The Brilliant First Lady of Charity: Eliza Hamilton

She lived longer as a widow than she did before her husband’s fatal duel with Aaron Burr. This widowed life was one of significant work with those most in need. We remember her as the wife of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. She was patient yet fiercely loyal to him, but she was far more than this. Instead, we should remember Eliza Hamilton for what happened next.

For many years, she was the dutiful First Lady of Alexander Hamilton. By all accounts, their marriage was a happy one. But it wasn’t to last.

Alexander was born in what’s now Saint Kitts and Nevis. He came from humble beginnings to become one of America’s Founding Fathers. Although he was never president. He was a high achiever. An officer in the Continental Army. A framer of the Constitution. Author of the Federalist Papers. Founder of the Coast Guard. And Secretary of the Treasury.

No wonder he caught Eliza’s eye. Yet the story was all about Alexander. But there was more to this marriage than that guy…

The Obsession with Eliza

Elizabeth Hamilton was born Elizabeth Schuyler on August 9^th, 1757. She was born into one of colonial New York’s wealthiest families. Little of Eliza’s correspondence has survived. So we learn much about her personality based on the impressions of others. She was good-natured but serious, at peace in the outdoors, and committed to her Christian beliefs.

She met Alexander Hamilton in 1780 when they were both in their early twenties. He wrote a letter to Eliza’s sister, Angelica, explaining his infatuation:

‘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.’

I think that’s a compliment. Eliza and Alexander were madly in love. And, on December 14^th, 1780, they married at Eliza’s family home. While Alexander created the new nation’s economic philosophy, Eliza gave birth to eight children, assisted her husband in writing speeches (including Washington’s Farewell Address), and maintained a cheerful, colourful home.

But everything was about to go wrong.

From 1801 to 1804, Eliza lost her sister, eldest son and father. And then she lost her husband. On July 11^th, 1804, Aaron Burr, Vice President and a former friend of Alexander, shot him in a duel over a minor insult. Alexander labelled Burr a ‘dangerous man’. That was it. Alexander died the next day, with Eliza and their children by his side.

Their eldest child, Phillip, died three years earlier in another duel using the same pistols that his father and Burr used. Eliza was now widowed with seven children. She had faced tragedy after tragedy. Not long after Alexander’s death, his and Eliza’s eldest daughter suffered a mental breakdown. Eliza’s life was falling apart.

What was she going to do now?

A Life in Service

For Eliza, she felt as though she had nothing left to lose. Not long after Alexander died, creditors repossessed The Grange, but Eliza scraped together enough money to repurchase it. It was a testament to her family’s tenacity in the face of hardship. James, one of Eliza’s children, described her as:

“A skilful housewife, expert at making sweetmeats and pastry; she made the undergarments for her children, was a great economist and most excellent manager.”

Eliza was grieving but no longer in her husband’s shadow. So she dived into charity work, driven by her Christian beliefs and upbringing. She and two other women, Isabella Graham and Joanna Bethune, established the Orphan Asylum Society, New York City’s first private orphanage, in 1806.

Eliza was the organisation’s sole director from 1821 to 1848. She raised funds, collected donated supplies, and directed the care and education of at least 765 children.

She was particularly interested in a poor child named Henry McKavit, whose parents died in a fire. Eliza paid for his education and set up a military commission for him at West Point. A projectile killed him during the Mexican-American War. He left his entire estate to the orphanage.

Eliza also vigorously defended her husband in different ways. She insisted that he was the main author of the final text of Washington’s Farewell Address, rather than James Madison, who had authored an early draft.

She hoped to boost his Federalist legacy, which had fallen out of favour, by collecting his papers for publishing. She sent questionnaires to Alexander’s former co-workers to confirm information in his letters and affairs.

After unsuccessfully searching for a competent editor, her son John edited the collection. It was finally completed in 1861. Ron Chernow, Alexander’s biographer, believes that without Eliza’s work, his biography of Alexander Hamilton would have been impossible. He said:

“Her efforts made it easier to research Alexander’s life because, after his death, his enemies were in power. Elizabeth was working against the political system of the time, and time itself.”

The Legacy of Hamilton

Eliza often travelled to Washington to see her daughter. Eliza received many invitations, including those from Presidents Tyler, Polk, and Pierce. At a dinner for about 40 guests, President Polk remarked in his diary that:

‘Mrs General Hamilton, upon whom I waited at [the] table, is a very remarkable person. She retains her intellect and memory perfectly, and my conversation with her was highly interesting.’

She also assisted previous First Lady Dolley Madison in raising funds for a memorial on the National Mall to honour Alexander’s friend, George Washington. Eliza rode in the parade at the cornerstone-laying ceremony on July 4^th, 1848. Along with future presidents Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan.

Many people noted that Eliza remained active to the end.

She died on November 9^th, 1854 at the age of 97. She was one of America’s last links to its founders.

The Brilliant First Lady of Charity

Eliza is the real hero of Alexander’s life.

Without her, there wouldn’t have been an Alexander Hamilton as we know him. She was instrumental in his political life. But, arguably, the biggest difference she made came after Alexander’s death.

Eliza survived for 50 years after her husband died. Far more than ‘his wife’, Eliza spent her long widowhood as a philanthropist. She was a dutiful mother who raised her seven children alone, all while running The Grange. She co-founded the Orphan Asylum Society. They provided refuge, food and education to orphans.

She was with the charity for 42 years. By the time she left, she had helped nearly 1,000 children access a better quality of life. As a widow, she moved out of Alexander’s shadow and established herself as one of the most important philanthropists of her time. Although she also worked to ensure her husband’s efforts were not forgotten.

Eliza was a significant figure, both in her own right and in Alexander’s life. Her work continued his legacy. While her philanthropy benefits thousands of children in need.

Eliza was more than Alexander’s faithful wife. She was something else. Something all the more remarkable.

“She was a woman of towering strength and integrity who consecrated much of her extended widowhood to serving widows, orphans, and poor children.”
– Ron Chernow.

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