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1940-41 Series
Bulletin No. 3
STOR IES of New Jersey
PREPARED FOR
lf~E
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY THE
NEW JERSEY WRITERS' PROJECT, WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
ijij
Chestnut Street, Newark, New Jersey
THE BONAPARTES IN NEW JERSEY
The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 sent his
brother Joseph, the former King of Spain. fleeingacross the Atlantic to exile.
On the banks of the Delaware Hiver in Bordentown, Joseph Bonaparte built a magnificent estate where he lived for17 years. Relatives and sympathizers came to
stay with him for long or short intervals, and together they watched the game
of European politics and waited for the day when a Bonaparte would return to
power and glory in France.
Eldest of eight children--five brothers and three sisters--Joseph Bonapartf~
was born in 1768 at Corte on the island of Corsica. He was only 19 months older
than Napoleon--"The LlttleCorporal" who was to conquer western Europe and place
himself on a throne as Napoleon I of France. Joseph, at the age of 20, began
practicing law and entered atonce into the political life ofCorsica which long
\\1. t h the eomin g of the French Revo-h aJ been a r10 tbed of intrigue and revo 1 t.
tl1e rei,S:n of terror~ \' nrr:>SSCd
lutton, the Ponapartes, even tllongh they disl
sympathy for tl1c peop1
Settling in
P'
s cause nnd were
tv, n
fir-··~
'>'r·n frnr:' f'orsicn L)~' U1
bPcarne off.Lc: 1·c~
\;:;Jists.
i''·
Lli·'·
..
,-
Point Breeze,the estate tn Bordentown as it was when owned by JosePh Bonaparte.
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STORI ES of New Je~ey
Republ ican army which was strugg ling t<J .Just foreign troops
who were sent to
stamp out the revolu tion. Soon Napole on's genius as a militar
y leader was reco,gnize d, and with his brothe r's gradua l rise to power, Joseph
gair>ed promin ence
as a diplom at--a role for which he was well fitted by tempera
ment and training:. In 1800, ayear after Napoleo n became First Consul and virtua
l dictato r of
France , Joseph kept France at peace by making treatie s with
the United States~
Austria and Englan d. Then in 1804 Napoleo n crowned himsel f
Empero r of France ,
and two years later he made Joseph King of Naples and Sicily
. With the conquest of Spain in 1808, Napoleo n ordered Joseph to move on
to the royal palace
at Madrid . Their brothe r-in-la w, Genera l Joachim Murat, replace
d Joseph on the
throne at Naples . Twenty years afterw ard, the name of Murat,
as well as Bonaparte, was to arouse excitem ent and gossip among the citizen
s of Borden town.
Within 20 years the Bonapa rte family ·rose to the greate st heights
in the
politic al and militar y life of Europe , and then swiftly they
fell. In 1812 Napoleon retreat ed from Moscow .
In June 1813 the British , after driving Joseph
and the French army from Spain, prepare d to invade France
. Two months later
Austri a declare d war on Napoleo n and was joined by Russia,
the German States
and a Swedish army under Crown Prince Bernad otte. The Prince
, afterwa rd Kin~
of Sweden and Norway , had been one of Napole on's ambitio us genera
ls and had married Joseph 's sister- in-law who was resentf ul because Napoleo
n did not marry
her. Today the royal house in Sweden is descend ed from Berna dot
te and his Queen.
In Octobe r 1813 Napoleo n was defeate d at the decisiv e battle
of Leipzig ,
and early in 1814 France was invaded by the allies. The Empero
r, now despe~­
ately occupie d at the front, made Joseph Lieuten ant Genera
l of the Empire and
instruc ted him to defend Paris and to protec t the Empress Maria
Louisa and Napoleon 's little son, the King of Rome. The fall ofParis came
on March 31, followed immedi ately by Napole on's abdica tion and departu re for
the island of Elba.
Here he was to be confine d for life. Joseph meanwh ile fled
to live quietly
with his wife and two daught ers in Switze rland.
For one year all was calm in Europe . Then sudden ly the world
was startle d
to learn that the Empero r had escaped from Elba, had landed in
France , was sweeping vigoro usly across thenat ion with a growing army ofloya l
follow ers. Joseph ,
after burying a casket of preciou s jewels , hastene d back to
France to be with
his brothe r. Victory succeed ed victory , but at the end of a
hundred days, disaster crashed down upon Napoleo n at Waterlo o andonc emore nothing
remaine d for
the Bonapa rtes but exile.
At the town of Rochef ort in June 1815 Joseph pleaded with
the Empero r to
flee to Americ a. He reminde d him of the day three years before
when Napole on,
with a map in front of him, had determ ined that a point on
the Delawa re River,
conven ient to New York and Philad elphia, would be the best locatio
n for a refuge
if escape became necess ary. Joseph urged his brothe r, who resemb
led him, to exchange passpo rts and go aboard the Americ an brig Commerce which
lay at anchor in
the small port of Royan. Napole on, after much delibe ration,
decided to place
himsel f iii the hands of the British , and Joseph , taking the
name of Boucha rd,
sailed for theUni ted States on July 25. The Commerce. after
eluding patrol ling
British frigate s, reached New York on August 28, 1815.
Safe in Americ a, the
myster ious passen ger no longer feared to reveal that he was
Joseph Bonapa rte.
To the public he presen ted himsel f as the Count de Survil liers,
using the name
of a village on his former estate in France .
During the two years follow ing his arriva l in this country ,
the ex-king of
Spain took up various residen ces in New York City and Philad
elphia. During this
time he was looking about for an estate where he could settle
down with greate r
privacy in more spaciou s surroun dings. His search brough
t him to Borden town
where in Au,2:_u:::t 1~1G :1c:1nst ruc ed hi:'-; interpr U·r; .James Carret
, to :j<~.;.· .. 1:·~5no
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STO~~IES
of New jersey
to Stephen Sayre for 211 acres of land known as Point Breeze. The following
year New Jersey's legislature passed a special law permitting Joseph Bonaparte,
an alien, to own property in his own name in this State. The exiled king used
this privilege to enlarge Point Breeze until it consisted of 1,800 acres.
In the same year, 1817, his faithful secretary, Louis Mailliard, returned
to Europe ostensibly on business for Stephen Girard, merchant and founder of
Girard College, who was Joseph's wealthiest and most intimate American friend.
In Switzerland, posing as a mining prospector, Mail liard hired a crew of laborers and dug up the hidden jewels 'Which Joseph had carried away from Paris and
Madrid. With these gems, valued at approxima. tely five million francs, .Mail liard
returned to Bordentown. At Point Breeze the jewels were kept in a secret cabinet together with the crown and r.ings which the former monarch had worn as King
of Spain.
In New JerseyJoseph was join,ed by his two daughters, Zenaideand Charlotte.
His wife, Queen Julie, wealthy in her own right and loved by the poor for her
generosity, did not come to America because physicians had warned her that the
voyage would tax her health too much. After several years of separation from
the Queen, Joseph selected as his consort a young Quaker woman named Annette
Savage.n They had one child, Pauline Joseph Ann Holton, whose descendants may
be living in New Jersey today. She was buried in a Trenton churchyard.
Life for the Bonapartes was very pleasant at Point Breeze. The mansion
built by Joseph on a high bluff above the meeting point of the Delaware River
and Crosswicks Creek became the show place of the region. Visitors drove from
miles around to see his art treasures and he enjoyed playing the part of guide.
Statues of Napoleon and the entire Bonaparte family, tables and occasional pieces
of mahogany and art objects of bronze and marble stood in all the rooms, and in
the art gallery were master works by Rubens, Teniers and Vernet and a copy of
Napoleon's "Passage of the Alps" by the great French Painter, David. A priceless possession was Raphael Mengs' "Nativity of our Savior,'' commissioned by a
Spanish king for the royal altar.
Blue and silver sa tin covered windows and furniture, and in each room splendid mirrors gleamed from ceiling to floor. The walls of the dining room were
decorated with four murals depicting Napoleonic victories in Italy. Beautiful
Sevres porcelain was used for table service. Prominently displayed were two
lovely porphyry vases, a gift from brother-in-law Bernadotte of Sweden and Norway. Joseph's uncle, Cardinal Fesch, sent him two white marble mantlepieces
from Italy. Worth several thousand dollars, these are said to be in the gatehouse on the Point Breeze estate, now known as Bonaparte Park.
"AlJoseph's grandniece, Princess Caroline Murat, wrote in her old age:
though I have seen many beautiful estates in Europe, I have seen nothing on this
side of the Atlantic that compares· to Point Breeze." Twelve miles of roadway
and bridle path ran between magnificent pine, beech and oak trees on the estate; statues posed on every knoll; deer roamed about in their own park; and
here and there were arbors, rustic bridges, rain shelters, quiet retreats and
cool springs. A small stream was dammed to form a lake half a mile long where
swans and pleasure craft glided in the summertime. On Crosswicks Creek was a
dock for the 16-oar barge presented to Joseph by Stephen Girard. The barge often traveled up and down the Delaware to transport famous guests from Trenton,
Philadelphia and other river towns.
Joseph Bonaparte regula ted his daily life at Point Breeze by a schedule.
In the morning· he had toast and coffee at seven; did his writing and reading
till breakfast time at eleven; a tour ofthe estate preceded lunch at two; dinner came at eight and supper at ten. At meals he was often ,ioined by his friend
Joseph Hopkinson, of Bordentown and Philadelphia, who wrote the poem Hail Co-
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STORIES of New Jersey
Joseph Bonaparte
lumbia. Hopkinson's f'ather had been a signer of' the Declaration of' Independence
f'or New Jersey. Joseph had read widely and studied the arts in France, Spain
and Italy~ Victor Hugo and Bernardin St. Pierre, author of' Paul and Vireinia,
had deep aff'ection and respe~t for him, as didmany others in the arts and sciences. In the f'irst years of his exile in America he became acquainted with
many of the political leaders. Later, some of them--Henry Clay, John Quincy
Adams, Daniel Webster and Richard Stockton, a New Jersey signer of the Declaration of Independence, among others--were his good f'riends.
The people of Bordentown accepted Napoleon's brother as a friend and nei~h­
bor. Joseph was f'ond of the children and permitted them to use his lake for
swimming and ice-skating. They spoke of him as "the good Mr. Bonaparte" to distinguish him from the Emperor. Joseph went out of his way to f'ind work on his
estate for poorer members of the community, employing them for landscaping and
woodchopping. Carved in Latin on the pavilion at Point Breeze were the words:
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STOR.I ES of New Jersey
ed." His neighb or"Famil iar with misfor tune, I have learned to help the wretch
hastene d to rescue
liness was repaid when townsp eople, in the winter of 1820,
that destroy ed
fire
a
by
ered
endang
were
which
sions
his many pricele ss posses
elabora te stables
the mansio n. Anothe r house was at once constru cted about the
g.
dwellin
30-room
new
the
into
rated
which were remode led and incorpo
in revolt
--then
Mexico
from
came
tion
delega
a
It was in 1820, too, that
tically he
Drama
.
country
that
of
kin~
become
to
agains t Spain- -to ask Joseph
to wear a third •••
announc ed: "I have worn two crowns; I would not take a step
fellow citizen s a
your
among
seek
and
States
Follow the example of the United
gton." Napole on,
Washin
of
part
great
the
man more capable than I am of acting
Atlant ic, disapthe
in
island
an
on
approac hing the end of his lonely exile
himsel f abother
to
life
of
res
"He is too fond of the pleasu
pointed ly said:
of Naponews
t
brough
year
ng
gain with the burden of a crown •• $" The followi
brothe r
his
that
d
declare
leon's death at St. Helena . Joseph , greatly moved,
had "died a victim to the cruelty of his enemie s."
. BonaThe "Little Corpor al's" death did not change life at Point Breeze
resfor
plan
and
plot
partes and Bonap artists still .1 ourneye d to Bordent own to
Zeer
daught
's
toratio n of their wealth and power in France . In 1822 Joseph
the
into
moved
naide married her cousin Charles Bonapa rte, and theyoun g couple
their
e. For
large 3-story brick house that was built for them at the lakesid
led along the
house
the
from
g
startin
shed
long
a
r,
conven ience in bad weathe
50 feet long
side of the bluff and connec ted with a brick tunnel. The tunnel,
of Crossw icks
and 10 feet wide, provide d a direct passage way from the shore
in the tunnel also
Creek to the interio r of the mansion on the bluff. Doors
A section still
house.
ice
the
to
and
mansion
gave access to the cellar of the
remain s.
cousin, NapoJoseph 's second daught er, Charlo tte, also married a first
Bonapa rte, on the
leon Louis, who as a child had succeed ed his father, Louis
on's step-da ughthrone of Holland for a very brief period . His mother was Napole
Charles Bonater Horten se, daug:ht er of Joseph ine. Unlike Zenaid e' s husband
a short and
had
Louis
n
Napoleo
logist,
ornitho
an
parte, who became famous as
politic al
a
in
death
his
met
he
27,
of
age
fruitle ss career. In 1831, at the
went
Italy
to
Also
live.
to
gone
had
tte
uprisin g in Italy where he and Charlo
whom
of
one
n,
childre
eight
raised
they
Charles and Zenaide in 1828, and there
they carried with
became a cardina l in the Catholi c: Church . From Point Breeze
which resulte d
study
a
birds-n
them memori es of Charle s' early study of America
John James
with
hip
friends
in
and
in the public ation of his book, Ornitho logy,
Audubo n, the great Americ an ornith ologis t.
Joseph in
Before they had left Bordent own, Zenaide and Charles had aided
tour as a
his
during
twice
enterta ining Lafaye tte when he visited Bordent own
BonaJoseph
with
y
guest of the nation in 1824. The Marqui s was always friendl
Bonathe
visit,
first
parte thou.Q:h the two men differe d poll tically . On his
meet
to
barge
large
the
on
parte family and their friends went down the Delawa re
was
barge
the
and
r
steame
the steamb oat carryin~ Lafaye tte.. They boarded the
Crossup
sailed
and
taken in tow. At Bordent own the party returne d to the bar~e
rode through
wicks Creek to Point Breeze . On both visits Lafaye tte and Joseph
tants.
inhabi
the
the streets ofBord entown , bowing to the enthus iastic cheers of
sister CathA year later, in 1825, when Lucien Murat, theson of Joseph 's
uncle Joseph
his
and
cousins
his
gave
erine, came to live at Borden town, he
fond of gamely
extrem
and
someone to worry about. Lucien was 22 on his arrival
Lucien anpurse,
bling, huntin[:! : and drinkin g. A constan t drain on his uncJe's
neighb orthe
of
gered the aristoc ratic Bonapa rtes by carousi ng with theyou ths
the stafrom
ed
hood and borrow ing money from everyon e he knew. He even borrow
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STO RIES of New Jerse y
ble boy to pay thela d in town who held his
horse . Typic al of his escap ades was
the after math of a billi ard game in the hotel
in Borde ntown one summ er nigh t.
Faced with the prosp ect of walki ng home throu
gh a sudde n rains torm , Lucie n calmly remov ed all his cloth es, tied them in a
bund le and start ed off. The other
young men follo wed suit, and soon the incid
ent was the talk of Borde ntown . During the.2 0 years he lived in New Jerse y, Lucie
n made three attem pts at farmi ng
and faile d each time. These ventu res and
his love for horse s, dogs and boats
cost him and his cred itors more than $70,0
00.
When he was 24, Lucie n elope d with beau tiful
Caro lina Frase r of Borde ntown ,
form erly of Balti more . This marr iage to a
woman who was not of royal blood was
the last straw for Josep h Bona parte . Ther
eafte r his unpr incel y nephe w could get
no money from him. Soon Lucie n had spen t all
his wife 's mone y, and her siste r's
too. Caro lina then opene d a fashi onab leboa
rding scho ol at her Park Stree t home
in Borde ntown and young girls were sent from
great dista nces to study the grace ful arts in the home of Mme. Mura twho secha
rming husba nd was a princ e. A woman
of nerve as well as accom plish ment , Mme. Mura
t once led the way when the peop le
of Borde ntown hesit ated to step aboar d the
first railr oad train . As the locomotiv e, calle dthe John Bull, stood roari ng
onth etrac k and puffi ng spark s from
its funn el, all those who had come to witne
ss the run of the first comm ercial
railr oad in New Jerse y stepp ed back in fear.
With one hand on her bonn et and
the other holdi ng her full skirt s tight ly,
Caro lina Mura t stepp ed forwa rd and
was helpe d to a seat. It was only then that
the rest of the gathe ring follo wed.
Lucie n had an olde r broth er, Achi lle, who
settl ed in Flori da. This Mura t,
who disli ked to drink water or to wash with
it, was a frien d of Ralph Waldo
Emers on and wrote seve ral books on Amer ican
mann ers and insti tutio ns. He married a grand niece of Georg e Wash ingto n and
becam e an Amer ican citiz en. His
first visit to Borde ntown occu rred in 1823,
on his arriv al in this coun try. In
1827, the year of Luci en's marr iage, he again
came to New Jerse y to see his relative s.
If nephe w Lucie n was a probl em to Josep h
Bona parte , nephe w Pierr e was a
curse . Pierr e Bona parte , broth er of Josep
h's son-i n-law , Char les, the sobe r
scie ntist , came to Borde ntown in 1831 when
he was 17. Alrea dy he had kille d a
man in Italy . Durin g his stay of a year in
this coun try he earne d a repu tatio n
for his unco ntrol lable tempe r and immo derate
ways.
Resid es worry ing abou t the young memb ers of
his famil y, Josep h Bona parte
was now troub led by the fact that he was
growi ng old, and there was still no
imme diate sign of a Bona parte resto ratio n
in Franc e. In 1832 he wrote ur~ently
to the King of Rome , known also as the Duke
of Reic hstad t, Napo leon' s frail son,
who lived unde r the ~ardianship of his grand
:fathe r, the Empe ror of Aust ria.
"Let his Impe rial Maje sty conse nt to entru
st you to my care ••• I will quit m~
retre at to ••• resto re to the love of the Frenc
h the son of the man whom I have
loved the most of anyon e upon earth . My opini
ons are well known in Franc e •••
If you enter Franc e with me and a trico lor
scarf , you will be recei ved there as
the son of Napo leon. "
But it was too late for the young Duke to
act. He was alrea dy dang erous ly
Josep h, learn ing this, left Poin t Breez e in
1832 and saile d for EnRl and,
hopin~ to be perm itted to go to Vienn
a to see his nephe w. Arriv ing at Live rpool, he was notif ied that Napo leon II had
died on July 22, a~ed 21. Josep h
Bona parte , the Coun t de Surv illie rs, was now
first heir and claim ant to the empire once ruled by his broth er.
For five years , Josep h resid ed in Engla nd.
His reque st that he be allow ed
to .1oin his famil y in Italy was denie d by
the allie d natio ns. In 1837 he came
back to Poin t Breez e for two more years and
then retur ned to Engla nd, leavi ng
ill.
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STORIES of New Jersey
In 1841, seriously ·ill, Joseph Bonaparte was taken to
these shores forever.
Italy on an English ship. Soon afterward he was permitted to join his wife and
daughters at Florence, where he d:Led in 1844 at the age of 76.
. 11ained after his uncle's departure. But not
In Bordentown, Lucien Murat
in France, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, his
1848
of
Revolution
the
With
for long;.
Joseph Bonaparte's second son-inLouis,
Napoleon
of
brother
first cousin and
the signal for Lucien to hurry
was
This
law, became President of the nation.
followed later. Friends paid
children
abroad. His American wife and their four
for their passage and some of the ladies ofBordentown made their clothes. There
is a story that the two little boys were clad in suits made from a coachman's
uniform. In France, Lucien became a member of the assemblies and Minister to
Turin. When Louis Napoleon, who in 1837 had hunted at Point Breeze during Joseph's absence, was proclaimed Napoleon III, Emperor of France, his cousin Lucien became a Prince of the realm. A year after this event, in 1852, Lucien
wrote to an old Bordentown crony: "I am president of three companies and Grand
Master of the Masons ••• How different from the life ••• I en.1oyed under my trees
in Bordentown quietly smoking; my cigar ••• However, my pride is satisfied ••• Pray
remember me kindly to ••• old acquaintances who inquire after me. Tell them I
am not changed, and that I often think of them all. 11
Such was Lucien Murat's farewell to the Bordentown he liked so well. Today his oldhome, Linden Hall, is known as 49-61 East Park Street, a row of attached houses remodeled in yellow stucco. Lucien belonged to Bordentown more
than any of the Bonaparte clan. His children were born there; one was buried
there in the graveyard of Christ Church. Lucien himself lived to be 75, but he
never forgot the old town on the Delaware where he spent the richest and happiest years of his life.
Point Breeze was inheritedby Zenaide's son, young Prince Joseph, who sold
it in 1847. The property was later resold to Henry Beckett, an Englishman whom
the Rordentown people called 11 the destroyer" because in 1850 he had the Bonaparte mansion demolished. The portion of the estate known today as Bonaparte
Park, consisting of about 250 acres, was purchased in 1912 by Harris Hammond,
son of John Hays Hammond, the famous mining engineer. After spending; thousands
of dollars to revive the splendor of what had once been the refuge of royalty,
Hammond lost Bonaparte Park during; the depression of the 1930's. In 1937 the
company holding a mortgage on the property bought it for $200. The old Point
Breeze is gone forever. There remain only the original lodge house at the gate,
the boxwood that Joseph planted and thebeautiful old trees in the forest. Like
the Bonaparte dynasty, Point Bree,ze had two periods of magnificence and glory
It has long: been forgotten that newspapers once called New
and then decayed.
Jerseymen "Spaniards" and New Jersey "Spain" because a former king of Spain
found friendly exile on the eastern shore of the Delaware River.
.
'
Carlo \farj
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New Jersey State Library
ma rr; c a
Lettzi.a Hafl1olino
T
Napoleon
I
Eliza
I
Lucien
married
marrLed II
Lon is
marr.ed
Julie-Mar ie Clary
\fme. Joubertho u
Hortense Reauha.rn ais
---~
un
-
-
--
---
I
Caroline
Charlotte
ma rr1 ed
marrted
Charles Lucien
Napoleon Louis
(son
c~f
Lucien)
(son
i1 /
Napoleon Charles
~
Louis
--1
Charles Louis Napoleon
'!l!.l ·- r 2 e J
Charlotte
Louzs)
Charles Lucien
~apoleon
Joachim Murat
ste~daughter
I
Zen aide
Bonaparte tn
America
ma rr1. ed
AabJ!e n's
----
Jerome. First
Pauline
Joseph
I
1
T
Pierre
married
:IJapoleon Achille
Napoleon Lucien Charles (called Lucten)
married
Zen aide
Carolina Fraser
1---- -l
Caroline
Joachim
Anna
Achille
Louis
This geneAlogocal chart of the Bonaoarte family is an
incomplete outline to show the interrelat ionships of
those who came to Bordentown.
Jerome Bonaparte 's
family 1 ived in Baltimore , New York and other cities;
his l~st descendan t is a resident of New York.