Angelina Jauncey Thorn de Pau

Angelina “Jauncey” Thorn was the eldest daughter of the Thorn children. She was born in 1813 and married at the American Embassy in Paris in 1835 to Lewis de Pau of New York, grandson of Comte de Grasse.

Like her brothers William and James, she was forced to change her surname to “Jauncey” in order to inherit her share of her Great Uncle’s wealth. Old William Jauncey (Jane Mary’s uncle and guardian) despised Herman Thorn so much that he refused to leave anything to his children unless they took his name. There are many court documents still available that outline the whole process.

I found a record that said she and Lewis first lived in Charleston, South Carolina, and then later in Paris on the Ile de France. In 1840, they returned to New York and took up residence at Glen Island with their two children Silvia and Amelia:

Starin’s Glen Island was a summer resort in the community of New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York. In 1803 Newbury Davenport purchased the island to protect the view from his manor on Davenport Neck, a peninsula of land 50 yd. across the open water from the site. It remained in the Davenport family until 1847 when Lewis Augustus DePau purchased the island for $3,050.

Depau was the grandson of the Comte De Grasse, The Admiral of France, commanding the fleets operating with Rochambeau in 1781. De Pau was also Napoleon III’s U.S. fiscal agent. At this time the island was named “Locust” after the lush groves of Locust trees found throughout the property. At the center of the island he built a grand mansion surrounded by well landscaped grounds and fish-ponds, and containing hot-houses, bathing facilities, billiard rooms and a bowling alley.

De Pau used his home to entertain such luminaries as Presidents Chester A. Arthur, Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield, Jenny Lind, Aaron Burr and Daniel Webster. De Pau sold the island and mansion to John Schmidt in 1862 before leaving for Prussia.

The couple had two more children Francis and Jane Mary. In the letters of James Fenimore to his wife, he says, “Angelina Thorn lost a child some time since, and the effect has bought her husband into the church, and made a moderate man of him.” Those few words paint an interesting picture of Lewis de Pau.

From what I can tell, he was a passionate sailor, and inaugural member of the New York Yacht club, owning two yachts – Syvlie (formerly Mayflower) – 205 ton sloop which cost him 20,000 pounds to build. And Mist – 40 tons. Sylvie seems to have come second in a Queen’s Cup race in England in 1853, but there is some conjecture over the placing. However, Sylvie, was the first sloop yacht to ever cross the Atlantic.

It makes me wonder if Angelina shared Lewis’s yachting obsession or if he was a particularly absent husband.

She died at the age of 64 and he died a couple of years after her in Paris. I dearly wish I had a painting of her. But I haven’t seen one mentioned, even in Healy’s records. If anyone has further information about Angelina or the de Pau’s I would love to hear from you.

Francois-Joseph-Frederic Roux (French, 1805-1870)
Centerboard Sloop Sylvie of the New York Yacht Club at Havre, 1866
label on front reads:
centerboard sloop Sylvie, New York Yacht Club at Havre, 1866,
designed by George Steers, c.1851
signed, inscribed and dated ‘Frederic Roux, Havre 1866’ (lower right)
further inscribed ‘Côte de la Providence (Americaine)… Frederic Roux,
with copyright stamp, Paris, 1866’ (on the reverse)”
pencil, ink and watercolor
15-1/2 x 22-1/2 in. (39.3 x 57.2 cm.), sight