when he married Josephine, are distinguished as the Napoleonide of modern French history. By a decree of the Senate (1804), the right of succession to the throne was restricted to Napoleon and his brothers, Joseph and Louis, with their offspring. Lucien and Jerome were excluded on account of their unequal marriages. As Joseph, the eldest brother of the Emperor, had no son, the descendants of Louis became nearest heirs to the throne.
MARIA LETIZIA RAMOLINO, mother of Napoleon I., lived to see her family placed on the thrones of Europe, and also witnessed their downfall. She was born at Ajaccio in 1750. After the death of her husband, she lived for some time in Corsica, and in 1793, when the island came under British rule, removed with her family to Marseilles, where she lived in poverty, mainly supported by the pension given to Corsican refugees. After her son became First Consul she removed to Paris, and when her son was crowned in 1804 received the title Madame Mère. After the downfall of Napoleon, Letizia lived with her stepbrother, Cardinal Fesch, in winter at Rome, and in summer at Albano, and submitted to her change of fortune with remarkable dignity. She died in 1836.
JOSEPH BONAPARTE, eldest brother of Napoleon, was born at Corte, in Corsica, in 1768. On the death of his father he exerted himself to support the younger members of the family, and in 1793 removed with them to Marseilles, where he prepared for the bar. In 1797 he was elected a member of the Council of Five Hundred, and, in the same year, was sent as Ambassador from the republic to Rome. In 1800, after he had proved his ability in several offices of State, he was chosen by the First Consul as Plenipotentiary to conclude a treaty of friendship with the United States of America. He signed the Treaty of Peace at Luneville, 1801, and that of Amiens, 1802; and, with Cretet and Bernier, conducted the negotiations relative to the concordat. After the coronation of Napoleon new honors fell to the share of Joseph Bonaparte, who was made commanderin-chief of the army of Naples; in 1805, ruler of the Two Sicilies; and in 1806, King of Naples. Though, during his BONAPARTE reign, many beneficial changes of government were effected, these reforms were not managed judiciously; and his humane feelings brought him into frequent collision with his imperious brother. He was far too fond of the fine arts to be a vigorous ruler in stormy times. In 1808 Joseph Bonaparte was summarily transferred by his brother to the throne of Spain, and Murat took his place as King of Naples. Joseph was unprepared to cope with the Spanish insurgents, and after the defeat of the French at Vittoria in 1813, he returned to his estate at Morfontaine, in France.
After the battle of Waterloo he accompanied Napoleon to Rochefort, whence they intended to sail separately for North America. In his last interview with Napoleon, Joseph generously offered to give up the vessel hired for his own escape, but meanwhile Napoleon had determined to surrender himself into the hands of the English. Joseph became an American citizen, and lived for some years at Bordentown, N. J., where he employed himself in agriculture. In 1832 he returned to Europe, and he died at Florence in 1844. His wife, JULIA MARIE CLARY, born in 1777, was the daughter of a wealthy citizen of Marseilles, and the sister-in-law of Bernadotte, King of Sweden. She died in Florence in 1845. By her marriage with Joseph Bonaparte she had two daughters.
LUCIEN BONAPARTE, Prince of Canino, and brother of Napoleon, was born at Ajaccio in 1775, and received his education in the college of Autun, the military school at Brienne, and the seminary at Aix. In 1798 he was made a member of the Council of Five Hundred, and formed a party favorable to the views of his brother Napoleon. Shortly before the 18th Brumaire he was elected President of the Council of Five Hundred. During the ferment which followed Napoleon's entrance, Lucien left his seat, mounted his horse, and, riding through the ranks of the assembled troops, called upon them to rescue their general from assassins. Afterward appointed Minister of the Interior. As Ambassador to Madrid (1800) he contrived to gain the confidence of King Charles IV. and his favorite, Godoy, and to undermine the British influence at the Court of Spain.
Lucien was a Republican in opinion, and, therefore, opposed to the absolute rule of his brother; and his second marriage to the widow of a stockbroker did not improve their relations. On condition that he would divorce his wife, the crowns of Italy and Spain were offered him; but he refused them, and preferred living in BONAPARTE retiremen, at his estate of Canino, in the province of Viterbo, where he devoted his time to art and science. Here he enof the Pope, who created him Prince of Canino and Mudenounced the arrogant and cruel policy of his brother toward the Court of Rome , he was advised to leave the city. In 1810 he took ship for America, but fell into the hands of the English. After the defeat at Wateralone seems to have preserved his presence of mind. He his brother to dissolve the Chambers, and assume the place of absolute dictator.
After the second ascent of the throne by Louis XVIII., Lucien lived in and near Rome, and died at Viterbo in 1840.
He possessed considerable talents and firmness of character.
His eldest son was CHARLES LUCIEN JULES LAURENT BONAPARTE, Prince of Canino and Musignano , born at Paris in 1803. He never exhibited any inclination for political life . He acquired a considerable reputation as a naturalist, and especially as a writer on ornithology.
He died in 1864 He was a member of the principal academies of Europe and the United States.
His chief publications are a continuation of Wilson's "Ornithology of "Ornithology of America," and "Incono- Italica." The second son, PAUL ond son, PAUL MARIE BONAPARTE, born in 1808, took a part in the Greek War died by the accidental discharg rge of a pistol in 1827. The third son, LOUIS LUCIEN BONAPARTE, born in Worcestershire, during his father's imprisonment in England, early devoted himself with equal ardor to chemistry, mineralogy, and the study of languages, and became an auin Basque, Celtic, and comparative philology generally.
His election for Corsica in 1848 was ansent to the Constituent Assembly for the Seine department next year, and was made Senator in 1852, with the title of Highness in addition to that of Prince , which he already possessed from his birth. Most of his contributions to linguistic science have been privately printed. Among these are a translation of St. Matthew's version of the parable of the sower into 72 languages and dialects of Europe map of the seven Basque provinces, Basque provinces, showing the delimi- ," and its division into dialects, subdialects , and varieties (1863); a Basque version of the Bible dialect (1865); a masterly treatise on the Basque verb (1869); besides many papers of profound learn- BONAPARTE ing in the philological journals. A great work produced under from 1858 to 1860, was a version of the work produced under his patronage Song of Solomon in 22 different Engfrom 1858 to 1860, was a version of the lish dialects, besides four in Lowland Scotch, and one in Saxon. Do long lived in England, where ho was granted Civil List pension ir 1883. He died Nov. 3, 1891. The fourth ton, PIERI NAPO- LEON BONAPARTE, born in 1815, passed through many changes of fortune in America, Italy, and Belgium, and returned to France in 1848.
In 1870 he shot a journalist, Victor Noir, L. deed excitement in Paris; and, being tried, was acquitted of the charge of murder, but condemned to pay relatives. He TOINE BONAPARTE, born in 1816, fled to died in 1881. The youngest son, ANthe United States after an affair with in 1816, fled to the Papal troops in 1836, and returned to France in 1848, where he was elected to the National Assembly in 1849; he died in 1877.
Napoleon, born in 1778, was educated LOUIS BONAPARTE, third brother of in the artillery school at Chalons, where Republican principles.
After rising from one honor to another he was made King of Holland in 1806; but, in fact, was never more than a French Governor of Holland, subordinate to have done his best to govern in the to the will of his brother. Yet he seems interests of his Dutch subjects, and when he found his efforts useless, he resigned in favor of his son in 1810.
He returned to Paris in 1814, where he was coldly received by the Emperor.
After living for some years in Romewhere he separated from his wife-he removed in 1826 to Florence, where he in 1846. Louis Bonaparte was the writer lived in retirement. He died at Leghorn of several works, " iques sur le Gouvernment de la Hol- of several works, "Documents Historlande" (3 vols. London, 1821); "Hisiques sur le Gouvernment de la Holtoire du Parlement Anglais," (1820); and a critique on M. de Norvins' "History of Napoleon." tory of Napoleon." Louis Bonaparte was Beauhar nais, daughter of General Beauharnais by his wife, Josephine, afterward Empress of the French. daughter of Napoleon, Queen of Hol- EUGENIE BEAUHARNAIS, the adopted , the adopted land and Countess St.
Paris in 1783. After the execution of land and Countess St. Leu, was born at her father, she lived for some time in Paris in 1783. After the execution of humble circumstances, until Napoleon's . In obedience to the plans of her stepto the plans of her step-father she reintended husband, General Desaix, and married Louis Bonaparte in 1802. She lived mostly apart from her BONAPARTE husband, even as Queen of Holland; and, on the downfall of the Napoleons, passed her time in various countries. She at last settled at Arenenberg, a mansion in the Canton Thurgau, Switzerland. She died at Arenenberg in 1837. She was the author of "La Reine Hortense en Italie, en France, et en Angleterre, pendant l'année 1831," and wrote several excellent songs. She likewise composed the well known "Partant pour la Syrie," which the late Emperor of the French made the national air of France. Of her three sons, the eldest, NAPOLEON LOUIS CHARLES, born 1803, died in childhood in 1807. The second, LOUIS NAPO- LEON, born in 1804, Crown Prince of Holland, married his cousin Charlotte, daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, and died in 1831. The third, CHARLES LOUIS NA- POLEON, became Emperor of the French.
See NAPOLEON III.
JEROME BONAPARTE, youngest brother of Napoleon, was born in Ajaccio in 1784. After receiving his education in the college of Juilly, he served as naval lieutenant in the expedition to Haiti.
When war broke out between France and England in 1803, Jerome was cruising off the West Indies, and was compelled to take refuge in the port of New York.
While in the United States he married Elizabeth Patterson (1785-1879), daughter of a merchant in Baltimore. He fought in the war against Prussia, and in 1807 was made King of Westphalia.
His administration of his kingdom was careless, extravagant, and burdensome to his subjects. The battle of Leipsic brought the reign of Jerome to a close.
He fought by the side of the Emperor at Waterloo. After his brother's abdication he left Paris and visited Switzerland and Austria, but ultimately settled in Florence. At the outbreak of the February Revolution (1848), Jerome Bonaparte was in Paris, where he was appointed Governor of the Invalides, and in 1850 was made a French marshal. He died in 1860.
His marriage with Elizabeth Patterson having been declared null by Napoleon, Jerome was forced, after he had gained the Westphalian crown, to marry Catharine, daughter of King Frederick I. of Württemberg. After the battle of Waterloo, her father wished to annul the marriage; but she declared her resolution to share through life the fortunes of her husband. Jerome Bonaparte left in the United States one son, Jerome Napoleon (1805-1870), by his first marriage, who was a wealthy resident, though he never became a naturalized citizen. He left two sons, (1) JEROME NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, born in Balti- BONAPARTE more (1832-1893). He served with credit in the United States and French armies. (2) CHARLES JOSEPH BONA- PARTE (q. v.), born in Baltimore in 1851; graduated at Harvard, and became a lawyer. By his second wife Jerome Bonaparte had three children. The elder son, JEROME BONAPARTE, born in 1814, died in 1847. MATHILDE BONAPARTE, Princess of Montfort, born at Trieste, 1820, married the Russian Count Anatol Demidoff, and lived at the court of Louis Napoleon. She died Jan. 2, 1904. The younger son, NAPOLEON JOSEPH CHARLES PAUL BONAPARTE, born at Trieste in 1822, passed his youth in Italy; entered the military service of Württemberg in 1837; afterward traveled in several countries of Europe; and was banished from France (1845) on account of his intercourse with the Republican party. After February, 1848, he was elected to the National Assembly. He commanded an infantry division at the battles of Alma and Inkermann. In 1859 he married the Princess Clotilde, daughter of Victor Emmanuel, by whom he had two sons and a daughter. After the fall of the Empire he took up his residence in England, but returned to France in 1872. On the death of the Prince Imperial, son of the Emperor Louis Napoleon, in Zululand in 1879, the eldest son of Prince Napoleon became the heir of the Bonapartist hopes. When, in 1886, the chiefs of the Bourbon family were, by a vote of both chambers, expelled from France, Prince Napoleon and his eldest son were exiled also as pretenders to the throne.
He died in 1891. See NAPOLEON.
The Bonaparte Pretenders. Of the Emperor Napoleon I. and his brothers, Joseph and Louis, male issue is now extinct. The Emperor's brothers, Lucien and Jerome, are represented by the following living descendants: Prince Victor Napoleon (of the house of Jerome) born July 18, 1862, is the son of the late Prince Napoleon (who died March 18, 1891) and the Princess Clotilde, sister of King Humbert of Italy.
The Prince has been recognized by his party as the undisputed head of the Bonaparte family. He lives in Brussels and is unmarried. His only brother, Prince Louis Napoleon, born in 1864, is an officer in the Russian army. His sister, born in 1866, is the widow of Prince Amadeus of Italy, her own uncle, by whom she had a son, Prince Humbert, born in 1889.
The living aunt of Prince Victor Napoleon is the Princess Mathilde, born in 1820, married, in 1840, Prince Demidoff, of Russia; now a widow without children. 1 1 BONAPARTE (1) Joseph, (2) Napoleon I.
King of Spain, died 1844. 1804-1814, died 1821.
Duke of Reichstadt THE BONAPARTE FAMILY Charles Bonaparte (3) Lucien, Prince of Canino, died 1840.
Charles, Paul, Louis Pierre, (Napoleon II.), died died Lucien, died died 1832. 1857. 1827.
Lucien, Charles, Cardinal, died 1899. died 1895. died 1881. 1891.
BOND (4) Louis, King of Holland, died 1846.
Louis Napoleon Charles, Napoleon died 1807. (Napo- Roland Jeanne Prince Charles Napoleon, brother of the late Cardinal Bonaparte, who died Feb. 12, 1899, was the last representative of the eldest son of Napoleon's line. He brother, Lucien, in the male line. He , in the male line was born in 1839; was married and had two daughters- Marie, wife of Lieutenant Giotti, of the Italian army, and Eugénie, unmarried. He had three sisters, married, respectively, to the Marquis of Roccagivione, Count Primoli, and Prince Gabrelli.
Prince Roland Bonaparte is the only living male cousin of Prince Charles Napoleon. He is a son of the late Prince Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte; was born in 1858; married in 1880, the daughter of Blanc, the proprietor of the Monte Carlo gambling establishment. His wife died in 1882, leaving him a daughter and a fortune. He has one sister, Jeanne, born in 1861, and married to the Marquis de Villeneuve.