Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton
Elizabeth Schuyler, sometimes known as Eliza to her friends, is a rich New Yorker who is descended from the Van Rensselaers and the Schuylers. She first met her husband, Alexander Hamilton, in 1780 at the Continental Army encampments at Morristown, New Jersey, when he was a member of George Washington's staff. In the Schuyler house in Albany, they were wed in December of that same year. Eliza, who was his wife, had a significant impact on the Constitution's drafting and the formation of the US federal government.
Eliza assisted Alexander Hamilton in writing his contributions to the collection of essays now known as the Federalist Papers during the discussions over the Constitution's ratification. Eliza suffered a miscarriage and learned that her husband was having an affair during the two terms of President George Washington, which temporarily tore them apart but ultimately brought them back together. For nearly two decades, researchers were unaware that Hamilton and Eliza collaborated on a large portion of the essay Washington wrote for his Farewell Address.
Eliza contributed to the establishment of the Orphan Asylum Society in New York after both her son and her husband were killed in duel. She volunteered with the organization for more than 40 years, helping to raise funds, gather supplies, and oversee the upbringing and care of over 700 orphaned or abandoned children. The society is still active today under the name Graham Windham. She also fought to preserve her husband's works, personal documents, and legacy, leaving much of what is known about the complex person that was Alexander Hamilton to future generations. She outlived her husband by 50 years and passed away in 1854. In the Trinity Church cemetery in New York, she was interred close to Alexander.
- Born: Elizabeth Schuyler, August 9, 1757Albany, Province of New York, Thirteen Colonies
- Died: November 9, 1854 (aged 97) Washington, D.C., U.S
