Elizabeth (Monroe) Hay (1786-1840)

She was born in Virginia but spent most of her childhood in Paris, notably during the French Revolution while her father was the American Minister to France. She was educated at the Maison d'Éducation de la Légion d'Honneur, the school set up by Henriette Campan, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie-Antoinette. There she befriended Hortense de Beauharnais who was godmother to her only child (in addition to her stepdaughter, Marie-Antoinette Ringgold) and the future mother of Emperor Napoleon III. She returned with her family to the United States in 1803, fluent in both French and English. She had a formidable presence and assisted her mother as hostess during her father's second term in office. Following the death of her parents and husband, all within a year of each other, she returned to Paris, converted to Catholicism and entered a convent. She is buried in the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.