![]() ![]() In 1779, the year prior to their marriage, Hamilton had written a love verse to Elizabeth that she had placed in a little sack attached to a chain around her neck. Some 30 years later, long after Hamilton had died, she confronted Monroe and coldly rebuked him for his part in the conspiracy to "calumniate dear husband." Full of remorse, he later lamented "I can never cease to condemn myself for the pain which I have inflicted on one so eminently entitled to all my gratitude, fidelity and love." Elizabeth, ever loyal and ever generous, forgave him completely although she harbored deep feelings of resentment against those who had entrapped him, especially Senator (later President) James Monroe of Virginia who nurtured an intense dislike for Hamilton. The affair ended in disaster, obliging him to publicly acknowledge the whole sordid mess, a confession that brought considerable glee to his enemies. Several years earlier, he had become involved with a married woman who together with her husband had hatched an extortion plot against him. Stunned by this pair of tragedies, Hamilton reproached himself, agonizing that "the best and ablest hope of my family has been taken from me…Everyday only proves to me more and more that his American world was not made for me." Their eldest son, Philip, lost his life in a duel while their daughter, Angelica, a high-strung girl, was driven by the shock of her brothers' sudden death into an insanity from which she would never emerge. Six sons and two daughters were born in the ensuing years, but their marriage eventually came to know the full measure of both joy and sorrow. Intrigued by her simplicity and gentle manner, yet somewhat disturbed by her lack of a finished luster, the brilliant Hamilton had encouraged Elizabeth to "employ all of your leisure of reading and endeavoring to excel in those splendid qualities in the character of every fine woman." Nonetheless, he loved her dearly, proclaiming "the delicacy of your mind and manner, the real goodness of your heart place you in my estimation far above all your sex." Elizabeth was the daughter of General Philip Schuyler, a former commander of the Northern Continental Army, and Catherine vanRenssalaer, each a descendent of prominent, politically-powerful Dutch families that had taken root in the Hudson River Valley region.Įlizabeth was a rather plain woman, quiet and good-natured, who loved children and domestic duties, qualities that had initially attracted Hamilton. Hamilton, one of George Washington's personal military aides, had already begun to attract attention not only for his keen intellect and superb organizational skills, but also as a potential player on the American political stage. ![]() On December 14, 1780, Elizabeth Schuyler was married to Alexander Hamilton in Albany, New York.
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