I had great fun chatting with Sharon Bennett Connolly and Derek Birks on this "Going Rogue" episode of A Slice of Medieval. When Sharon first contacted me, I thought she would want to discuss the Wars of the Roses, but we did a REALLY rogue talk about women of the American Revolution instead! So, here I am talking to my British friends about us winning our independence.
Give it a listen!
Welcome, Salina! Thanks for celebrating Women's History Month with us!
~ Samantha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guest Post by Salina Baker
Catharine Littlefield Greene was a product of the feminine sphere of women during the colonial period. Marriage was considered a critical event in the life of the early American woman. It raised her status socially but it also moved her from dependency on her family to dependency on her husband. When she married Nathanael Greene, a former Quaker and iron forage owner with a limp, asthma, a smallpox scar on his right eye and who hailed from a fairly well-to-do family, she believed that she would be settling down to a life of domestic tranquility. But as we shall see, things were different for Caty. An American Revolution was on the horizon and her husband’s direct and important influence in that revolution changed her domestic circumstances.
Convivial and beautiful with few women friends, poorly trained in domestic skills, and without her own home to settle down in, Caty found her own path that often led to history’s criticisms of her that may have been based in jealousies, misunderstandings, and Caty’s own struggle to be a part of the social whirl that accompanied the officers’ corps during the Revolutionary War. Caty Greene, unlike many of her colonial sisters, was not freed by the American Revolution. Only a personal tragedy could free a woman who defied the narrow perception of acceptable behavior.
Note: Caty burned all her letters to Nathanael therefore their relationship was interpreted through Nathanael’s letters and responses to her.
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Catharine Littlefield Greene
(Miller) circa 1809 artist unknown. Caty was mortified when she saw this
painting of her. |
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| General
Nathanael Greene. Painted by Charles Willson Peale 1783 |
Nathanael was a frequent visitor to the house in East Greenwich. Lacking a formal education as she did, the Caty he met there was comfortable in the society of men and her “power of fascination was absolutely irresistible.” She was born on February 17, 1755, thirteen years younger than her future husband. Nathanael and Caty wed on July 20, 1774. They settled into Spell Hall his home in Coventry, Rhode Island, but those early days of tranquility were short lived.
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Spell Hall, the Greene family homestead
in Coventry, Rhode Island today. |
The events in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 when the British fired on civilians in Lexington and Concord changed all that. Nathanael, a private in the Kentish Guards a Rhode Island militia company, left to attend the siege of Boston. His militia company was sent home initially. Rhode Island then formed the Army of Observation. Nathanael had previously been denied officer status due to his limp that “was a blemish to the company.” Suddenly, the man the Kentish Guards considered to be a blemish incapable of cutting a physically shining figure was a brigadier general. He went home and showed Caty his commission. He and his men were sent to Roxbury, Massachusetts where they settled in with the Provincial Army.
General George Washington arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 2, 1775. The Continental Congress had appointed him commander-in-chief of the newly formed Continental Army of which the Provincial Army became a part. Washington saw in Nathanael Greene a man who loved his country, cared about his troops, was a strict disciplinarian, and an active soldier. Within the year, Nathanael was a major general in the Continental Army. Caty was suddenly thrust into the role of a major general’s wife.
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A whimsical drawing of Nathanael and
Catharine Greene. Artist unknown. |
In late spring 1776, whispers about Caty’s behavior circulated among her family members. In the winter of 1777, although they were very much in love, jealousies and insecurities surfaced between Caty and Nathanael. His admiration for Lady Stirling and Kitty, General Lord Alexander Stirling’s wife and daughter, and his reminder to watch her spelling when writing to the scholarly Lucy Knox lured Caty’s doubts about how much Nathanael loved her. His subsequent letters were an oxymoron of adoration or designed to make her jealous especially after he heard about the many parties Caty attended in Rhode Island:
“In the neighborhood of my quarters there are several sweet pretty Quaker girls. If the spirit should move and love invite who can be accountable for the consequences?”
Yet many times he soothed her fears:
“Let me ask you soberly whether you estimate yourself below either of these ladies. You will answer me no, if you speak as you think. I declare upon my sacred honor I think they possess far less accomplishments than you, and as much as I respect them as friends, I should never be with them in a more intimate connection. I will venture to say there is no mortal more happy in a wife than myself.”
Leaving her children with in-laws, Caty arrived in Valley Forge in 1778 where she met men like the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, and Alexander Hamilton while her jealousy simmered over the Stirling ladies. It was here she met General Anthony Wayne. An incurable ladies man, his wife never came to camp. Caty was stimulated by the company of this charming man. The whispered gossip began yet Nathanael remained unconcerned.
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| General Anthony Wayne |
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Jeremiah Wadsworth and his son
Daniel. Painted by John Trumbull 1784. |
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| Eli Whitney |
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Greene-Miller Cemetery on Cumberland
Island at Dungeness |
Resources:
Stegeman, John F. and Janet A. Caty
A Biography of Catharine Littlefield Greene Athens, Georgia University of
Georgia Press, 1977. Print.
Carbone, Gerald M. Nathanael
Greene A Biography of the American Revolution, 2008. Print.
Thayer, Theodore. Nathanael
Greene Strategist Of The American Revolution New York: Twayne
Publishers, 1960. Print.
https://www.eliwhitney.org/7/museum/about-eli-whitney/inventor
Dolley Madison is often given credit for defining the role of First Lady for US Presidents' wives. What you may not know is that Quaker Dolley Payne Todd only came into that important role through tragic circumstances, as described in Women of the American Revolution:
"In 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, and 19-year-old Dolley would have watched the political leaders of the new country as they rushed about town. She likely saw the handsome, charismatic Alexander Hamilton and the quiet, bookish James Madison, among many others who were or would become some of the most famous names in American history. Dolley’s attention, however, was on the young men of the city as she considered which might become her husband. She had a broad choice of suitors, but her father selected John Todd, a fellow Quaker. Todd was a lawyer five years Dolley’s senior, who had long expressed interest in her. John Payne, failing in business and in poor health, may have pressured his daughter to wed Todd, but the couple’s letters also indicate a love match. On 7 January 1790, she became Dolley Todd.
By that time, John Payne’s business had gone bankrupt causing his exile from their Quaker congregation. When the federal government moved to Philadelphia, Dolley’s mother, Mary Payne, opened her home as a boarding house to support the family, a decision that would have a deep impact on her daughter’s future. However, Dolley had no way of knowing that as she settled into married life and assisted her mother by frequently taking in her siblings.
She lived with her husband in a three-story brick home that still stands at the corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia. Part of the first floor was used as John Todd’s law offices and an extensive personal library. The couple soon welcomed two sons, John Payne Todd on 29 February 1792 and William Temple Todd in September 1793. Todd’s business was successful, and their family was growing.
Had this idyllic situation continued, Dolley’s name might not have become prominent in America’s history. Tragically for the young wife, Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic of 1793 also entered into history at this point. The sickness sent government officials racing from the city for healthier air and left few households untouched, including the Todd house. John Todd sent Dolley away shortly after the birth of their second son, but he remained in the city to care for his father and a clerk in his office who had fallen ill. Approximately 5000 Philadelphians died of yellow fever that summer, and Dolley lost both her husband and infant son on the same day, 24 October 1793."
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| The Todd House in Philadelphia |
It was after this that Dolley went to her friend Aaron Burr for help settling her husband's estate, and he introduced her to his bachelor friend, James Madison. They were married within the year. It is believed that the term 'First Lady' was used to describe Dolley Madison at her funeral, and the title has become part of the US vernacular.
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In many modern portrayals of the Hamilton story, including the most famous one, the 2015 musical, Eliza Hamilton's story is only told as far as her husband's goes. She is rarely given credit for the 50 years she survived Alexander. While those years were spent in widow's black, Eliza was not still or complacent in her mourning. Besides vowing to see the memory of her husband honored and his legacy remembered, Eliza was a pioneer in expanding the domestic sphere of American women to include charitable work that made a significant impact in communities. After Alexander's death in 1804, Eliza began her own story.
The following excerpts from Women of the American Revolution:
"Eliza forged ahead, creating a life of her own for the first time. In 1805, she joined the board of the New York Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, joining the ranks of women in the early nineteenth century in branching out from their homes to help form and improve society through benevolence. In March 1806, she was one of a group of women who formed the New York Orphan Asylum Society, as many of the small children of poor widows inevitably became orphans. Eliza perhaps also contemplated Alexander’s youth as an underprivileged orphan and transferred some of her love for him to young people in need."
Her example had a strong influence on her children, who ranged from 2-19 years old at the time of their father's death.
"Her son, James, shared an anecdote of this time in his memoir. ‘She found a little fellow in the arms of a fireman whose parents had been destroyed by the burning of their house. Being an orphan, she directed the fireman to take the little “McKavit” to the Orphan Asylum, on the Bloomingdale Road, giving him the means to hire a carriage to do so, and gave him her card.’ Many years later, Eliza found this young man a position at the Military Academy. When he was killed in the Mexican American War, he left all he had to the Orphan Asylum that had cared for him. This organization exists to this day as the Graham Windham in Brooklyn."
Eliza's work did not stop there!
"Her next project was a tuition-free school that would make education accessible to all children living in the relative wilderness surrounding Hamilton Grange. In 1818, when Eliza founded the Hamilton Free School near what is now West 187th and Broadway, it was the only school north of modern day 155th Street. Eliza was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the school but stayed engaged while focusing her efforts on the orphanage. The school provided free education until the building was destroyed by fire several years after Eliza’s death. . . .
Eliza tirelessly continued her work for poor women and orphans in New York City throughout most of the last fifty years of her life, petitioning the city for grants, increasing awareness of public needs, and personally overseeing the work of the orphan asylum for many of those years. ‘She was a most earnest, energetic, and intelligent woman,’ wrote her son, James. ‘Her engagements as a principal of the Widow’s Society and Orphan Asylum were incessant. In support of these institutions she was constantly employed, and as I once playfully told her, “Mamma, you are a sturdy beggar.” She replied, “My dear son, I cannot spare myself or others; my Maker has pointed out this duty to me, and has given me the ability and inclination to perform it.”’ "
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An excerpt from Women of the American Revolution:
"Abigail Adams was a renowned letter writer, making her one of the most studied and admired of the women of the American Revolution. As her husband once observed, ‘My wife must write!’ Abigail wrote to her sister, Mary Cranch, ‘My letters to you are first thoughts without corrections.’ Her writing, therefore, gives historians an unpolished and honest look at the life of women of this era. It is also a genuine record of Abigail’s personality and character, which would be impossible to obtain through any other source.
Two centuries of historians have attempted to paint different pictures of Abigail Adams, and the one thing that is often agreed upon is that Abigail is a character full of contradictions. Portrayals of her as a politician or feminist fail to understand Abigail’s own mindset and acceptance of the role she played in her own society. Her priorities were the management of her home and proper raising of her children, and, though she enjoyed discussing politics especially with her highly political husband, she would not have described herself as a political activist. In her own words, ‘I believe nature has assigned to each sex its particular duties and sphere of action, and to act well your part, “there all the honor lies.”’ Abigail insisted, ‘However brilliant a woman’s tallents may be, she ought never to shine at the expence of her Husband.’ While Abigail had called upon John to ‘Remember the Ladies,’ she also wrote to him, ‘Regard us then as Beings placed by providence under your protection and in immitation of the Supreem Being make use of that power only for our happiness.’ A reading of their letters also reveals that while John and Abigail came to their political opinions while apart, they often arrived at the same conclusions.
Neither was Abigail a submissive, angelic wife. Her letters, which she never intended for publication, reveal a woman with opinions and complaints about daily life and even her famous spouse. On the other hand, reflecting on marriage to John, Abigail wrote, ‘After half a century, I can say. My choice would be the same if I again had youth and opportunity to make it.’ "
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A soldier’s life was dangerous. If one was not injured or killed in combat, they still had the unsanitary camp conditions to deal with. High casualties can be attributed to disease, cold, and heat rather than any British weapon. Reasons women might disguise themselves in order to fight were numerous, despite the risks. Those who were enslaved or indentured servants might see it as a path to freedom, especially if they were light complexioned enough to claim Caucasian ancestry once away from those who knew of their origins. Women might attempt to leave behind a shameful past or hide a premarital pregnancy. Like Deborah, they might hope to escape poverty or the insecurity of being a single woman in a nation at war. Some fled abusive husbands or parents, and, just as their male counterparts did, some women wanted to join the war effort due to passionate patriotism.
Whatever was Deborah’s inspiration, in April 1782 she enlisted in the army, claiming to be Timothy Thayer. Discovered and in fear of prosecution, she fled her native Middleborough, Massachusetts. Whether she had intended to honor her enlistment or whether she, like many others, was hoping to slip away with her signing bounty in hand, is unknown. But when she enlisted a second time on 20 May 1782, this time as Robert Shurtliff, a name common enough in the area to allow Deborah to remain anonymous, she accepted a bounty of £60 and joined new recruits at Worcester for muster. The American victory at Yorktown had taken place the previous October, but three-year recruits were still being signed on in the case that a treaty did not follow as expected. After all, it was not the first American victory of the war and news took weeks to cross the Atlantic. The Continental Army could not yet rest.
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From Women of the American Revolution:
"The British surrendered at Yorktown on 19 October 1781. After betraying their country, the Arnolds found themselves on the losing side. As they packed to leave for London, a city Peggy had never visited, she must have wondered if she would ever see her family again. They sailed on 8 December 1781. The Arnolds were not alone. Thousands of loyalists and African Americans fled the new country that was less than welcoming to them.
Peggy was well received in London. Called the ‘Fair American,’ she found her place in society, and she may have felt a bit like her old Philadelphia days if not entirely vindicated in the decisions she had made. The Arnolds were presented to King George and Queen Charlotte. They were rewarded generously for their service, even if General Arnold had not provided the British with the victorious engagement for which they had hoped. A pension paid to Peggy separate from the money paid to her husband is further evidence of her active involvement with the treachery that had left André dead."
"In St John, New Brunswick, Peggy made a comfortable home for her family, bringing furnishings from London and her indominable spirit. Arnold collected his entire family at their new home, including his spinster sister, Hannah, and his older children. It is unknown at what point after her arrival that Peggy learned of another child her husband had sired. One must wonder after all she had suffered at his side how Peggy felt to discover that Arnold had fathered a child with a woman in St John during his first trip to Canada. At just the point when their life seemed to be turning around, Arnold’s affair drove a wedge between he and his wife. Two months after arriving in St John, Peggy gave birth to another son, named George like the son who had died, a common practice at the time. Had Peggy already learned of her husband’s infidelity? One can imagine how much it might change her state of mind as she recovered from childbirth, depending upon when this realization was made."
"It is difficult to guess at Peggy’s feelings when Benedict Arnold died on 14, June 1801. He had been irrational, unsuccessful, and unfaithful, but she had stood by him, mostly uncomplainingly. Being a widow had its own challenges, but Peggy addressed them head on. Peggy’s key concern was her finances. Her husband had created a complicated web of business contracts and debts that Peggy was responsible for unwinding as executor of his estate. The fact that Arnold had named his wife executor is evidence of her intellect and his trust in her, as few eighteenth century wives were selected for this role that was typically reserved for men. Peggy had five children besides Arnold’s older sons and illegitimate son in Canada, who he had not left out of his will. One can only imagine what Peggy thought of her husband of twenty-two years including his 14-year-old bastard in his will while she scrambled to ensure her own children’s futures. She refers to him in letters to her sons simply as ‘the Boy,’ though she knew his name was John Sage. ‘The Boy who is with you ought to be taught, by his own labor, to procure his own livelihood; he ought never to have been brought up with any other ideas.’"
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However, Mercy could not entirely devote herself to patriotic politics the way men like John Adams did. She was a wife with a household to maintain. More importantly, she was the mother to five sons. Much as she supported independence from an early point in the Revolution, Mercy was afraid of what might become of her boys if called upon to fight. She wrote to Abigail Adams, ‘not to mention my fears for him with whom I am most tenderly Connected: Methinks I see no Less than five sons who must Buckle on the Harness And perhaps fall a sacrifice to the Manes of Liberty Ere she again revives and spreads her Chearful Banner over this part of the Globe.’Her fears were not assuaged when General Thomas Gage replaced Hutchinson as the governor of Massachusetts, placing the colony under martial law. His authority under the Coercive Acts, which had been passed in response to the destruction of the tea, left colonists feeling vulnerable and without a voice. Boston Harbor lay empty, relieving many of their livelihood, and tensions rose as many, including Mercy, wondered what would come next.
James rushed home, and the Warrens set out for Rhode Island. Mercy later wrote in her History that ‘A scene like this had never before been exhibited on her peaceful plains; and the manner in which it was executed, will leave an indelible stain on a nation, long famed for their courage, humanity and honor.’James and Mercy encountered many other travelers, some witnesses of the fighting at Lexington and Concord. One told them of a story so harrowing that Mercy included a retelling of it in a letter to a friend. ‘I saw yesterday a gentleman who conversed with the brother of a woman cut in pieces in her bed with her new born infant by her side.’ Accounts such as this must have caused internal struggle in the patriotic but fearful Mercy.
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An excerpt from Women of the American Revolution:
"Washington had begun intelligence efforts within a fortnight of gaining command of the Continental Army, writing, ‘There is nothing more necessary than good intelligence to frustrate a designing enemy, & nothing that requires greater pains to obtain.’ The Culper Ring was one of the most extensive spy networks of the American Revolution. It was composed of people that Tallmadge knew personally and trusted implicitly. Abraham Woodhull and Caleb Brewster had grown up in Setauket, New York with Tallmadge, and they formed the center of the ring. Initially, Woodhull went by the alias Samuel Culper. Later, Tallmadge assigned him the code number 722. Agent 355 was likely a woman known by Tallmadge or Woodhull in order to have been included in the Culper Spy Ring.
Was she the wife of a friend? Servant? Slave? Maybe she was not connected to Tallmadge and Woodhull at all but was brought into the ring by another agent. Morton Pennypacker, an early Culper Ring historian, first suggested in 1948 that she was the secret wife of Robert Townsend, an agent (designated by 723) living in New York City during the British occupation. This is the theory historian Corey Ford finds most compelling in his 1965 A Peculiar Service, which takes an in depth look at 1770s New York. This romantic possibility has been taken up by historical novelists, and it appeals to readers who love a tragic romance. But is it true?"
"Agent 355 may only be a figment of overactive imaginations, and many historians remain unconvinced of her existence beyond being just what Woodhull said, ‘a lady of my acquaintance.’ Female spies were uncommon but not nonexistent in the American Revolution. Some operated on their own, sending information to husbands or brothers in the army, and others were part of more organized networks. In many situations, women found themselves the holders of important information simply because men assumed they were not listening or could not understand the significance of what they were overhearing or observing."
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I recently made my fifth visit to Mount Vernon, the beloved home of George and Martha Washington. Each visit has included its own special element - a trip with my oldest son, one with my daughter, mint juleps just like George Washington used to drink, and the time I got to introduce my husband to one of my favorite places in the country. This time, I got to bring my book that includes my own little chapter about Martha Washington and her life spent mostly in this beautiful place. We also took an in-depth tour and got to see parts of the home that I hadn't seen before.
I'm excited to share it with you!
Scaffolding is often seen against one of the walls of Mount Vernon. This time, it was all along the portico facing the Potomac River, so the facade of the mansion was pristine.
The exterior of the home is sided in wood planks that are painstakingly prepared to give the illusion of stone. A special paint blended with sand is used to create this effect, just as it was in the 18th century. The estate has been restored by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association to appear as it did in 1799, the final year of George Washington's life, but this is not how it appeared when he first inherited it. For a great overview of the evolution of Mount Vernon and George Washington's passion for improving the home and grounds, visit Mount Vernon's website which makes a vast amount of information available to the public.
Inside, there is far too much for me to include in a single post, but the room the Washingtons were most proud of was the New Room that they built for entertaining in European style (they hoped, neither of the Washingtons ever traveled to Europe).
This room has a ceiling twice as high as any others in the home and was larger than the entire home of most other Virginians of Washington's time. Hints of George's love of farming and his belief in America's future as an agricultural nation are found all around, including this marble mantlepiece that was designed by him.
Other rooms that may be of particular interest to my readers include the Lafayette Room, where the Marquis de Lafeyette stayed while visiting the Washingtons. The portrait of the Marquis is a reproduction of one that George had commissioned to honor his friend.
Another room that I mention in Women of the American Revolution is the third floor guest room where Martha moved to after George's death. She never again slept in the bed they had shared.
The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association has performed an astonishing amount of research to determine which guest bedroom Martha used, what paper was on the walls, and all sorts of other facts that we take for granted when we visit Mount Vernon today. The estate was in ruins when they purchased it in 1859.
I've discovered a fun fact connecting this to my current project on James Hamilton!
Mary Morris Hamilton, James's daughter, was the MVLA's first vice-regent for New York, and she raised about $40,000 of the estate's $200,000 purchase price. I can't wait to include more about her story in my next book! Needless to say, I have a greater appreciation for what these women went through than ever before.
I will share one more fun picture for those who are fans of the National Treasure movies.
You may recognize this cornerstone as the entrance to a secret passage. (We were assured that it is not.) It is a cornerstone believed to have first been used by George's grandfather, Lawrence Washington, to establish the family in Virginia. Mount Vernon researchers believe the cornerstone was preserved and moved until it was eventually installed in the Mount Vernon cellars when George Washington had them built. The one currently in place is actually a replica, but the original is in the on-site museum, which you absolutely must visit if you ever take a trip to Mount Vernon.
I have so many photos and will be sharing more on Instagram.
If you would like to learn more about Martha Washington and other amazing 18th century ladies, please consider my newest book, Women of the American Revolution. It is available at Pen & Sword, Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite book retailer. I appreciate your interest and support!
Available now at Audible and audiobooks.com!
I also have a few other articles written about Martha here.
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"George had left Martha with a difficulty in his will. Over time, he had begun to struggle with the institution of slavery in a way that Martha never did, and he had granted his slaves their freedom upon Martha’s death. He might have meant for this to free Martha from the responsibility of coping with their emancipation, but it created a difficult situation where some of the Mount Vernon enslaved people knew their freedom was based on the elderly lady’s death. In addition to that awkward challenge, the enslaved populations of the Washington and Custis estates had become intermingled during George and Martha’s long marriage. Those that were a part of the Custis inheritance would legally transfer to Martha’s grandchildren upon her death, while those that had been George’s would be free. That not only seemed arbitrary and unfair but also left black families with some members anticipating freedom and others not.
Martha attempted to ease this tense situation by freeing George’s slaves on 1 January 1801. She was afraid that some of the enslaved people plotted her death in order to gain their freedom, so she gave it to them. Some eagerly took up their newfound liberty and left Mount Vernon, others stayed because of family who remained property or for the stability Mount Vernon offered. Her thoughts about this event are not recorded, but Martha had previously expressed shock and dismay when enslaved servants ran away. She did not understand why they would choose an uncertain freedom over the life offered at Mount Vernon. For a woman who had been part of a lengthy revolution based on liberty, it is an ironic blind spot."
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| Portrait of Elizabeth Hamilton by Henry Inman (1825) |
Eliza forged ahead, creating a life of her own for the first time. In 1805, she joined the board of the New York Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, joining the ranks of women in the early nineteenth century in branching out from their homes to help form and improve society through benevolence. In March 1806, she was one of a group of women who formed the New York Orphan Asylum Society, as many of the small children of poor widows inevitably became orphans. Eliza perhaps also contemplated Alexander’s youth as an underprivileged orphan and transferred some of her love for him to young people in need.
Eliza led this organization from its formation in a small rented home in May 1806, and quickly realized more space was needed. A lottery grant from New York City Council raised $5000 toward a new building with more space for children’s quarters, as well as rooms for schooling, religious studies, and trade skill training. In Eliza’s lifetime, hundreds of children would receive housing, care, and education through the Orphan Asylum Society that she founded.
Her son, James, shared an anecdote of this time in his memoir. ‘She found a little fellow in the arms of a fireman whose parents had been destroyed by the burning of their house. Being an orphan, she directed the fireman to take the little “McKavit” to the Orphan Asylum, on the Bloomingdale Road, giving him the means to hire a carriage to do so, and gave him her card.’ Many years later, Eliza found this young man a position at the Military Academy. When he was killed in the Mexican American War, he left all he had to the Orphan Asylum that had cared for him. This organization exists to this day as the Graham Windham in Brooklyn.
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| Portrait of James Alexander Hamilton by Aimee Thibault |
Eliza tirelessly continued her work for poor women and orphans in New York City throughout most of the last fifty years of her life, petitioning the city for grants, increasing awareness of public needs, and personally overseeing the work of the orphan asylum for many of those years. ‘She was a most earnest, energetic, and intelligent woman,’ wrote her son, James. ‘Her engagements as a principal of the Widow’s Society and Orphan Asylum were incessant. In support of these institutions she was constantly employed, and as I once playfully told her, “Mamma, you are a sturdy beggar.” She replied, “My dear son, I cannot spare myself or others; my Maker has pointed out this duty to me, and has given me the ability and inclination to perform it.”’The world of women’s charity work of the early nineteenth century was one into which Eliza fit perfectly and helped define. She was able to extend her love for family and children to include those who needed her. As her children grew and had families of their own, she spent increasing time helping other women raise their children and serving as a substitute mother to those who had lost their own. Eliza not only was able to be a part of the raising of dozens of children, she had the connections necessary for the fundraising that was vital to any charitable organization.She had connections with those who had resources but continued to struggle with the financial situation in which her husband had left her. In a letter to her son, James, dated 11 May 1827, Eliza reveals her continued need and her gratitude toward those who assisted her. ‘My Dear Son: Your unremitting kindness and attentions, and in this last instance of providing for my comfort, demands my most ardent and affectionate thanks….As all good acts are recorded in the habitation where your father now is, I have no doubt this one will be proclaimed to him, and have thus given him another motive to implore continued blessings upon you.’
