Background
Stephen was born probably in 1754, The place of birth is unknown. He came from a family of Bordeaux merchants.
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Stephen Jumel
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Jumel first appears in American history in 1795 when he landed in New York, having come by way of St. Helena from Haiti, where he had been driven from his coffee plantation by the insurrection of the blacks. Just before leaving he had shipped a cargo of coffee to New York, and with the proceeds of its sale he laid the foundations of a highly successful wine business.
He was soon naturalized and went into partnership with Jacques Desobry. While the Embargo was in force, for instance, he doled out his wine in small quantities, knowing that the price would continue to rise, but as soon as word came of its repeal, he rushed a cargo to New Orleans, instructing the captain to go up the river alone to dispose of the cargo before the crew could spread the news which would lower its value.
During the period of non-intercourse with France, he had wine carried overland from Bordeaux to San Sebastian, taking care that Spanish labels were substituted for the French. His agents in the Spanish port were told that when a ship flying his house flag appeared, they were to fly a white flag if the coast was clear, but a red-and-white flag if the officials were making seizures, and all his captains were provided with safe "dummy" instructions in addition to the real ones.
The fortune which he amassed was ultimately lost through his marriage on April 7, 1804, with Eliza Brown. After a vain attempt to force his wife upon New York society, he sailed with her to France in 1815 and is said to have offered to bring Napoleon to America after Waterloo. The Jumels were more successful socially in Paris than in New York, but in 1826, Mme. Jumel returned to the latter city bearing a power of attorney with which she gained control over most of the property of her husband, who returned two years later in reduced circumstances.
Jumel died as the result of a fall from a wagon in 1832.
Achievements
Personality
His commercial correspondence reveals his cunning mind which piled up a considerable fortune in the years during which American commerce was interrupted.
Quotes from others about the person
Jumel has been described as a "handsome, graceful giant" with a generous and impulsive nature.
Connections
On April 7, 1804 he married Eliza Brown, otherwise known as Betsey Bowen, "a beautiful blonde with a superb figure and graceful carriage" with whom he had been living for several years. In 1810 he purchased for her the Roger Morris house, at one time Washington's headquarters, now preserved as a museum.
