[8] Like many landowners of the time, Philip Schuyler owned slaves, and Eliza would have grown up around slavery. 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. Elizabeth Hamilton died on November 9, 1854, at the age of 97. 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. [12] She was said to have been something of a tomboy when she was young;[13][pageneeded] throughout her life she retained a strong will and even an impulsiveness that her acquaintances noted. 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. Adieu best of wives and best of Women. [22] Meanwhile, the war came close to home, when a group of British soldiers stumbled upon the Pastures, looking for supplies. They had met briefly a few years before, but now Alexander Hamilton was smitten, "a gone man," in the words of another aide. Born Elizabeth Schuyler, and later known as Eliza Hamilton, Alexander's wife was the co-founder and deputy director of the first private orphanage in New York City. When he paid her a visit decades after the Reynolds scandal, she refused to speak with him. Thrust into harsh financial straits, Elizabeth then witnessed her father's death in November 1804 and had to use both strength and ingenuity to keep her remaining family afloat. The Grange, their house on a 35-acre estate in upper Manhattan, was sold at public auction; however, she was later able to repurchase it from Hamilton's executors, who had decided that Eliza could not be publicly dispossessed of her home, and purchased it themselves to sell back to her at half the price. . She married Hamilton in 1780 and he died in a duel in 1804. [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. [53], Eliza defended Alexander against his critics in a variety of ways following his death, including by supporting his claim of authorship of George Washington's Farewell Address and by requesting an apology from James Monroe over his accusations of financial improprieties. The scandal cost Hamilton any chance at the presidency, and the humiliating news became public when Eliza was pregnant with their sixth child. The character grows quite fond of her friend Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), but ultimately backs off when he begins a romance with her sister Eliza (Phillipa Soo). But despite these differences, the pair formed a lasting bond that has been the subject of numerous books and the award-winning musical, Hamilton. She was portrayed by Eve Gordon and was referred to as Betsy. A dutiful daughter, she eschewed the elopements chosen by three of her sisters and instead conducted a traditional, if whirlwind, courtship with the dashing young aide she found at George Washington's headquarters in February 1780. [45] During this time, Alexander commissioned John McComb Jr. to construct the Hamilton family home. But she remained steadfastly loyal to him, and after his death in 1804, it was Eliza who would ensure Hamiltons contributions to the founding of America were never left out of the history books. [55] The writings that historians have today by Alexander Hamilton can be attributed to efforts from Eliza. History of the Republic would set the bar for future biographies of Alexander Hamilton that would grow as time went on. On Saturday, My Dear Eliza, your sister took leave of her sufferings and friends, I trust, to find repose and happiness in a better country. 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. The Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York. "I Meet You in Every Dream" [3] She is recognized as an early American philanthropist for her work with the Orphan Asylum Society. Alexander and Elizabeth (he called her Eliza or Betsey) were married at the Schuyler home on December 14 of that same year, and Hamilton was warmly received into the family. Known as Eliza by friends and family, she was a tomboy at heart, with a potent mix of intelligence, warmth and determination. She had eight children with Hamilton during their rather short marriage of 24 years. Before their eighth child was born, however, they lost their oldest son, Philip, who died in a duel on November 24, 1801. She also became a founder of the Orphan Asylum Society, the citys first private orphanage, which built a Greenwich Village facility that provided a home for hundreds of children. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. See him, whom thou has chosen for the partner of this life, lolling in the lap of a harlot!!" She was interred next to her husband in the graveyard of Trinity Church in New York City. 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. She re-organized all of Hamiltons letters, papers, and writings with the help of her son, John Church Hamilton, and persevered through many setbacks in getting his biography published. Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. [4] She had seven siblings who lived to adulthood, including Angelica Schuyler Church and Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer, but she had 14 siblings altogether. Judging by Hamilton's correspondence at the time, the feeling was mutual. [citation needed], Like most Dutch families of the area, her family belonged to the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, which still stands; however, the original 1715 building, where Elizabeth was baptized and attended services, was demolished in 1806. Elizabeth also appeared in the 1986 TV series, George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation. Where Is The Cast Of Broadway's 'Hamilton' Now? They were so close, in . She had outlived her husband by 50 years, and had outlived all but one of her siblings (her youngest sister, Catherine, 24 years her junior). In the early months of the war, he formed an artillery company and later served at the battles of White Plains, Trenton and Princeton. In 1806, two years after her husband's death, she, along with several other women including Joanna Bethune, founded the Orphan Asylum Society. Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler (August 9, 1757-November 9, 1854) was Philip and Kitty Schuyler's second child, and like Angelica, grew up in the family home in Albany. . [20] There Eliza busied herself in creating a home for them and in aiding Alexander with his political writingsparts 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 in her handwriting. [21], Soon, however, Eliza moved again, this time back to her parents' house in Albany. [citation needed] She was so devoted to Alexander's writings that she wore a small package around her neck containing the pieces of a sonnet that Alexander wrote for her during the early days of their courtship. A pictorial walk through time, Arent van Curler & the Flatts Her eldest son Philip died that November in a reckless duel, and Hamilton himself followedfewer than three years later. Embrace all my darling Children for me. [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 at the time of Hamiltons death, he still had a mortgage and owed money to the builders, and his wife struggled under the weight of all that debt. HBO Max Comedies Thatll Put You in a Good Mood, Everything to Know Ahead of 'Mando' Season 3. Alexander and Eliza married on December 14, 1780. After the war he was active in both local and national politics, even serving as a U.S. senator from New York from 1789 to 1791 losing his seat to none other than Aaron Burr (who would eventually kill his future son-in-law Alexander in a duel). document.documentElement.className += 'js'; As was common for young women of her time, Eliza was a regular churchgoer, and her faith remained unwavering throughout her lifetime. Eliza Hamilton poured her energy into founding a free school and an orphanage in New York to help children in need. The Society continues to exist until today under the name Graham Windham, a social service agency for children. Her oldest son Philip died in a duel, just as his father would three years later. Eliza, who had to struggle to pay for her own childrens education after her husbands death, could empathize. and Barbara Bushs Amazing Love Story. But a series of events would soon rip that family apart. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. On September 25, 1784, Eliza gave birth to her second child, Angelica, named after Eliza's older sister. 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. So of the original 14 siblings only five survived. Elizabeth Schuyler was born on August 9, 1757, the daughter of the Revolutionary War leader Major General Philip Schuyler. She also worked to support her husband's legacy, disputing the claim that James Madison, not Hamilton, was the author of George Washington's final Farewell Address, and by having his papers collected and edited. The following year, according to another newspaper account in the New York Tribune, the school building was destroyed in a fire. "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. "[33], Eliza also continued to aid Alexander throughout his political career, serving as an intermediary between him and his publisher when he was writing The Federalist Papers,[34] copying out portions of his defense of the Bank of the United States,[35] and sitting up with him so he could read Washington's Farewell Address out loud to her as he wrote it. We don't get that often in fiction. 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. After moving to Washington, D.C., she helped Dolley Madison and Louisa Adams raise money to build the Washington Monument. 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). We may earn a commission from these links. Life in New York City was obviously more exciting than in Morristown, New Jersey or Albany, New York. Peggy Schuyler died young. After being shot on the dueling field, Philip was brought to Angelica and John Church's house, where he died with both of his parents next to him.