Editing Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (section)

==Early life==
Patterson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 6, 1785. She was the daughter of Dorcas (née Spear) Patterson and [[William Patterson (Maryland businessman)|William Patterson]], the oldest daughter of 13 children.  Her mother was the daughter of a Baltimore flour merchant, and her father, an Irish-born Presbyterian who came to North America from [[Donegal (town)|Donegal]] before the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]],<ref>Philip W. Sergeant, ''Jerome Bonaparte: the Burlesque Napoleon''. Brentano's, New York, 1906</ref> was the second wealthiest man in Maryland after [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]]. 

Although writers and journalists refer to her as Betsy, Patterson never used this name, and only her father with whom she had a contentious relationship used it; she always signed her name as Elizabeth, and Jérôme Bonaparte referred to her in all his letters with the French Élisabeth, Élisa or Elsa. Patterson was considered one of the more beautiful women in Baltimore and became known for her risqué and French taste in fashion.

Elizabeth's brother, Robert Patterson, married Carroll's granddaughter, [[Marianne Wellesley, Marchioness Wellesley|Marianne Caton]].<ref name="MSA1">{{cite web | url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/stagser/s1500/s1527/html/ssi1527pq.html | title=Marriage References | publisher=Maryland State Archives | date=May 23, 2001 | access-date=April 14, 2017 | archive-date=June 12, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612232854/https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/stagser/s1500/s1527/html/ssi1527pq.html | url-status=live }}</ref> After Robert's death, his widow Marianne married [[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley]], the older brother of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]]. Her other brothers, Joseph and Edward Patterson, were the owners of [[Joppa Iron Works]] in Eastern Baltimore County on the Gunpowder River.