Gouverneur was born in 1799 in New York City. His father was Nicholas Gouverneur, a merchant with the firm Gouverneur & Kemble, and mother was Hester Gouverneur, sister of the First LadyElizabeth Kortright Monroe. His younger sister, Maria Charlotte Gouverneur, was married to Thomas McCall Cadwalader. His maternal grandparents were Lawrence Kortright, a wealthy merchant, and Hannah Kortright. His paternal grandparents were Samuel Gouverneur and Experience Gouverneur. He was a first cousin of U.S. Representative Gouverneur Kemble through his aunt Gertrude Gouverneur, wife of merchant Peter Kemble. He graduated from Columbia College in 1817.
Gouverneur served as private secretary to his uncle, the fifth U.S. President James Monroe who served two consecutive terms as President from March 4, 1817 until March 4, 1825. Gouverneur helped former president Monroe to press his claims to Congress to repay mounting debts. After Elizabeth Monroe's death in 1830, Monroe came to live at the Gouverneurs' home, and died there in 1831. Gouverneur was executor of Monroe's estate, which had to be sold off to pay the debts. Monroe was buried in the Gouverneur family vault at the New York City Marble Cemetery, until descendants had the remains moved to the James Monroe Tomb in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. A ceremony was held at the Gouverneur vault 175 years later, on July 8, 2006. Monroe's personal papers were left to Gouverneur, who also was asked to support his wife's sisterEliza Monroe Hay. Gouverneur started work on publishing the papers or a book on Monroe, but it was never finished. After Mrs. Hay died in 1840, the Gouverneurs moved to Washington, DC where he worked in the consular bureau of the U.S. Department of State from 1844 to 1849. After congress agreed to buy the papers of President Madison, Gouverneur proposed a similar arrangement, which was concluded in 1850. Some personal papers would be retained for a few generations.
Personal life
On March 9, 1820, Gouverneur was married to Maria Hester Monroe, his first cousin and the daughter of President Monroe. The wedding was officiated by the Rev. William Dickinson Hawley and was the first wedding held in the White House for a child of a president. The wedding was small, with only 42 guests and no cabinet members invited, and General Thomas Jesup served as groomsman for Gouverneur. The couple went on a brief one-week honeymoon, and upon their return, Commodore and Mrs. Stephen Decatur gave them a reception at the Decatur House on May 20, 1820. Another ball was planned, but was cancelled due to Decatur's death two days later in a duel. After moving to New York, the Gouverneur's bought and lived at 63 and 65 Prince Street at Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Together, Samuel and Maria were the parents of three children:
Elizabeth Kortright Gouverneur, who married Dr. Henry Lee Heishell, James M. Bibby, and Colonel G. D. Sparrier.
Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, Jr., who married Marian Campbell, and became the first U.S. consul in Fuzhou, China.
In 1832, the Gouverneurs' sold their Prince Street residence to Miles R. Burke. On June 20, 1850, his wife Maria died at the Oak Hill estate, which was sold two years later in 1852. In September 1851, the widower Gouverneur married Mary Digges Lee, a granddaughter of Thomas Sim Lee. They retired to the Lee estate called "Needwood", near Frederick, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. This stressed family relations during the American Civil War, with Gouverneur associated with the Union government, while his in-laws had deep roots in the Confederate states. Gouverneur died at his Needwood estate on September 29, 1865. His estate was left to his second wife.
