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 FamilyBiographical Directory of the American CongressAmerican Biographical LibraryHerringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography 19th cOutline of American HistoryHenry's Revolutionary War JournalNewspaper Account of Hamilton's Duel, July 24, 1804Newspaper Account of Hamilton's Duel, July 31, 1804 |
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Alexander Hamilton |
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| HAMILTON, Alexander, a Delegate from New York; born on the island of Nevis, British West Indies, January 11, 1757; immigrated to the United States in 1772, where he received educational training in the schools of Elizabethtown, N.J., and King's College (now Columbia University), New York City; entered the Continental Army in New York in 1776 as captain of Artillery; appointed aide-de-camp to General Washington March 1, 1777, and served in that capacity until February 16, 1781; led a storming party in the Battle of Yorktown; Member of the Continental Congress in 1782, 1783, 1787, and 1788; member of the Annapolis Convention of 1786; served in the New York State assembly in 1787; member of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787 which adopted the Constitution of the United States; member of the State constitutional convention in 1788; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York City; Secretary of the Treasury in the Cabinet of [p.1257] President Washington 1789-1795; returned to New York and resumed the practice of law; mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr at Weehawken on the Hudson, and died in New York City the following day, July 12, 1804; interment in Trinity Churchyard. |
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Henry's granddaughter, Sarah Breese, married Barent Bleecker Lansing, the son of Colonel Gerrit G. Lansing
and Manette Antill. Manette Antill was the daughter of Colonel Edward Antill and Charlotte Riverin.
Colonel Antill had joined the American Army when General Montgomery had surrounded Quebec, where he was
living. Made an engineer by the general, Antill was with the General when he died, and was sent to
General Schuyler and to Congress to tell of his death. He was later captured at the Battle of Long Island,
and his wife requested permission of Congress to join her husband in New York.
In 1785, following the birth of baby Frances, Charlotte died. Colonel Antill was so distraught that he returned to Canada, leaving his infant daughter with his close friends, the Alexander Hamiltons. When Frances grew of age to marry, she married from her sister Manette's home. The husband she chose was Arthur Tappan, one of the two brothers who created the Anti-Slavery Society, and sponsored the Amistead slaves in their trials. |
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| Captain Provincial Company New York Artillery, 14th March, 1776; Lieutenant-Colonel and principal Aide-de-Camp to General Washington, 1st March, 1777, to 23d December, 1783; Brevet Colonel, 30th September, 1783; Major-General and Inspector-General United States Army, 19th July, 1798; honorably discharged 15th June, 1800. (Mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr, 11th July, and died 12th July, 1804.) |
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| HAMILTON, ALEXANDER, lawyer, statesman, was born Jan. 11, 1757, in the West Indies. He entered the army as an officer of artillery and became an aid-de-camp to Washington, with the rank of lieutenant- colonel. He was a delegate to the continental congress in 1782 and 1783, and in 1787 and 1788; in 1786 was elected to the state assembly; was elected to the convention which framed the federal constitution; by his writings, signed Publius, did much to secure its adoption, but was the only member from New York who signed that instrument. In 1789 he was appointed secretary of the treasury, and continued in that office until 1795, when he resigned. In 1804 he had a difficulty with Aaron Burr, which resulted in a duel, which took place at Hoboken, when he received a fatal shot, and died on the following day, July 12, 1804. |
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December 2-I was very Ill when I set out from Smiths and riding on a Bearskin without any stirrups, thro a
small snow too, did not contribute to alleviate my distemper. I got as far as Saratoga & lodg’d at the Generals,
Mrs. Schuyler & her daughter being there.
December 3.-Travel’d down as far as Stillwater to Parson Grahams where I stay'd a fortnight being too unwell to proceed any Farther. |
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| During winter camp at Morristown, Hamilton met and fell in love with Elizabeth Schuyler, whom he would marry at the end of the year. The Schyuler family was one of the wealthy Dutch dynasties of New York. Elizabeth's father, Major General Philip Schuyler, was acquainted with Hamilton and was delighted with the match, despite the fact that Hamilton was penniless and propertyless. Not inconsiderable was the fact that the marriage would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Schuyler had a feeling that Hamilton would go far and was willing to give him a push if necessary; although it turned out that Hamilton ended up doing most of the pushing. In "Betsy" Hamilton found a loving and adoring wife, who proved a steadfast companion even in his darkest moments. When not busy with correspondence or courting his wife-to-be, Hamilton turned back to the business of building a better nation. During his tenure as aide-de-camp, Hamilton had formed important ties among New York politicians with whom he regularly corresponded. On the request of congressman James Duane, Hamilton wrote a lengthy missive on his "ideas of the defects of our present system, and the changes necessary to save us from ruin." Hamilton then enumerated the weaknesses of the current government, and offered a very forward-thinking solution: ". . .by calling immediately a convention of all the states with full authority to conclude finally upon a general confederation." The Philadelphia convention was still seven years away. The rest of the letter reveals a great chunk of what was to become Hamilton's official policies. Indeed, a study of his unofficial political musings prior to his taking office as Secretary to the Treasury show the unfolding of a consistent political plan for America based upon his experiences with the government of a weak confederation. Congress's inability to provide even the most basic of the army's needs proved the dire necessity for a more powerful government. The army, Hamilton observes "is now a mob . . . without cloathing, without pay, without provision, without morals, without discipline. We begin to hate the country for its neglect of us; the country begins to hate us for our oppressions of them." The poor state of the army comprises "three fourths of our civil embarrassments." Once again, he casts the eyes of the world on the doings of the American government. Hamilton then goes on to detail a financial plan for the country. Had his future political rivals read this letter, none of Hamilton's fiscal policies would have taken them by surprise. He suggests revenue sources--securing a foreign loan, a money tax on business, and a tax in kind on farmers. He expounds upon turning the public debt to the nation's advantage; creating an economy based on paper money; and dwells at length on the founding of a national bank which would be established by the investments of "monied men of influence" who would "relish the project and make it a business." Knowing full well how his plan would be received by the bulk of Americans, Hamilton opines: "There are epochs in human affairs, when novelty even is useful." |
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(11 Jan 1757, Island Of Nevis, West Indies)