Remembering Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton on the 166th anniversary of her death

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton has come back into the spotlight due to the popularity of Hamilton (2015). She was more than just the widow of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804). She a philanthropist in her own right. She was the co-founder and deputy director of Graham Windham, a private orphanage in New York City. She helped Dolley Madison and Louisa Adams raise money for the Washington Monument, She was also a strong defender of her husband’s work and legacy. Today is the 166^th anniversary of her death. I wanted to look deeper into the woman, the Founding Mother, who was more than just the wife of a Founding Father.

Elizabeth, Eliza to her family, was born on August 9, 1757, the second daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler, the daughter of one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state of New York. She was raised in the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany which instilled in her a strong and unwavering faith she would have throughout her life. On December 14, 1780, she married Alexander Hamilton. Her first child, Philip, was born on January 22, 1782. She and Hamilton would have a total of 8 children with the last child, another son named Philip, born June 1, 1802. In addition to their own children, Eliza and Hamilton often took in orphan. Frances “Fanny” Antill, was the two-year-old daughter of Colonel Edward Antill, a family friend, was taken in by the Hamilton when her mother died and stay with them when her father died, until her older sister was married and able to take over her care. Eliza would be more than just a wife and mother. She would also aid her husband in his political career, serving as an intermediary and helping him write out his papers when he was too weak and too tired to hold a pen. Many of his surviving writings have portions in were written in her hand. Even after the very public revelation of her husband’s affair, Eliza would reconcile with Hamilton and she would two more children. When Hamilton died on July 12, 1804, she and their children were by his side.

Eliza would dedicate the rest of her life to various endeavors. She was determined to preserve her husband’s work and memory. Eliza was determined to make sure Americans remembered and acknowledged Alexander’s contributions to America and his achievements from a humble birth to the pantheon of American heroes. She has a steady stream of visitors whom she would interview for their memories and recollections of her husband. In June 1848, she petitioned Congress to buy and publish Hamilton’s works. In August 1848, it would be granted, and the works would be added to the Library of Congress. Her son, John C. Hamilton would go on to publish History of the Republic of the United States America, as Traced in the Writings of Alexander Hamilton and his Contemporaries (1861). History of the Republic would set the bar for future biographies of Alexander Hamilton. She was a committed abolitionist who delighted in entertaining slaves children and referred to the slaveholding states as the African States. Unfortunately, there are no records which detail her abolitionist; however, after reading Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton, I have a feeling she did most of her work in privately conservations rather than public activism.

In 1798. Eliza accepted the invitation of her friend, Isabella Graham, and joined the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. New York in 1806 was a harsh place even with the best of circumstances with poverty, hunger and diseases being rampant. As life expectancy was short, countless children would lose one or both parents. And with no child protective services or a public child welfare program, many children would be placed in the care of family or a church family. Sadly, many children would end up indentured or placed in almshouses. To answer this need, Eliza, along with several other woman including her friend, Joanna Bethune, founded the Orphan Asylum Society. She would service as its first director in 1821 and held that position for 27 years until she left New York in 1848. She would raise funds, collected the needed goods, and oversaw the care and education of at least 765 children. She had a particular interest in one child, Henry McKavitt (Long, 2016). She personally paid for his schooling and arranged for a military commission at West Point. When he died in the Mexican American War, he left his entire estate to the orphanage. The orphanage is now known as the Graham Windham which operates as a family and youth development agency. It currently serves approximately 5,000 children and families every year. The services they provide include family counseling and treatment, after school academic support and health services.

In conclusion, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton is a hero in her own right. Without her determination to preserve his papers, biographers like Ron Chernow would have had very little information to research. And Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical would have never been. As Alexander Hamilton deserves to be among American heroes like Washington and Jefferson, America owes her a great debt as it was her efforts to see that he was remembered. When she died at the age of 97, she held firm to her belief that she would see her beloved Hamilton again. She was buried next to him in the Trinity Churchyard.

 

 

References

 

Long, Kat (February 25, 2016). Why Elizabeth Hamilton Is Deserving of a Musical of Her Own. Smithsonian Magazine. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-elizabeth-hamilton-deserving-musical-her-own-180958214/. Retrieved November 7, 2020.

 

 

For Further Reading

 

Chernow, Ron (2004). Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Books. Available in hardcover, paperback and eBook

 

Graham Windham www.graham-windham.org.