The following blog post is a
compilation from our 2023 Women’s History Month social media posts. Enjoy!
Mary Morris Hamilton,
circa 1870s.
When researching women’s
history, there can be a lot of missing information. That’s why it was so
exciting to receive about 20 letters from 1830-1835 that show in detail the
lives of five siblings—four sisters & one brother—great-grandchildren of
the Schuylers. Reading the letters is like taking a deep-dive
into their world: the trips between their home in Manhattan and their other in
Westchester, their brother constantly asking for updates from home, their
travels, and their nicknames for each other and their friends. It's a brief but
intimate look into their lives.
Meet our main characters: Elizabeth (Eliza) (1811-1863),
Frances (Fanny) (1815-1887), Mary (Molly) (1818-1877), Angelica (Gekky/Geek)
(1819-1868), and their brother, Alexander Jr. (Alex) (1816-1889), as we delve
into their stories!
(Letter depicted in first tweet is from Charlotte
"Chatty" Hamilton to Angelica "Geek/Gekky" Hamilton, who
were cousins.)
“Cousin Chatty” (Charlotte “Chatty” Hamilton)
Chatty's letter to Angelica ("Geek").
Often referred to as “Cousin Chatty,” Charlotte was the
daughter of the Hamilton girls’ uncle, John Hamilton. Born in 1819, she was the
same age as Angelica, or “Geek/Gekky,” as Chatty and Angelica’s siblings
affectionately called her.
Chatty wrote Angelica a letter December 29th, 1836, while
Angelica was in Paris. She wrote Angelica that she was sad she didn’t receive a
letter from her, but “the knowledge however that you are neither sick nor
frightened has in a measure consoled me.” She told Angelica about the balls,
parties, and weddings she attended, writing “I have partaken pretty largely in
the gaiety & promise myself the pleasure of doing so for the rest of the
season.”
She gave Angelica some of the gossip on their friends, writing
“Many are under the influence of the United Charms of E. Balrey [?] & the
beautiful Miss Church.” “Miss Church” was likely one of their cousins,
descended through their great-aunt, Angelica Schuyler Church. At the end of the
letter, Charlotte asked what Angelica and her family had done for Christmas,
and told her “We have missed you all very much, there seems such a blank in the
family circle.” This shows how close the two girls were.
A year later, Fanny Hamilton wrote to Angelica about
Charlotte, telling her “Chatty has not been well. She has been excessively
admised [to yield to suffer] this winter, […] everyone agrees in saying that it
[her beauty] is painful the great appearance of her want of health.” Fanny told
her sister that she didn’t see Chatty much, but when she did, she thought her
“far from well” and was often asked if “she is not a great invalid.” But
Chatty’s parents “are not at all aware of it, they say she is perfectly well.” A
month later, Eliza gave an update on Chatty, writing “Chatty is here [at their
home in Westchester, Nevis] & seems stronger—she walks every day with more
pleasure & eats more—”
Through these letters, we see three of the four sisters,
Eliza, Fanny, and Angelica, all discussed & were concerned about Chatty,
however no later letters reveal anything further about Chatty. The only known
facts are that she lived in Manhattan, did not marry, and died at 76 in 1896.
Fanny in Baltimore
In late March of 1837, Fanny was travelling through
Philadelphia, Baltimore, D.C., and Norfolk with members of her extended family.
Her letter to Gekky covered everything from the weather to the various people
she met on her travels. The letter between the sisters also shows how far their
social network extended, likely because of their status as an elite, wealthy
New York family. 
Fanny's letter to Angelica.
Even hundreds of miles from home, Fanny met at least two women
who knew their family and remarked on her resemblance to her father. She told
Gekky to “tell Papa I met Mrs. Barren” and then added in a bit of gossip: “she
sang for me, her voice so broken and having relinquished her colour is very
much altered, altho’ I knew her immediately she says she recognized me from my
resemblance to him” Fanny confided in Gekky that she’s “to drink tea this even.
with a Mrs. Thompson of [tear in letter] place a friend of Aunt Alexander’s I
expect to have a horrid time” Her bluntness seems like a classic quip between
siblings—something that transcends centuries!
When they travelled, letters were what kept the sisters
together. Reading letters between them feels like listening in on a personal
conversation because that’s what they are at their core. At the end of her
letter, Fanny was excited about finding what letters possibly awaited her at
her next destination.
Alexander Jr. to Eliza
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Alex Jr.'s letter to Eliza.
In 1832, Alexander Jr., the younger brother of the Hamilton
sisters, was a student at West Point. He often wrote them letters, and they
wrote him ones in return, but not all of those letters have survived. Through a
letter to his older sister Eliza, we can get a glimpse into what her life was
like when she was about twenty, though it’s important to remember this is
through her brother’s eyes. We can also see the close relationship the two of
them shared.
In the opening of a letter from November 1832, Alexander
mentions Eliza attended the opera in Manhattan. It’s likely she saw "The
Italian Girl in Algiers," as that was presented in Manhattan within that
timeframe. In the same letter, Alex implores her to “resume your former plan of
sending The Standard as often as possible—I shall thus get more news with less
trouble to you,” referencing upcoming elections they were both interested in. Toward
the end of the letter, he writes “I have thought of making Chocolate for some
time, but don’t know how to set to work. I wish you would tell me how you made
it last winter as I recollect it was very good.”
From a single letter, we learned Eliza went to the opera, was
interested in the ongoing elections, and could make chocolate. While we
couldn’t learn this from her own perspective, sometimes we must look everywhere
for women’s history—and we get lucky enough to find it!
Where are the portraits?
Mary "Molly" Hamilton,
portrait miniature by
Richard Morell Staigg; 1860.
As a wealthy, affluent family, it’s likely there were multiple
portraits and even photographs of all the Hamilton sisters, but, out of all the
sisters, there is only one portrait and one photograph of Mary “Molly” Hamilton
Schuyler.
The portrait miniature was painted by Richard Morell Staigg in
1860, when Mary was 42. The sole known photograph of Mary was taken at some
point in the 1870s based on her hairstyle and dress. While the portrait
miniature was painted before her marriage, the photograph was taken after.
Based on when portraits of her husband and children were
painted, Eliza Hamilton likely had a portrait miniature of herself painted in
1840 & possibly again in 1850. As photographs of her daughters exist, it’s
likely at least one was taken of her as well before her death in 1863.
A photograph was taken of Angelica’s husband in 1859, a year
before their marriage. It’s likely she had a photograph taken upon or after
their marriage as well. Portraits from her younger years probably existed too,
just like that of her older sister, Mary.
As for Frances, or Fanny, it’s likely she at least had a
miniature portrait painted of her before her marriage, and was likely painted
or photographed after as well, but as there are none of her husband, it’s
harder to guess when they would date to.
While we may not be able to put faces to most of the Hamilton
sisters, we hope the bits of the letters by and to them have still brought them
to life for you.
Next Generation
Eliza Hamitlon married her cousin, George Schuyler, and
together they had three children: Philip, Louisa, and Georgina. Louisa and
Georgina went on to become activists, following in the footsteps of their
mother and their aunt, Mary Hamilton.
Learn more about Louisa’s activism here,
Georgina’s work on historic preservation here, and
their joint effort to donate family furniture to Schuyler Mansion upon its
opening in 1917 here.
Louisa, Georgina, and Philip Schuyler,
circa 1851; artist unidentified.
Related
Take a look at this blog post about poems Eliza received when she was a young student and learn more about who she received them from.
Check back in the future for more blog posts about the women
of Schuyler Mansion.
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