James Gallatin

James Gallatin (December 18, 1796 – May 29, 1876) was an American banker who was the son of Albert Gallatin. Early life He was the eldest of two sons and four daughters born to Hannah ( Nicholson) Gallatin and Albert Gallatin, the 4th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom and France. His siblings were Catherine, Sophia, Hannah Marie, Frances, and Albert Rolaz Gallatin. Catherine, Sophia and Hannah Marie died as infants while his sister Frances married Byam Kerby Stevens (a son of Gen. Ebenezer Stevens) and his brother Albert Rolaz married Mary Lucille Stevens (a granddaughter of Gen. Stevens). His father was born to a wealthy family in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Jean Gallatin and his wife Sophie Albertine Rollaz. His maternal grandparents were Frances Witter Nicholson and Commodore James Nicholson, an officer in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War. His grandfather was from a well-connected Maryland family and was the elder brother to Samuel and John Nicholson, both of whom were also officers in the Continental Navy. Career While his father helped broker the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, James acted as his personal secretary during this diplomatic trip. After the success at Ghent, the Gallatins traveled to France just as Napoleon arrived at Cannes after escaping Elba. James' diary includes a detailed look into the lives of the nobles as they faced the threat of Napoleon's return. At one point, he is asked by the famous artist Jacques-Louis David to sit as a cherub for his painting l'Amour et Psyche: