Murat's maternal first cousin, Napoleon III of France, provided his widow with a cash sum of $40,000 and an annual stipend so that she could live the life to which she had become accustomed. She proved to be a better handler of money than her husband had been, and purchased the Bellevue Plantation in 1854. She held court among her friends and admirers until after the Civil War. Catherine Murat died in 1867 and was also buried at the St. Johns Episcopal Church cemetery. In 1967, the Bellevue plantation house was moved to Tallahassee, where it has been made part of the Tallahassee Museum.