Samuel Laurence Gouverneur (1799 – September 29, 1865) was a lawyer and civil servant who was both nephew and son-in-law to James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States.

Early life

Gouverneur was born in 1799 in New York City. His father was Nicholas Gouverneur (1753–1802), a merchant with the firm Gouverneur & Kemble. His mother was Hester (née 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).

Career

In 1824, Gouverneur was elected as a People's Party (faction of the Democratic-Republican party) member of the New York State Assembly, serving in the 48th New York State Legislature in 1825. He was aligned with Assembly Speaker Clarkson Crolius, also from New York County.

On November 19, 1828, he was appointed Postmaster of New York City, succeeding former U.S. Representative and Senator Theodorus Bailey who died in office on September 6, 1828. While in New York he invested in racehorses, and the Bowery Theatre along with James Alexander Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton, and Prosper M. Wetmore. 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. 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 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. and was the first wedding held in the White House 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.

  • James Monroe Gouverneur (1822–1885), a deaf-mute who died at the Spring Grove Asylum in Baltimore, Maryland;
  • Elizabeth Kortright Gouverneur (1824–1868), who married Dr. Henry Lee Heishell, James M. Bibby, and Colonel G. D. Sparrier. On April 28, 1905, a historical plaque was placed on the building in a ceremony with several Monroe descendants in attendance. A crowd of "thousands" included General Frederick Dent Grant and an army attachment. However, by the 1920s the once-elegant pair of houses had fallen into disrepair and were covered in advertisements. A group tried to save one of the houses in the 1920s, but it suffered damage when a move was attempted. 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 and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. This stressed family relations during the American Civil War, with Gouverneur associated with the Union government, while his in-laws had deep roots in the Confederate states. His estate was left to his second wife.

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