John Augustus Pell (1808-1894)

He was born at Pelham, New York, and was the owner of a large amount of real estate in New York. From 1848 to 1858, he lived in Paris with his wife and daughter. They returned to New York but left again in 1866, spending the next ten years travelling around Europe. After three years (1876 to 1879) in New York, they again left for Europe, renting the Villa Montpensier (see images) at Pau from 1882. He briefly returned to New York in 1886 to write his will and was judged insane in 1887. From then on he, "lived in great state at Pau, France, a large retinue of servants being employed to look after his comfort. His residence (Villa Montpensier) is said to have been like a fairy palace. He also had a fine establishment in Paris." In 1848, he married Susan, daughter of Moses Field, of Bradhurst & Field, Wholesale Druggists, of New York, and she had an estate in her own right of about $6-million. They had one daughter, Eleanor Livingston Pell, wife of Charles Harris Phelps who lived together with their only son in Paris.