22. Beaumarchais’ estate was finally paid a partial settlement
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais died in Paris in May, 1799 at the age of 67. He was survived by his third wife, and their daughter. Both of his earlier wives had died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, leading to rumors among French society that he had poisoned them, after marrying them for their money. The subject remains a matter of debate to this day. At the time of his death, the debt owed him by the United States remained unpaid. His widow petitioned the American Minister to France for remuneration in 1801. The minister, Robert Livingston, relayed the petition to the American government in Washington. President Jefferson assigned his Attorney General to look into the matter.
Jefferson, who had served as Minister to France, knew Beaumarchais well and was sympathetic to his fellow polymath’s case, but nothing was done. In 1807, the Jefferson administration acknowledged the United States was indebted to the late Beaumarchais. Five years later, the Madison administration came to the same conclusion, but no payment was made. While Beaumarchais rested in his grave at Paris’s Pere Lachaise Cemetery, his descendants continued to petition the United States for payment. Finally, in 1835, Beaumarchais’ descendants were offered a payment of 800,000 francs in a take it or leave it to offer. They took it, and the United States considered the debt paid in full.