Person of the Week: Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was born in Albany, NY on 8/9/1757. Throughout her life, she achieved great things. For example, in 1803 she co-founded the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. Back in 1780, she married Alexander Hamilton (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States), with her father’s blessing. This was rather odd because Eliza’s father would have usually never let his daughters marry the men of their choice.

Family

Schuyler and Hamilton had a total of 8 children in the 24 years of their marriage. Their names were Philip, Angelica, Alexander Jr., John Church, William S., Elizabeth, and Phillip Hamiltonⅱ. In Schuyler’s childhood, she had 14 siblings in total, yet only she and 2 other siblings survived the high death rate for children. The 2 other siblings that survived were Angelica and Margarita (nicknamed Peggy in the play: Hamilton). As she grew older, she went to live with her aunt in New Jersey in 1780. That’s where and when her relationship and eventual marriage started out with Alexander Hamilton.

Married Life

Hamilton was in the army so they moved around a lot in the early months of being married. They settled in New York in 1783. Alexander eventually became Treasury secretary in 1789 and Eliza carried on with social duties. Alexander had an affair with Maria Reynolds and this was very, very straining and harmful to Eliza and Alex’s marriage. Eliza later forgave him and they carried on with their marriage. Hamilton got involved in a duel with Aaron Burr and died.

Life After Alexander and Achievements

After Alexander died, Eliza became the co-founder of the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. She then became the co-founder of the Orphan Asylum Society and was given the title of the second directress. Years later she was appointed the first directress. She stayed in New York and stayed with that society for 27 years as the first directress. Then she left New York and started to pay off all of Alexander’s debt. She died at the outstanding age of 97. She was buried next to her husband in the graveyard of Trinity Church in New York City.

Works Cited

“Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.” Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/elizabeth-schuyler-hamilton/.