Eliza schuyler parents8/2/2023 ![]() Her son James remembered her as “a skillful house-wife, expert at making sweetmeats and pastry she made the undergarments for her children, was a great economist and most excellent manager.” Creditors repossessed the Grange, but Elizabeth scraped together enough money to buy it back-a demonstration of the dogged resourcefulness that got her family through lean times. Her father died, and her eldest daughter suffered a nervous breakdown. ![]() ![]() Now widowed, with seven children-her eldest, Philip, had died in a duel three years before, with the same pistols-Elizabeth faced tragedy on top of tragedy. Alexander died the following day, with Elizabeth and their children by his side. On July 11, 1804, his former colleague Aaron Burr shot him in a duel over a petty insult. ,Īlexander enjoyed the Grange for just two years. Today, the National Park Service manages the yellow Federal-style mansion as Hamilton Grange National Memorial. In upper Manhattan, the Hamiltons built an airy country house they called the Grange. While Hamilton shaped the economic philosophy of the new nation, Elizabeth bore eight children, helped her husband write speeches (including Washington’s Farewell Address), and presided over a happy, lively home. She did, and married Hamilton at her family’s home on December 14, 1780. He hinted that the army’s chances would be in doubt if Elizabeth didn’t accept his courtship. In short she is so strange a creature, that she possesses all the beauties, virtues and graces of her sex without any of those amiable defects which from their general prevalence are esteemed by connoisseurs necessary shades in the character of a fine woman.” Hamilton wrote to Angelica. “She is most unmercifully handsome and so perverse that she has none of those pretty affectations which are the prerogatives of beauty…She has good nature, affability and vivacity unembellished with that charming frivolousness which is justly deemed one of the principal accomplishments of a belle. He seemed to have been smitten from the moment he met her during the winter of 1779-1780. She made quite an impression with her witty, yet practical, personality-especially on General George Washington’s chief aide, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton. Her eyes “betokened a sharp intelligence a fiercely indomitable spirit,” Chernow writes in the biography.Įlizabeth, her sisters Angelica and Peggy, and other siblings grew up surrounded by visiting military officers and patriots. A portrait painted in the 1780s shows Elizabeth posed in a Marie Antoinette-style wig, veil and silver gown, but her dark eyes sparkle with humor and her lips press together in a knowing smile, revealing the endearing cleft in her chin. Her mother, Catherine van Rensselaer, descended from one of New York’s richest families. She outlived her husband by 50 years, and made the most of her extraordinarily long and tumultuous life.Įlizabeth Schuyler was born on August 9, 1757, the daughter of the Revolutionary War leader Major General Philip Schuyler. After her husband’s death in American history’s most famous duel, Elizabeth recast her public image as a philanthropist and protector of Hamilton’s legacy, while privately struggling to keep her family fed and housed on a budget. “ seemed to be driven by her desire to honor her late husband, to tell his story.”Īs told by Chernow and Miranda, Elizabeth helped Alexander draft political essays, correspond with heads of state, and raise a large family. “I think I was most surprised about how much she loved Alexander,” Soo says. To prepare for the role, Soo dove into Ron Chernow’s definitive biography of Alexander Hamilton, the source material for Hamilton’s songwriter, lyricist and lead actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical Hamilton, which opened on Broadway last August, has received universal acclaim for many reasons – its melding of hip-hop with Broadway, its ability to make history “fun” and its stunning performances, including Phillipa Soo’s spirited portrayal of Elizabeth (or Eliza, as she was sometimes called). But one powerful, influential woman, who aided the creation of our national financial system, went unnoticed-Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth. When calls for a female replacement on the ten-dollar bill erupted last year, online petitioners nominated a host of historical role models to step in for Alexander Hamilton.
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