The Major was as dapper as James Thomas Lee was rough around the edges. Long after they were out of fashion, he continued to sport spats, starched collars, tweed jackets, and a waxed mustache — the very picture of upper-crust gentility. But the two men shared one common trait — the tendency to dabble in revisionist history.

Jim Lee would go to extraordinary lengths to secure his family's position — including fabricating his background. In a listing submitted to the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, which included short articles about historically important families, James completely denied his parents' heritage. Instead, he claimed his father had been born in Maryland and served as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. Similarly, Margaret's father, Thomas Merritt, was identified as being a Savannah, Georgia, native who made his living as an importer and was also a Confederate veteran.

Just as Jim Lee erased his Irish heritage, John Vernou Jr. embellished his family tree. He wrote a book called Our Forebears in which he claimed the Bouviers were descended from French aristocrat swith ties to the monarchy. None of it was true, but it reflected John Vernou Jr.'s sense of entitlement and elitism.

As desperately as Jim Lee wanted to be included in the world of high society, the Major wanted to ensure his family remained at the top of the pecking order. Their best-laid plans collided when Janet Norton Lee set her sights on John Vernou Bouvier III.