A single mother, Rachel struggled to provide for Alexander and his brother before she died in 1768, leaving him an orphan. More, Housed in the New York State Library, the NNRC offers students, educators, scholars and researchers a vast collection of early documents and reference works on America's Dutch era. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. ' A slight inheritance from Philip Schuyler helped with that, as did the private raising of money from Hamilton's friends that enabled Elizabeth to stay in the house she and Hamilton had shared. In the year before the duel, Eliza's mother Catherine had died suddenly,[47] and only a few months after Hamilton's death Eliza's father died as well. But behind the myth of the games creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing. Eliza was also driven by her faith. After Vice President Aaron Burr killed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, Hamiltons widow, Elizabeth Schuyler Eliza Hamilton, had to find a way to go on without her beloved husband. Two years later on July 12, 1804, Hamilton died during a duel with Aaron Burr. The two families were two of the wealthiest families of that time and it is safe to say that Dutch was probably still their main language in everyday life. A lifelong reader who was largely self-educated, he soon set his sights far beyond his tiny island home. The story provides a snapshot of her own life following the loss of her husband, such as her work founding an orphanage in New York, and she also sings of being with Alexander again at some point in the future (with Miranda briefly re-joining her on stage). On the Hamilton Free Schools shoestring budget, it could afford just one teacher, who also doubled as the schools janitor, according to the reminiscences of William Herbert Flitner, who attended the school in the 1840s. Eventually, Eliza Hamiltons school evolved into a scholarship fund that helps students from Washington Heights and Inwood attend Columbia University. A chronicle of Rensselaerswijck, c. 16481656, For over three decades, NNI has helped cast light on America's Dutch roots. Elizabeth Schuyler was born on August 7, 1757, in Albany, New York, the second daughter of wealthy landowner and Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler. The Grange, their house on a 35-acre estate in upper Manhattan, was sold at public auction, but she later repurchased it from Hamiltons executors, who felt that she could not be dispossessed of her home, and purchased it themselves to sell back to her at half the price. "[41] After returning home to Eliza on July 22[42] and assembling a first draft dated July 1797,[43] on August 25, 1797, Hamilton published a pamphlet, later known as the Reynolds Pamphlet, admitting to his one-year adulterous affair in order to refute the charges that he had been involved in speculation and public misconduct with Maria's husband James Reynolds.[44]. She is most unmercifully handsome and so perverse that she has none of those pretty affectations which are the prerogatives of beauty," he wrote in a letter to Eliza's sister Angelica, per Smithsonian Magazine. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1881. Eliza, who had to struggle to pay for her own childrens education after her husbands death, could empathize. After two more months of separation punctuated by their correspondence, on December 14, 1780, Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler were married at the Schuyler Mansion. In June 1848, when Eliza was in her nineties, she made an effort for Congress to buy and publish her late husband's works. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He was born c. 1755 on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies. By supporting NNI you help increase awareness of the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland and its legacy in America. After Eliza's husband died and she moved to Washington D.C. in 1842 . Hamiltons wife Eliza Schuyler was a key part of his life, but she was also an important historical character in her own right. In the first year, the society took in 20 children but had to turn away nine times as many, according to Mazzeo. She made huge sacrifices to send the children to school in town and to keep them at home with her, Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of the 2019 biography Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton, explains. As Hamilton is released on Disney Plus, the real lives of Alexander Hamilton and the characters in the musical are being discovered by new audiences. [citation needed], In 1798, Eliza had accepted her friend Isabella Graham's invitation to join the descriptively named Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children that had been established the previous year. "[28], The Hamiltons had an active social life, often attending the theater as well as various balls and parties. Angelica Schuyler Church died in New York City in March 1814 at the age of fifty-eight. Peggy Schuyler died young. All Rights Reserved. Before their eighth child was born, however, they lost their oldest son, Philip, who died in a duel on November 24, 1801. "I'm erasing myself from the narrative / let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted / when you broke her heart," she sings, referencing a very real historical ambiguity. He served several stints in the Continental Congress and was involved in planning a number of notable Revolutionary War battles, including the surprising Colonial victory at Saratoga in 1777, the first widespread British defeat and a turning point of the war. [8] The relationship between Eliza and Hamilton quickly grew; even after he left Morristown for a short mission to negotiate a prisoners exchange, only a month after Eliza had arrived. Not even wealth could lower that very high death rate. The entire Schuyler family seemed as taken with Hamilton as she was. The widow couldnt afford a bigger place, but a group of wealthier women in the area decided to help. He was born on January 22, 1782 and died on November 23, 1801 at the age of 19. The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state of New York. See how you do with some of the questions a petitioning citizen must answer. Adieu best of wives and best of Women. The marriage took place at the Schuyler mansion in Albany, New York. She continued to help Hamilton throughout his political career, serving as an intermediary between him and his publisher when he was writing The Federalist Papers, copying out portions of his defense of theBank of the United States,and staying up late with him so he could readWashingtons Farewell Addressout loud to her as he wrote it. ("The world has no right to my heart / the world has no place in our bed / they don't get to know what I said."). [citation needed], By 1846, Eliza was suffering from short-term memory loss but was still vividly recalling her husband. In March 1818, the group petitioned the New York State Legislature to incorporate a free school, and asked for $400 to build a new school building. This is trueshe really did save his writings and fiercely defended his legacybut she was also a force for change in her own right. In 1842, she moved to Washington D.C., where she remained a prominent member of society until her death. ", A Happy Union He published the pamphlet in order to refute the charges that he had been involved in public misconduct with Marias husband James Reynolds, and to avoid accusations of embezzlement. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, portrayed by Phillipa Soo in the original Broadway run of Hamilton, was not just the wife of one of America's founding fathers. Alexander and Eliza married on December 14, 1780. The two became extremely close. Hamilton insisted upon his innocence, and the matter was kept private for years. A firm but affectionate mother, Elizabeth made sure her children had a religious upbringing, and ran the household so efficiently that an associate told Hamilton she "has as much merit as your treasurer as you have as treasurer of the wealth of the United States." Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (1757-1854) was a philanthropist, wife to Alexander Hamilton, and mother of their 8 children. [25] On September 25, 1784, Eliza gave birth to her second child, Angelica, named after Eliza's older sister. For sixteen years, she lived in Europe with her British-born husband, John Barker Church, who became a Member of Parliament. He eventually became a prominent landowner, with tens of thousands of acres in the Albany area. What Was Alexander Hamilton's Role in Aaron Burr's Contentious Presidential Defeat. Elizabeth was born in Albany, New York, the second daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, a Revolutionary War general, and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler. We remember Maria's older brother dying in a brawl with Tony from West Side Story. Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture. She had seven siblings who lived to adulthood, including Philip Jeremiah Schuyler . He had been stationed along with the General and his men in Morristown. However, We know that Mrs. Hamilton did regularly visit the school and give out awards on prize days, so she remained involved with the school's central mission and with celebrating its achievements.. Her eighth and last child, Philip (Little Phil), was born on June 1, 1802. [3] She is recognized as an early American philanthropist for her work with the Orphan Asylum Society. James McHenry, one of Washington's aides alongside her future husband, said, "Hers was a strong character with its depth and warmth, whether of feeling or temper controlled, but glowing underneath, bursting through at times in some emphatic expression. By early 1777, hed made enough of a name for himself that several Colonial generals asked him to join their staffs. When Eliza Hamilton died in November 1854 at age 97, the uptown school was still in existence, but it clearly had seen better days. In early 1780, Elizabeth went to stay with her aunt in New Jersey where she met Hamilton, who was one of General George Washingtons aides-de-camp at the time. Despite her advanced pregnancy and her previous miscarriage of November 1794, her initial reaction to her husband's disclosure of his past affair was to leave Hamilton in New York and join her parents in Albany where William Stephen was born on August 4, 1797. [citation needed]. Eliza and the other activists soon set out to raise $25,000 to build a bigger facility on a donated parcel on Bank Street in Greenwich Village. In 1797 Eliza was told of an affair that had taken place several years earlier between Hamilton andMaria Reynolds, a young woman who had first approached him for financial assistance. Embrace all my darling Children for me. He was born out of wedlock, a status that his political opponents would later seize on. 2021 Associated Newspapers Limited. [19] Soon, however, Washington and Hamilton had a falling-out, and the newlywed couple moved, first back to Eliza's father's house in Albany, then to a new home across the river from the New Windsor headquarters. In 1787, Eliza sat for a portrait, executed by the painter Ralph Earl while he was being held in debtors' prison. She was portrayed by Eve Gordon and was referred to as Betsy. Even so, according to Gill, Eliza eventually became unable to afford the estates upkeep, and in 1813, she was forced to sell it and move to humbler quarters downtown. Just a teenager, he made a name for himself writing pamphlets and articles supporting the Revolutionary cause. In September that year, Eliza learned that Major John Andr, head of the British Secret Service, had been captured in a foiled plot concocted by General Benedict Arnold to surrender the fort of West Point to the British. Eliza died in Washington, D.C. on November 9, 1854, at age 97. Historian Jenny L. Presnell writes, "The entire Schuyler family revered Alexander as a young political genius." "[28] Two years later, Colonel Antill died in Canada, and Fanny continued to live with the Hamiltons for another eight years, until an older sister was married and able to take Fanny into her own home. She died aged 97, in 1854. In real-life Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton lived to. Elizabeth Schuyler was born on August 7, 1757, in Albany, New York, the second daughter of wealthy landowner and Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; Long-suffering yet intensely loyal, Elizabeth Hamilton buried her sister, her eldest son, her husband, and her father in the space of three turbulent years. After moving to Washington, D.C., she helped Dolley Madison and Louisa Adams raise money to build the Washington Monument. [citation needed], In 1787, Eliza sat for a portrait, executed by the painter Ralph Earl while he was being held in debtors' prison. . The Schuylers owned enslaved people and Philip was reportedly "the largest owner of enslaved people in Albany during his time. Eliza and her husband would not get to enjoy their newly built home together long, for only two years later, in July 1804, Alexander Hamilton became involved in a similar "affair of honor," which led to his infamous duel with Aaron Burr and untimely death. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! Hamilton followed three years later. Her fathers blessing was surprising because two of her sisters, Angelica and Margarita, would end up eloping because their father refused their desire to marry the men of their respective choices. During her decades as a widow, she founded New York's first private orphanage, socialized with some of the most famous figures in American history, and worked to ensure that her husband and his contributions would never be forgotten. For the first time since its debut in 2015, Lin Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking Broadway hit Hamilton is available to watch from the comfort of your own couch, courtesy of Disney+. Hamilton depicts the Reynolds Affair, one of the country's earliest sex scandals. Eliza was an ardent supporter of her husband, but it wasnt always plain sailing in their marriage. Eliza Hamilton and her benefactors moved quickly, and by the end of May, theyd already built a one-room, 1,050-square-foot schoolhouse with a slanted roofbig enough for 40 to 60 studentsaround what is now Broadway between W. 187th and W. 189th streets. Angelica was also laid to rest at Trinity, in the Livingstons' private vault, while Eliza's eldest son Philip had an unmarked grave near the churchyard. Spelling was taught from Websters Elementary Spelling Book, a popular text of the time. [32] In addition, she managed their household,[9] and James McHenry once noted to Alexander that Eliza had "as much merit as your treasurer as you have as treasurer of the United States. But by the final act of the play, one of the most compelling characters to emerge is Elizabeth (Eliza) Schuyler Hamilton. Her oldest daughter, Angelica, suffered a nervous breakdown after her brother Philip's death. In 1802, the same year that Philip was born, the house was built and named Hamilton Grange, after Alexander's father's home in Scotland. Eliza would weather a storm of pain and embarrassment following very public revelations of Hamiltons adultery. So of the original 14 siblings only five survived. 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She had to sell her 35 acre estate in upper Manhattan. Known as Eliza by friends and family, she was a tomboy at heart, with a potent mix of intelligence, warmth and determination. [23], After Yorktown, Alexander was able to rejoin Eliza in Albany, where they would remain for almost another two years, before moving to New York City in late 1783. Hamilton rose to become a Revolutionary War hero, an advocate for the Constitution, and a rescuer of the nascent American government from financial ruin. [28] Later, James Alexander Hamilton would write that Fanny "was educated and treated in all respects as [the Hamiltons'] own daughter. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. document.documentElement.className += 'js'; Two years before the duel, Elizabeths mother, Catherine had died, and only a few months after Hamiltons death, her father also died. In one letter Angelica told Elizabeth that she loved Hamilton "very much and, if you were as generous as the old Romans, you would lend him to me for a little while." Then I found the musical Hamilton, and suddenly it was a marvel to see healthy sister relationships. Good-natured though somewhat serious, she was at ease in the outdoors and devout in her Christian faith. By now everyone knows that Eliza Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton, burned her husband's love letters before she diedand November 9th will be the 162nd anniversary of her death on that day in 1854 at the age of 97. After public schools finally were built nearby, the Hamilton Free Schools trustees converted it into the neighborhoods first lending library, and it later evolved into the Dyckman Institute, an educational advocacy group. We don't get that often in fiction. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Elizabeth was appointed second directress. Elizabeth Hamilton died on November 9, 1854, at the age of 97. Q: Can you introduce us to Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton? A few years later she became the co-founder of the Orphan Asylum Society. But she was immediately smitten with the brilliant, charming young man, and the two quickly started up a correspondence. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}'Creed III' Is a Big F*ck You to Rocky, Watch All 'The Lord of the Rings' Movies In Order, Heres How to Watch All the Batman Movies in Order, The 78 Best Documentaries on Netflix to Watch Now, The Hilarious Reason Why Chris Pine Cut His Hair, Chris Pine Tells All About Harry Styles SpitGate, Movie Sequels That Are Better Than the Original, 40 Photos That Prove Sly Stallone Was a Style Icon. Mother, Supporter, Humiliated Wife Eliza later said of the presidents wife that she was always my ideal of a true woman.. Because his mother had never divorced her first husband, Hamiltons father, James, abandoned the family, likely to prevent Rachel from being charged with bigamy. [38] Hamilton resigned from public office immediately afterwards[39] in order to resume his law practice in New York and remain closer to his family. [citation needed], In addition to their own children, in 1787, Eliza and Alexander took into their home Frances (Fanny) Antill, the two-year-old youngest child of Hamilton's friend Colonel Edward Antill, whose wife had recently died. Catherine, also known as Kitty, was the daughter of one of New York States oldest, richest and most prominent Dutch families. [21], Soon, however, Eliza moved again, this time back to her parents' house in Albany. In case you're unfamiliar, the show tells the story of America's revolutionary era through the lens of Alexander Hamilton, and his journey from penniless immigrant to founding father. Theirs would be a loving marriage, though not without heartbreak and pain. Elizabeth also appeared in the 1986 TV series, George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation. . Some parts of his 31-page letter to Robert Morris, laying out much of the financial knowledge that was to aid him later in his career, are actually in her handwriting. But Eliza, understandably, is devastated, and responds by burning all the letters that Hamilton has ever sent her. "[12] Much later, the son of Joanna Bethune, one of the women she worked alongside to found an orphanage later in her life,[14] remembered that "Both [Elizabeth and Joanna] were of determined disposition Mrs. Bethune the more cautious, Mrs. Hamilton the more impulsive. Elizabeth was then only 47 years old. [52] Eliza's philanthropic work in helping create the Orphan Asylum Society has led to her induction into the philanthropy section of the National Museum of American History, showcasing the early generosity of Americans that reformed the nation. Eliza descended from some of America's most prominent early families Born in August 1757, she was one of eight surviving children of Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer. var googletag = googletag || {}; In November 1804, Gen. Philip Schuyler died, leaving Elizabeth Hamilton without both of her parents. Eliza Hamilton wanted to find a way to honor Hamilton's memory, in the place where their last home had been together, says Mazzeo. [29] At the first Inaugural Ball, Eliza danced with George Washington;[30] when Thomas Jefferson returned from Paris in 1790, she and Alexander hosted a dinner for him. All of the scholars came from the locality between High Bridge and Kingsbridge, he recalled many years later. Her reaction to Hamilton's affair is, equally, lost to history, which Miranda imagines as deliberate in the lyrics to "Burn." // cutting the mustard Elizabeth and Alexander Hamilton had eight children: The Hamiltons also raised Frances (Fanny) Antill, an orphan who lived with them for ten years beginning in 1787 when she was 2 years old. She was rich, he was poor. ", At 22, Eliza met Alexander Hamilton, who was at the time serving under General George Washington, and fell in love "at first sight," per historical accounts. When he paid her a visit decades after the Reynolds scandal, she refused to speak with him. How well do you know your government? Whether Elizabeth received this as sisterly banter or something more serious is not known; one of her few surviving letters does say that marriage made her "the happiest of women. In real life, two years after Hamilton's death, Eliza really did help to establish the Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York, which still exists today as a family services agency named Graham Windham. She also outlived her fifth child, her son William Stephen who was born on August 4, 1797 and died on October 9, 1850. Attractive, if not beautiful. Eliza and Alexander continued to live together in a caring relationship in their new home that can be seen in letters between the two at the time. She also met and became friends with Martha Washington, a friendship they would maintain throughout their husbands political careers. In 1780, Hamilton wrote Angelica a letter describing his infatuation with Eliza: Hamilton and Eliza married that year. According to documents unearthed in the early 1900s by the New-York Historical Society, Eliza started out by finding a small house near Fort Washington, the Revolutionary War fort that was located at the intersection of present-day Fort Washington Avenue and W. 183rd Street, to be repurposed as a schoolhouse. Elizabeth did not believe the rumors at first, but eventually Hamilton lived up to it. Eliza weathered Alexander's infidelity and the shockingly public scandal surrounding it. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. Eliza died on November 9, 1854, at the age of 97. Eliza Hamilton poured her energy into founding a free school and an orphanage in New York to help children in need. is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In 1848, she left New York for Washington, D.C., where she lived with her widowed daughter Eliza until 1854. She only came back to her marital house in New York in early September 1797 because the local doctor had been unable to cure their eldest son Philip, who had accompanied her to Albany and contracted typhus. [4] After her husbands death, Eliza Hamilton remained for a time in The Grange, the clapboard two-and-a-half-story home located on what is now W. 143rd Street just east of Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem, where she was surrounded by gardens filled with tulips, hyacinths, lilies and roses, according to historian Jonathan Gill. She met Alexander Hamilton in 1780, when both were in their early 20s. Summer 2020 has been effectively canceled due to the pandemic, but this weekend, there's reason to celebrate at home. She re-organized all of Alexander's letters, papers, and writings with the help of her son, John Church Hamilton, and persevered through many setbacks in getting his biography published. In his 2004 biography of Hamilton, which Miranda used as the basis for the show, Ron Chernow wrote that Eliza destroyed her own letters to Hamilton, but her reasons remain unknown. [31] After Alexander became Treasury Secretary in 1789, her social duties only increased: "Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. [Sarah] Jay and Mrs. [Lucy] Knox were the leaders of official society," an early historian writes. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Phillipa Soo as Alexander and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Elizabeth Schuyler was born on August 9, 1757, the daughter of the Revolutionary War leader Major General Philip Schuyler.