 Jouvenal emigrated to the United States in June 1853, and married Mary Hauser on August 17, 1853, in New York City.The Jouvenals moved to Washington, D.C., in July 1855, where Jouvenal helped to sculpt the capitals of the columns of the United States Capitol, then undergoing a major expansion.Jouvenal was dismissed when the American Civil War broke out in April 1861.