how did eliza schuyler die how did eliza schuyler die

"[41] After returning home to Eliza on July 22[42] and assembling a first draft dated July 1797,[43] on August 25, 1797, Hamilton published a pamphlet, later known as the Reynolds Pamphlet, admitting to his one-year adulterous affair in order to refute the charges that he had been involved in speculation and public misconduct with Maria's husband James Reynolds.[44]. In March of that year, they formally founded the Orphan Asylum Society, and recruited other women to the cause. Hamiltons prospects were far less promising. After her husbands death, Eliza Hamilton remained for a time in The Grange, the clapboard two-and-a-half-story home located on what is now W. 143rd Street just east of Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem, where she was surrounded by gardens filled with tulips, hyacinths, lilies and roses, according to historian Jonathan Gill. Elizabeth outlived two of her children. While gone on the prisoner exchange, Hamilton wrote to Eliza continuing their relationship through letters. Alexander had heard of Earl's predicament and asked if Eliza might be willing to sit for him, to allow him to make some money and eventually buy his way out of prison, which he subsequently did. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [54] With Eliza's help John C. Hamilton would go on to publish History of the Republic of the United States America, as Traced in the Writings of Alexander Hamilton and his Contemporaries. Her eighth and last child, Philip (Little Phil), was born on June 1, 1802. Eliza would weather a storm of pain and embarrassment following very public revelations of Hamiltons adultery. But she held onto her grudge against Monroe. He then returned to Morristown where Elizabeth's father had also arrived in his capacity as representative of the Continental Congress. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. So of the original 14 siblings only five survived. Chernow, Ron, Alexander Hamilton, Penguin Press, 2004, Randall, William Sterne, Alexander Hamilton: A Life, Harpers-Collins, 2003, Roberts, Warren, A Place in History: Albany in the Age of Revolution, 1775-1825, Albany: NY State University Press, 2010, Wikipedia, especially for main picture (portrait by Ralph Earl), Peter Douglas's Totidem Verbis But the number of students quickly grew, that improvised setup wasnt adequate. She would live another 50 years. But if you're an astute historian, you might notice that Alexander Hamilton was killed in that famous duel way back in . By early 1777, hed made enough of a name for himself that several Colonial generals asked him to join their staffs. In those days, the still-isolated area didnt have any free public schools, and paying tuition at a private academy was too much for parents to afford, according to Don Rice, president of the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance, a community institution that has helped to preserve the history of the area. Hamilton: Building America on HISTORY Vault. [52] By the time she left she had been with the organization continuously since its founding, a total of 42 years. To clear his name in the more serious financial allegations, Hamilton released the Reynolds Pamphlet, in which he admitted to the affair but denied any criminal misdeeds. The following year, according to another newspaper account in the New York Tribune, the school building was destroyed in a fire. Attractive, if not beautiful. She's based (and born and raised) in Brooklyn, New York. The pair had eight children, and also took in Fanny Antill, the orphaned toddler daughter of a Revolutionary War colonel. All Rights Reserved. A chronicle of Rensselaerswijck, c. 16481656, For over three decades, NNI has helped cast light on America's Dutch roots. "I had little of private life in those days," she would remember. Maria's husband, James Reynolds, caught wind of the affair, and began shaking Hamilton down for money. The two families were two of the wealthiest families of that time and it is safe to say that Dutch was probably still their main language in everyday life. More. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. She kept in touch with Hamilton through letters, and married him in 1780. Before their eighth child was born, however, they lost their oldest son, Philip, who died in a duel on November 24, 1801. A few years later she became the co-founder of the Orphan Asylum Society. Born in August 1757, she was one of eight surviving children of Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer. "I'm erasing myself from the narrative / let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted / when you broke her heart," she sings, referencing a very real historical ambiguity. When Eliza went away to her mother's funeral in 1803 Hamilton wrote to her from the Grange telling her: I am anxious to hear of your arrival at Albany and shall be glad to be informed that your father and all of you are composed. Philanthropy and "Hamilton: An American Musical", "American Experience | Alexander Hamilton | People & Events | Elizabeth Hamilton (17571854) | PBS", "James Alexander Hamilton - People - Department History - Office of the Historian", "George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation", "Why I'm Convinced Hamilton Is Actually Named After Eliza", "We got comfortable with Hamilton. During one such interlude, in the summer of 1791, Hamilton began an affair with Maria Reynoldsthat, when publicly revealed six years later, exposed Elizabeth to a humiliation augmented both by Hamilton's insistence on airing the adultery's most lurid details and a hostile press that asked, "Art thou a wife? Eliza remained dedicated to preserving her husbands legacy. [citation needed], By 1846, Eliza was suffering from short-term memory loss but was still vividly recalling her husband. He found work at a local import-export firm, where he quickly impressed his bosses. Both were descendant from third generation Dutch immigrants. In August, her request was granted and Congress bought and published Alexander's works, adding them to the Library of Congress and helping future historians of Hamilton view his works today. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. After moving to Washington, D.C., she helped Dolley Madison and Louisa Adams raise money to build the Washington Monument. Born Elizabeth Schuyler, and later known as Eliza Hamilton, Alexanders wife was the co-founder and deputy director of the first private orphanage in New York City. Subscribe to NNI's e-Marcurius and DAGNN-L toreceive information about New Netherland-related events, activities, conferences, and research. [5][6][7], Her family was among the wealthy Dutch landowners who had settled around Albany in the mid-1600s, and both her mother and father came from wealthy and well-regarded families. The song "Burn" is a tearjerking showstopper within the show, as Eliza reacts with despair and rage to the news that Hamilton has been unfaithful to herand, adding insult to injury, that he's written a pamphlet detailing the affair to the public. These figures indicate the enormously high death rate among young children. She was educated and described as intelligent, attractive, and was frequently compared to her demure sister, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, as being more sociable. [45] During this time, Alexander commissioned John McComb Jr. to construct the Hamilton family home. [25] On September 25, 1784, Eliza gave birth to her second child, Angelica, named after Eliza's older sister. Angelica Schuyler Church died in New York City in March 1814 at the age of fifty-eight. She is respected as an. She recruited biographers to do a proper work on her husband (the task eventually fell to a son), hired assistants to organize his papers, even wore a little bag around her neck with pieces of a sonnet he had composed for her in 1780. Within less than a year of the beginning of their courtship Elizabeth and Hamilton became a married couple, on December 14, 1780. The Society continues to exist until today under the name Graham Windham, a social service agency for children. Eliza weathered Alexander's infidelity and the shockingly public scandal surrounding it. [24] Earlier that year, Angelica and her husband John Barker Church, for business reasons, had moved to Europe. Elizabeth Hamilton (ne Schuyler /skalr/; August 9, 1757 November 9, 1854[2]), also called Eliza or Betsey, was an American socialite and philanthropist. Here's what you need to know about the real-life founding mother. Even so, according to Gill, Eliza eventually became unable to afford the estates upkeep, and in 1813, she was forced to sell it and move to humbler quarters downtown. Elizabeth and Alexander Hamilton had eight children: The Hamiltons also raised Frances (Fanny) Antill, an orphan who lived with them for ten years beginning in 1787 when she was 2 years old. [22] Meanwhile, the war came close to home, when a group of British soldiers stumbled upon the Pastures, looking for supplies. She was portrayed by Eve Gordon and was referred to as Betsy. [55] The writings that historians have today by Alexander Hamilton can be attributed to efforts from Eliza. Largely educated at home, she was bright and good-natured. [19] Soon, however, Washington and Hamilton had a falling-out, and the newlywed couple moved, first back to Eliza's father's house in Albany, then to a new home across the river from the New Windsor headquarters. That 'Hamilton' Boycott Completely Backfired, may focus on its namesake founding father, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. But despite these differences, the pair formed a lasting bond that has been the subject of numerous books and the award-winning musical, Hamilton. [48], After her husband's death in 1804, Eliza was left to pay Hamilton's debts. He had particularly fond dealings with Philip Schuyler and Elizabeth's eldest sister Angelica, a beautiful and charming woman. and Barbara Bushs Amazing Love Story. But by the final act of the play, one of the most compelling characters to emerge is Elizabeth (Eliza) Schuyler Hamilton. Hamilton met Maria Reynolds in Philadelphia in 1791, when she visited the then-Secretary of the Treasury to request financial support for her struggling family. She then sold it and moved into a townhouse owned by her son, now known as the Hamilton-Holly House, where she lived for nine years with two of her grown children, Alexander Hamilton Jr. and Eliza Hamilton Holly and their respective spouses. Eliza evidently did not believe the charges when they were first leveled against her husband: John Church, her brother-in-law, on July 13, 1797, wrote to Hamilton that "it makes not the least Impression on her, only that she considers the whole Knot of those opposed to you to be [Scoundrels]. In June 1848, when Eliza was in her nineties, she made an effort for Congress to buy and publish her late husband's works. "I Meet You in Every Dream" She moved to Washington, D.C. in 1848 to live with a daughter, became a celebrated guest at the White House, and died just a few months after her 97th birthday. While she was in her nineties she helped Dolly Madison to raise money for the Washington Monument. Eliza Hamilton wanted to find a way to honor Hamilton's memory, in the place where their last home had been together, says Mazzeo. Contrary to the musical,. Artifacts of domestic life in lower Manhattan, De Hooges Memorandum Book .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Every Candidate in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Race, These 10 Jimmy Carter Quotes Will Inspire You, 4 U.S. Presidents Who Won the Nobel Peace Prize, How Little-Known Jimmy Carter Won the 1976 Primary, George H.W. Elizabeth, Angelica and Margarita Schuyler are the three famous sisters portrayed in the Broadway Play Hamilton. Along with giving birth to and raising eight children, she helped Hamilton write speeches and listened to early drafts of Washington's "Farewell Address" and excerpts from the Federalist Papers. ' Catherine, also known as Kitty, was the daughter of one of New York States oldest, richest and most prominent Dutch families. Eliza later said of the presidents wife that she was always my ideal of a true woman.. a daughter, Eliza, on November 20, 1799. [16] In fact, they had met previously, if briefly, two years before, when Hamilton dined with the Schuylers on his way back from a negotiation on Washington's behalf. Eliza Hamilton and her benefactors moved quickly, and by the end of May, theyd already built a one-room, 1,050-square-foot schoolhouse with a slanted roofbig enough for 40 to 60 studentsaround what is now Broadway between W. 187th and W. 189th streets. When Eliza Hamilton died in November 1854 at age 97, the uptown school was still in existence, but it clearly had seen better days. (As the musical shows, Hamilton also got pretty flirty with Eliza's vivacious older sister, Angelica. And yes,. [26] At this time, she now had three young children (her third, Alexander, was born in May 1786) and may have been pregnant at the time with her fourth, James Alexander, who would be born the following April. The Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York. The affair put a big strain on their relationship, but they eventually reconciled. She was the spouse of Alexander Hamilton, famous in the early American government following the Declaration of Independence and considered one of the founders of our American republic. Theirs would be a loving marriage, though not without heartbreak and pain. Below, a primer on her real story. Her reaction to Hamilton's affair is, equally, lost to history, which Miranda imagines as deliberate in the lyrics to "Burn." Not even wealth could lower that very high death rate. [citation needed], In 1798, Eliza had accepted her friend Isabella Graham's invitation to join the descriptively named Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children that had been established the previous year. See him, whom thou has chosen for the partner of this life, lolling in the lap of a harlot!!" Elizabeth also appeared in the 1986 TV series, George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation. She was interred next to her husband in the graveyard of Trinity Church in New York City. Her fathers blessing was surprising because two of her sisters, Angelica and Margarita, would end up eloping because their father refused their desire to marry the men of their respective choices. Elizabeth Schuyler was born in Albany in 1757, to a wealthy family that had social ties to prominent early Americans. . In case you're unfamiliar, the show tells the story of America's revolutionary era through the lens of Alexander Hamilton, and his journey from penniless immigrant to founding father. [38] Hamilton resigned from public office immediately afterwards[39] in order to resume his law practice in New York and remain closer to his family. By 1801, Peggy had been ill for two years. She also outlived her fifth child, her son William Stephen who was born on August 4, 1797 and died on October 9, 1850. Elizabeth was born in Albany, New York, the second daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, a Revolutionary War general, and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler. available to watch from the comfort of your own couch, Eliza destroyed her own letters to Hamilton, save his writings and fiercely defended his legacy, Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York, the first school in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. In 1842, she moved to Washington D.C., where she remained a prominent member of society until her death. After Vice President Aaron Burr killed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, Hamiltons widow, Elizabeth Schuyler Eliza Hamilton, had to find a way to go on without her beloved husband. During that winter Elizabeth also became friends with Martha Washington, a friendship that would remain throughout their husbands political careers. In 1806, two years after her husbands death, she, along with several other women, founded the Orphan Asylum Society. The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state of New York. Both her mother and father came from wealthy and well-regarded families. [citation needed], Eliza remained dedicated to preserving her husband's legacy. She had eight children with Hamilton during their rather short marriage of 24 years. In 1806, two years after her husband's death, she, along with several other women including Joanna Bethune, founded the Orphan Asylum Society. She died in 1854, at the age of 97, one of the nation's last remaining links to its founders. [17] Also while in Morristown, Eliza met and became friends with Martha Washington, a friendship they would maintain throughout their husbands' political careers. So James decided to take his story to Hamilton's political rivals, and was paid a jail cell visit by none other than future president James Monroe. As wealthy socialites, both Schuyler sisters frequently attended officer's balls where they mingled with eligible young soldiers. She re-organized all of Alexander's letters, papers, and writings with the help of her son, John Church Hamilton, and persevered through many setbacks in getting his biography published. After being shot on the dueling field, Philip was brought to Angelica and John Church's house, where he died with both of his parents next to him. Life in New York City was obviously more exciting than in Morristown, New Jersey or Albany, New York. A single mother, Rachel struggled to provide for Alexander and his brother before she died in 1768, leaving him an orphan. He served several stints in the Continental Congress and was involved in planning a number of notable Revolutionary War battles, including the surprising Colonial victory at Saratoga in 1777, the first widespread British defeat and a turning point of the war. Some parts of his 31-page letter to Robert Morris, laying out much of the financial knowledge that was to aid him later in his career, are actually in her handwriting. Two of those deaths could have been quite easily avoided if the male culture had been less prone to duels. After the war he was active in both local and national politics, even serving as a U.S. senator from New York from 1789 to 1791 losing his seat to none other than Aaron Burr (who would eventually kill his future son-in-law Alexander in a duel). "[28] Two years later, Colonel Antill died in Canada, and Fanny continued to live with the Hamiltons for another eight years, until an older sister was married and able to take Fanny into her own home. . When he paid her a visit decades after the Reynolds scandal, she refused to speak with him. Eliza later said of Mrs. Washington, "She was always my ideal of a true woman."[12][18]. Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. By this time, two of her siblings, Peggy and John, had also died. He was born out of wedlock, a status that his political opponents would later seize on. Because his mother had never divorced her first husband, Hamiltons father, James, abandoned the family, likely to prevent Rachel from being charged with bigamy. The Grange, their house on a 35-acre estate in upper Manhattan, was sold at public auction; however, she was later able to repurchase it from Hamilton's executors, who had decided that Eliza could not be publicly dispossessed of her home, and purchased it themselves to sell back to her at half the price. The Full Lyrics to Look at Us Now (Honeycomb), Inside Riley Keoughs 'Daisy Jones' Transformation, Tracy Oliver on That Harlem Season 2 Finale, Aminah Nieves on Those Shocking 1923 Scenes. After Vice President Aaron Burr killed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, Hamilton's widow, Elizabeth Schuyler "Eliza" Hamilton, had to find a way to go on without her. In early 1780, Elizabeth went to stay with her aunt in New Jersey where she met Hamilton, who was one of General George Washingtons aides-de-camp at the time. In one letter Angelica told Elizabeth that she loved Hamilton "very much and, if you were as generous as the old Romans, you would lend him to me for a little while." After Eliza's husband died and she moved to Washington D.C. in 1842 . She had to sell her 35 acre estate in upper Manhattan. Reynolds spilled the beans about the affair, but also said that Hamilton had been involved in his pension scheme. The Orphan Asylum Society, meanwhile, evolved into Graham Windham, a private nonprofit social services agency that provides parenting support and mental and behavioral health treatment for 5,000 children and families each year. Elizabeth did not believe the rumors at first, but eventually Hamilton lived up to it. Her father, Philip J. Schuyler, was a general in the Continental Army, politician, and businessman. Her two famous sisters were Angelica Schuyler Church and Margarita Schuyler Van Rensselaer. She also met and became friends with Martha Washington, a friendship they would maintain throughout their husbands political careers. By now everyone knows that Eliza Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton, burned her husband's love letters before she diedand November 9th will be the 162nd anniversary of her death on that day in 1854 at the age of 97. Eliza Hamilton poured her energy into founding a free school and an orphanage in New York to help children in need. In 1797 Eliza was told of an affair that had taken place several years earlier between Hamilton andMaria Reynolds, a young woman who had first approached him for financial assistance. Elizabeth was born in Albany, New York, the second daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, a Revolutionary War general, and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler. Her father, Philip Schuyler, was a revered American Revolutionary war general, and her mother was. After a short honeymoon at the Pastures, Eliza's childhood home, Hamilton returned to military service in early January 1781. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was born on August 9, 1757 in Albany, New York and died on November 9, 1854 in Washington, D.C. at the advanced age of 97. According to some accounts, the family was spared from any losses thanks to her sister Peggy's quick thinking: she told the soldiers that her father had gone to town to get help, causing them to flee from the area. She came from a well-established, highly-regarded family, he was an orphaned immigrant. Eliza soon joined him at New Windsor, where Washington's army was now stationed, and she rekindled her friendship with Martha Washington as they entertained their husbands' fellow officers. But Monroe had made copies of Hamilton's letters to Maria, and sent them to his arch-rival, Thomas Jefferson. [9] Despite the unrest of the French and Indian War, which her father served in and which was fought in part near her childhood home, Eliza's childhood was spent comfortably, learning to read and sew from her mother. After Hamilton became treasury secretary in 1789 her social duties increased. [31] After Alexander became Treasury Secretary in 1789, her social duties only increased: "Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. [Sarah] Jay and Mrs. [Lucy] Knox were the leaders of official society," an early historian writes. Elizabeths depiction in the musical emphasizes both her importance in Hamiltons life and her work in propagating his legacy. if ( 'querySelector' in document && 'addEventListener' in window ) { As Hamilton is released on Disney Plus, the real lives of Alexander Hamilton and the characters in the musical are being discovered by new audiences. She re-organized all of Hamiltons letters, papers, and writings with the help of her son, John Church Hamilton, and persevered through many setbacks in getting his biography published. Elizabeth Hamilton petitioned Congress to publish her husband Alexander Hamilton's writings (1846). She had outlived all of her siblings except one who was 24 years her junior. Later she was able to buy it back because executors decided that she could not be publicly dispossessed of her home. Elizabeth was appointed second directress. His mother, Rachel Faucette, had been born there to British and French Huguenot parents. But behind the myth of the games creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing. Instead she immersed herself in charitable work, helping found New York's first private orphanage in 1806, and embarking on a decades-long campaignto ensure "her Hamilton" received the historical laurels she was sure he deserved. Eliza did not leave the orphanage until 1848, twenty-seven years later, when she left to live with her daughter, Elizabeth . Alexander Hamilton died on July 12, 1804, with Eliza and all seven of his surviving children by his side. The founding father and the New York socialite came from opposing backgrounds but somehow found love during the Revolution. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! New Netherland Institute,PO Box 2536, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12220Phone: 518-992-3274 Email:nni@newnetherlandinstitute.org, Web Site CreditsDesign:ReZolv CreativeDevelopment:Web Instinct. But while his brilliance was apparent to those who met him, Hamilton was eager to prove himself on the field, not just with the pen. She was buried in Trinity Churchyard in lower Manhattan, not far from the graves of her sister, Elizabeth . Schuyler sisters Peggy, Eliza, and Angelica in. [21], Soon, however, Eliza moved again, this time back to her parents' house in Albany. Hamilton grew up as an orphan from the Caribbean and was able to come to America to study when benefactors paid his way. The Unlikely Marriage of Alexander Hamilton and His Wife, Eliza, Photos: GraphicaArtis/Getty Images; Kean Collection/Getty Images, Every Candidate in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Race, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. It is said that after returning home from meeting her, Hamilton was so excited he forgot the password to enter army headquarters. Eliza and her husband would not get to enjoy their newly built home together long, for only two years later, in July 1804, Alexander Hamilton became involved in a similar "affair of honor," which led to his infamous duel with Aaron Burr and untimely death. Peggy Schuyler was born in Albany, New York on September 19, 1758, the third daughter of Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler (1734-1803) and Philip Schuyler (1733-1804), a wealthy patroon and major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Thrust into harsh financial straits, Elizabeth then witnessed her father's death in November 1804 and had to use both strength and ingenuity to keep her remaining family afloat. Eliza was a source of valuable advice and wisdom to Hamilton as his political career began to take off after the war. While apart, Alexander wrote her numerous letters telling her not to worry for his safety; in addition, he wrote her concerning confidential military secrets, including the lead-up to the Battle of Yorktown that autumn. Philip J. Schuyler, father to Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy, was a Revolutionary War general, U.S. senator, and businessman, much beloved and respected by his community. He eventually became a prominent landowner, with tens of thousands of acres in the Albany area. Almost none of Elizabeth's own correspondence has survived, so her personality is gleaned largely from the impressions of others. The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state of New York. She died in 1854, at the age of 97, one of the nation's last remaining links to its founders. They were so close, in . In 1780, Hamilton wrote Angelica a letter describing his infatuation with Eliza: Hamilton and Eliza married that year. She was the spouse of Alexander Hamilton, famous in the early American government following the Declaration of Independence and considered one of the founders of our American republic. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, Eliza was a beloved figure and entertained often: "Some visitors sought her imprimatur for new legislation, while others went simply to bask in the glow of history." Eliza was buried near her husband in the graveyard of Trinity Church in New York City. But at the time of Hamiltons death, he still had a mortgage and owed money to the builders, and his wife struggled under the weight of all that debt. Elizabeth Schuyler was born on August 9, 1757, the daughter of the Revolutionary War leader Major General Philip Schuyler. Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}may focus on its namesake founding father, but the hit musical also tells story of his wife, Eliza, played by Phillipa Soo in the original Broadway production now streaming on Disney Plus. The Van Rensselaers of theManor of Rensselaerswyckwere one of the richest and most politically influential families in the state ofNew York, so she came from a very different background to Hamilton, who arrived in the States as an orphan. Where Is The Cast Of Broadway's 'Hamilton' Now? He was born c. 1755 on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies. According to Presnell, the years following Alexander's death were marked by poverty for Eliza and her children, though she did raise enough money to re-purchase the couple's home, the Grange.