Caroline Le Roy Appleton

Caroline Le Roy Bonaparte (née Appleton; later Edgar) was an American social figure and member of the Appleton and Bonaparte families.

Caroline Le Roy Bonaparte
Born	Caroline Le Roy Appleton (1840-10-03)October 3, 1840 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	November 19, 1911(1911-11-19) (aged 71) Washington D.C., U.S.
Spouse(s)	Newbold Edgar ​ ​ (m. 1860; died 1869)​ Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II ​ ​ (m. 1871; died 1893)​
Children	5
Relatives	Daniel Webster (grandfather)

Life and family

Caroline Le Roy Appleton was born on October 3, 1840, in Boston. She was the eldest child of Samuel Augustus Appleton, who was born in England (but came from an American family) and his wife, Julia Webster. Samuel was a member of the Appleton family, a colonial family from Ipswich, Massachusetts, and therefore had several important family connections. Her mother, Julia Webster Appleton, was the daughter of famed statesman Daniel Webster, who most famously served as United States Secretary of State from 1841-1843 and 1850-1852. She was presumably named after her grandmother, Webster's wife, Caroline LeRoy. She was mentioned in her grandfather's will.^[1]

On November 28, 1860, she was married to Newbold Edgar, who she was related to, with whom she would have three children. Newbold died around 1864 or 1869.

Second marriage

In what would become arguably the most important event of her life, Caroline would marry on September 10, 1871, to Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II, a member of an excluded line of the House of Bonaparte that had resided in the United States. Jerome had previously served in the Crimean and Franco-Prussian wars. He was the brother of Charles Joseph Bonaparte, future United States attorney general, the son of Jerome Napoleon "Bo" Bonaparte, and the grandson of Jerome Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon), and his American wife, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. The two came to know each other during Jerome's military service in France, as her family had connections in France.^[2] The wedding was described as long, with a small wedding party consisting of various members of the American Bonaparte and Appleton-Edgar families, although numerous spectators watched.^[3] With Jerome, she would have two children. She would follow Jerome on his military travels before and after 1871, such as to Paris in 1873.

Grave of Caroline Le Roy Bonaparte at Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore

Jerome died in 1893, and Caroline died in 1911 at the age of 71. In the last years of her life, she largely spent her time between her residences in Washington D.C. and Maine. She was buried at Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore, along with other members of the American Bonaparte family.

Issue

With Newbold Edgar, she would have three children.

• Newbold Leroy Edgar (1862-1924) married in 1890 to Marie Josephine Manice, an art exhibitor.
• Webster Appleton Edgar CDR (1864-1950), graduated from the United States Naval Academy and retired as naval commander in 1915. Married twice with three children.
• Mary DeSales Edgar (1866-1937), born in France, became a nun.

With Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II, she would have two children:

• Louise-Eugénie Bonaparte (February 7, 1873–January 22, 1923), who married Count Adam Carl von Moltke-Huitfeld (1864–1944), a Danish diplomat and member of the Moltke family, in 1896, and had issue.
• Jerome-Napoleon-Charles Bonaparte (February 26, 1878–November 10, 1945), who married Blanche Pierce Strebeigh, described as a social climber, who was the daughter of Edward and Emily Pierce of Newtonville, Massachusetts, and former wife of Harold Strebeigh of Hewlett, New York, in 1914. The two had no children. He died after tripping over his wife's dog's leash in Central Park, being the last of the American Bonaparte line.