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ciceroprofacto · 1 year

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Okay- as to the possibility of John Laurens meeting Peter Lavien, this is super messy and it’s impossible to prove without a primary source explicitly stating that they interacted, but I can put the timeline together for you that explains how they would’ve been in the same area at the same time.

The summary is this:

- Sometime between 1764 and 1766, Peter Lavien settled in Beaufort, SC, and became a partner with Captain Samuel Grove, running his shop in downtown Beaufort along with an apprentice/clerk named John Kean. They became one of the most successful import/export houses in the area during an indigo boom.

- When the Revolution started stirring up trade restrictions, Lavien took to smuggling and, in 1776, he had a ship detained in Savannah with its cargo. He appealed to the South Carolina Council of Safety which was chaired by Henry Laurens at the time. His son in law, John Charles Lucena, had connections to a merchant in Savannah that was able to vouch for his ship and get it released.

- In 1777, Peter Lavien moved his family to Savannah for business and to avoid patches of violence that broke out around the lowcountry. He left his properties in Beaufort to be managed by John Kean in his absence.

- Fast forward to 1779, Laurens joined up with the southern army at Tillifiny Hill in May and volunteered to escort General Moultrie’s rear guard across the Coosawatchie River. He engaged the enemy in an ill-advised assault and was routed back across the river. If you’re interested in the archeological effort to pinpoint the exact location of the engagement.

- The nearest major town was Beaufort, about 15 miles away where John Kean was incidentally still located, serving as deputy paymaster of the South Carolina Militia.

- Peter Lavien’s name would’ve been well-known in the area and his move to Savannah would’ve been common local knowledge. Laurens would have likely interacted with John Kean at some point while commanding a militia battalion, and it’s possible that Kean would have known that Lavien was Hamilton’s older brother if Lavien ever spoke about it to him. So, there’s a possibility that Laurens learned Kean’s former-employer’s relationship to Alexander Hamilton and knew that he’d moved to Savannah.

- Whether Laurens made the effort or had the time to seek Peter Lavien out while he was in the vicinity of Savannah that autumn is entirely speculation. But, we do know that Lavien left a small sum of money to his brothers in his will before he died just a year later.

Extended timeline details and sources under the cut.

These points are all from: 1. Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton 2. Greg Massey’s John Laurens and the American Revolution 3. Rowland, Moore, and Rogers’ History of Beaufort County V.1

“In 1745, the ill-fated wedding [between Rachel Faucette and Johann Lavien took place at the Grange. The newlyweds set up house on their own modest plantation, which was named, with macabre irony, Contentment. The following year, the teenage bride gave birth to a son, Peter, destined to be her one legitimate child.” (1. pg 11)

In 1750, Johann Michael Lavien, Peter’s father, had Rachel imprisoned for adultery and no longer residing with him. She was sent to Christiansvaern, the local fort and imprisoned for 3-5 months. She left Christensted when she got out, leaving Johann and Peter behind and going to St. Kitts where she started living with James Hamilton. (1. pg 11-12)

On February 26, 1759, Johann Lavien sent Rachel an official divorce summons for absenting herself which she attended and they were officially divorced on June 25th. Johann was allowed to remarry and Rachel strictly prohibited, denying her any of the property he’d mostly gained in marrying her, and preventing her “whore-children” from getting any in the event of his death. Peter would’ve been 13, James 6, and Alexander either 2 or 4. (1. pg 20)

Early 1760s, Johann and Peter moved to Frederiksted on the far side of St Croix. (1. pg 21)

April 1765, James Hamilton, Rachel and their kids moved to Christiansted where James was working as a clerk for Archibald Ingram of St Kitts, the son of a Glasgow “tobacco lord”- a family connection, tasked to collect a debt from a man named Alexander Moir. The case lasted until January 1766, then James pulled anchor and disappeared around Alex’s 11th birthday. (1. pg 21)

Between 1764 and 1766, Peter settled in Beaufort, SC, and became the shop manager of a store owned by Captain Samuel Grove in Beaufort bay on Tradd Street selling rum, sugar, chocolate, coffee, tea, and wine, all imported on his schooner Hannah and Betsy. John Kean was his apprentice. (3. pg 244)

“November 1769...Peter returned to St Croix to take possession of his small inheritance- an injustice that rankled Alexander for many years. Peter had fared sufficiently well in Beaufort, South Carolina- named a church warden- the chief financial and administrative officer- in St Helena’s Parish the previous year, yet he couldn’t spare a penny for the two destitute half brothers orphaned by his mothers death.” (1. pg 25)

Early 1770s, Peter Lavien and Samuel Grove were considered the largest indigo shippers in the Beaufort District. The Revolution disrupted the firm’s trade and Samuel Grove died at sea in 1775. (3. pg 244)

On 30 January 1776, one of Peter Lavien’s partner ships the William was detained in Savannah for smuggling. Lavien appealed to the South Carolina Council of Safety (chaired by Henry Laurens) to release the brigantine with 122 casks of indigo and 100 barrels of rice on board. The Council of Safety refused and ordered the cargo detained in Beaufort. On February 1, 1776, Quinton Pooler, a Savannah merchant who Peter’s son-in-law, John Charles Lucena had connections to, claimed the cargo belonged to him, and the captain of the William produced authorization for departure from the Georgia Council of Safety. The vessel sailed and a frustrated Henry Laurens, obviously not convinced, warned the Georgia council that they should “obey the laws of Congress”. (3. pg 206-207)

“Family business connections, and political hostility, forced Lavien to move to Savannah in 1777. There he lived with his daughter Joanna, and his son-in-law, John Charles Lucena, until his death in 1781.” (3. pg 244)

“Lavien left his Beaufort property in the hands of his former partner’s stepson, John Kean, who was a consistent patriot and a member of Beaufort’s local committee. Lavien’s will divided his large estate between the Lucenas of Savannah and John Kean of Beaufort. The Lucenas remained loyal to the crown, and most of their Georgia property was confiscated; Kean served as deputy paymaster of the South Carolina militia, along with John Mark Verdier. Both served under Daniel DeSaussure, who was paymaster general of the South Carolina Militia. (3. pg 244)

May 1, 1779- Laurens arrived in General Moultrie’s camp at Tullifiny Hill. On May 3rd, he volunteered to take 250 militia troops to escort Moultrie’s rear guard back to the army at Tullifiny Hill and instead tried to lead an assault across the Coosawhatchie River, failing and risking about a third of Moultrie’s force. (2. pg 135)

#Peter Lavien #Laurens in the lowcountry #< that'll be a new tag #timeline #Historical Hamilton #I don't have the energy to format this better #just putting the thought out there

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diane-the-phoenix-awen · 3 months

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My Hamilton story pt. 1

This is the "safe" version. I have an uncensored version available on Amazon which you can read for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. 18+ only, please. You can also buy it on kindle or print paperback on Amazon.

Passion: The Life and Loves of Alexander Hamilton - Book 1: The Islands (Unedited Edition) (Passion: The Life and Loves of Alexander Hamilton - Unedited Editions)

https://a.co/d/eWI5zmd

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aidede-camp · 1 year

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With all the disrespect I could possibly muster, FUCK Johann Micheal Lavien and his dirtbag son, Peter Lavien. May they kiss ass in hell. 😌

#alexander hamilton #historical hamilton

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46ten · 2 years

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AH’s Relatives post-1772

There was a post I came across that I cannot find now, but it sort of implied that AH did not interact with his parents’ families after moving to NYC. I thought I’d compile a list of my posts of his family members whom we have evidence of him interacting/keeping correspondence with besides his dad and brother:

John W. Lytton (AH’s first cousin, once removed - Lytton’s grandmother and AH’s mom were sisters)

Anne Lytton Venton Mitchell (AH’s first cousin - moms were sisters, also mentioned in prior post) - Newton argues that she was nearly entirely responsible for funding AH’s trip and education in NYC.

Alexander and Robert Hamilton (AH’s first cousins - their fathers were brothers)

and then the links between AH and his half-brother, Peter Lavien, here and here.

#James Lytton #Ann Lytton Venton Mitchell #Peter Lavien #Alexander Hamilton

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aswithasunbeam · 4 years

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Is there anything else known about Hamilton's half brother from Rachel's first marriage? I read that he became a preacher or decon (i think) of a church in one of the Carolinas, and I guess its safe to assume Hamilton never tried to contact him when he came to the US for obvious reasons, but still its just so odd to me to think about Peter. On one hand I can see things from his perspective: his brute of a father probably filled his head agaisnt Rachel who did leave him when he was four (1/2)

All very true, and their relationship is definitely one that would be interesting to write about. Micheal E. Newton has a great article about his discovery of Peter Lavien’s Will that provides a little more information. When Peter left St. Croix, he settled in South Carolina, where he owned a plantation (and several slaves) with his business partner, John Kean. When he died, he left Alexander and his brother (who he wrongly names as Robert, rather than James) 150 pounds sterling each, which was a relatively small piece of his fortune. Interestingly, Lavien died within months of John Laurens, which could only have added to his confused feelings for the brother he never really knew. Hamilton’s letter to Nathanael Greene, 12 October 1782, reports the deaths of both Laurens and his brother, and requests Greene forward a letter to the executor of Lavien’s estate. Most illustrative of Hamilton’s state of mind after learning of his brother’s death, though, is his letter to Eliza, dated 1782:

Engrossed by our own immediate concerns, I omitted telling you of a disagreeable piece of intelligence I have received from a gentleman of Georgia. He tells me of the death of my brother Levine.1 You know the circumstances that abate my distress, yet my heart acknowledges the rights of a brother. He dies rich, but has disposed of the bulk of his fortune to strangers. I am told he has left me a legacy. I did not inquire how much.

#alexander hamilton #peter lavien #eliza hamilton #brothers #michael e. newton #history #ask

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james-gemini-hamilton-jr-blog · 6 years

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I have a confession

So, you guys know Hamilton? Alexander Hamilton? Then you know Robert Hamilton? He isn’t real. I used to pick on Alex because my parents always loved him more than me. I would call him, “Bastard,” and, “Whore.”

In other words, I was a HUGE dick.

#hamilton #james hamilton jr #alexander hamilton #peter lavien

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mesmir-ized · 6 years

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💫how to interact w/ ur relative’s secret lover’s family💫

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alwaysavengerss-blog · 5 years

Conversation

Hamilton: My half brother is 6 foot

Hercules: Wow...

Hercules: Imagine if he were your full brother-

#alex actually has a half brother i googled it #his name was peter lavien #thats all i know though im not a historian #also first hamilton textpost #more musicals to come #hamilton #alexander hamilton #hercules mulligan #musicals #hamilton text post

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pub-lius · 2 years

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More information for @thereallvrb0y

its been a while but i had to do all the Laurens siblings and also my life fell apart (/lh) so here we go

Rachel Faucette

*disclaimer* I can’t find a source I really trust on this, so I’m using Chernow’s biography for convenience’s sake. Here is one source that appears to be informational, but I haven’t had time to develop an opinion on it

So Rachel was born around 1729 in St. George Parish. There’s not a lot of information on her, so a lot is either unsure, speculated, or debated. For example, she was possibly part black, but there’s no definitive evidence for this. She was also described as being “bright, beautiful, and strong willed,” as well as, “a woman of superior intellect, elevated sentiment, and unusual grace of person and manner. For her he [Alexander Hamilton] was indebted for his genius.”

Rachel had six siblings, but five of them died, leaving her only with her sister Ann. They lived in Nevis on a small sugar plantation with at least seven enslaved people. They lived on steep, rocky hills, which from my one singular trip to a hilly place, that must have sucked. In 1737, the island experienced an agricultural plague and drought, which caused a wave of emigration, which included Ann Faucette. She married James Lytton and they moved to St. Croix.

Rachel’s parents had a rocky marriage and they argued a lot. In 1740, they agreed to “live separately and apart for the rest of their lives.” Rachel and her mother possibly moved to St. Kitts and met James Hamilton for the first time. Rachel’s father died in 1745, and she inherited all of his property.

Rachel moved to St. Croix and built an estate outside Christiansted called the Grange, and soon met this bitchass mother fucker, Johann Lavien.

Lavien peddled household goods for a living and aspired to be a pLaNTeR, which was just the white people word for slave holder. He could have possibly been Jewish, but if so, he was not open about it. Alexander Hamilton attended a Hebrew school, so it’s possible that Rachel converted to marry Lavien. Also, Lavien’s son Peter was baptized way later in life, so it’s possible that he converted from Judaism to Christianity after he moved out the Carribean.

So the Carribean was a big international trade center, so a lot of stupid young men with no skills went there to try to become merchants and get rich, but it never worked bc you have to start rich in the 18th century to be rich. Lavien was especially stupid and spent all his money on a plantation and really fancy clothes, like a douche. He probably married Rachel for the money too.

“A Dane, a fortune hunter of the name Lavine, came to Nevis bedizzened with gold and paid his addresses to my mother, then a handsome young woman having a snug fortune.” -Alexander Hamilton (who really didn’t like Lavien)

Rachel’s mother gave Lavien the go-ahead to marry Rachel, but Rachel didn’t really care for him. (”In compliance with the wishes of her mother... but against her own inclination,” according to Alexander). Still, she married Lavien in 1745.

They settled on a plantation called Contentment. Funny. And a year later they had their son, Peter. After five years of Lavien just being annoying and wasting money, Rachel just. left. in 1750.

This really pissed off Lavien, and he set out to humiliate her. (TW for abusive and sexist language, skip the quotes in this paragraph) He said she had “committed such errors which as between husband and wife were indecent and very suspicious,” and she was “shameless, coarse, and ungodly.” He had her arrested in Christiansvaern, and we have another amazing example of the 18th century prison system. Lavien expected this experience to make her submit and “...everything would be better and that she like a true wife would have changed her ungodly mode of life and would live with him as was meet and fitting.” (Tw for mention of torture methods. skip the next paragraph)

It was a highly guarded prison, and torture was practiced pretty regularly. They practiced whipping, branding, castrating, shackling with heavy leg irons and entombing in filthy dungeons.

“Rachel spent several months in a dark, cramped cell that measured ten by thirteen feet, and she must have gone through infernal torments of fear and loneliness. Through a small, deeply inset window, she could stare across sharpened spikes that encircled the outer wall and gaze at the blue-green water that sparkled in the fierce tropical sunlight. She could also eavesdrop on the busy wharf, stacked with hogsheads of sugar... All the while, she had to choke down a nauseating diet of salted herring, codfish, and boiled yellow cornmeal mush.” -Ron Chernow

Obviously, instead of submitting to Lavien, she just left! Because of course she would! What the fuck Johann! However, since men have too much privilege, her leaving caused her the relinquish benefits of a legal separation, and she could never remarry. In 1750, she left for St. Kitts.

We can guarantee that Rachel met James Hamilton in St. Kitts in the early 1750s because the shebanged. They were both dragged down a few steps on the social ladder from where they previously stood (more detail on James in a minute) and overall life sucked asshole.

Because of Rachel’s not-divorce, her and James weren’t able to get married. What KILLS ME is that Hamilton later pretended his parents were married, and said, “My mother afterwards went to St. Kitts, became acquainted with my father and a marriage between them ensued, followed by many years cohabitation and several children.”

This quote is actually pretty important because it says a lot, or it could. Firstly, it implies that they possibly had more children than just the two sons we know of, Alexander and James Jr. Secondly, it coincides with the fact that they presented themselves with Rachel and James Hamilton. However, Alexander did know that they were not legally married (people wouldn’t let him forget), but it shows that he sees their relationship as just as valid without a legal marriage *cough* Laurens *cough*. Anyway, their relationship possibly lasted 15 years, and by all sources it seems decently healthy.

Rachel inherited a property in the capital Charlestown (no relation to South Carolina). She also “inherited” three enslaved servants from her mother, Rebecca, Flora, and Esther, one of which had a son named Ajax who was assigned to Alexander and his brother.

Rachel had her son educated through individual tutoring, and by herself, since she was fluent in French. I’m not sure if James was given the same educational opportunities, but he probably was as the older brother, but Alexander definitely took to them better than his brother.

“...rarely as he alluded to his personal history, he mentioned with a smile his having been taught to repeat the Decalogue in Hebrew, at the school of a Jewess, when so small that he was placed standing by her side upon a table.” -Hamilton’s grandson

Oh did you think Lavien was gone? Think again bitch it’s 1759. (TW for abusive and sexist language, skip quotes in next two paragraphs)

Lavien’s in a lot of debt now, and he had to cede most of his plantation, like a bitch lol. He probably wanted to marry this other chick, so he went to obtain a divorce summons on February 26, 1759. According to that bitch, Rachel “absented herself from [Lavien] for nine years and gone elsewhere, where she has begotten several illegitimate children, so that such action is believed to be more sufficient for him to obtain a divorce from her.” grr this makes me so angry.

Additionally, Lavien said he “had taken care of Rachel’s legitimate child from what little he has been able to earn,” and Rachel had, “completely forgotten her duty and let husband and child alone and instead given herself up to whoring with everyone, which things the plantiff are so well known that her own family and friends must hate her for it.” (sic) And as awful as that is, the last statement is possibly true, because Rachel’s communication with her loved one’s is eh... well, we don’t really know, but she didn’t really have much of a social life after rumors spread.

Rachel didn’t refute the allegations or show up to court, which was really bad for her, because on June 25, Lavien recieved a divorce that permitted him to remarry, but not Rachel.

Things only got worse when James got a business assignment in Christiansted in April 1765, and brought his family to St. Croix. Where Lavien lived. So, Rachel was no longer seen as Mrs. Hamilton, and only known for what Lavien said about her.

And on top of that, James just. Left.

According to Ronny boy, Rachel wasn’t really phased by how she was treated in Christiansted. “As she ambled about Christiansted in a red or white skirt, her face shaded by a black silk sun hat, this ‘handsome’, self-reliant woman seems to have been fired by some inner need to vindicate herself and silence her critics.”

With her sister and brother-in-law supporting her financially, she moved into a two-story house on 34 Company Street by an Anglican church and school, which could have possibly influenced Hamilton’s religion later in life.

“Adhering to a common town pattern, she lived with her two boys in the wooden upper floor, which probably jutted over the street, while turning the lower stone floor into a shop selling foodstuffs to planters--- salted fish, beef, pork, apples, butter, rice, and flour. It was uncommon in those days to be a shopkeeper... ‘White women are not expected to do anything here except drink tea and coffee, eat, make calls, play cards, and at times sew a little...’ She bought some of her merchandise from her landlord, while the rest came from two young New York merchants, David Beekman and Nicholas ruger...”

Like many other people who enslaved a small handful of people, Rachel rented out her five female enslaved servants and their four children. She also had a goat that she probably used to provide milk for her sons.

In late 1767, the family moved to 23 Company Street, then to number 34. Not long after, Rachel caught a fever, and was tended to by a woman named Ann McDonnell, then Dr. Heering took over on February 17. (TW for death and historical medical practices, skip next paragraph)

Alexander got sick as well, and they were both subjected to medieval purgatives. Valerian was given to Rachel, which expelled gas from the alimentary canal. (google it if you want, it’s just farts). Bloodletting was performed on Alexander.

Then, Rachel died at nine o’clock on February 19, around the age of 38. I cried.

James Hamilton Sr.

siiiiiiiigh. Listen man, as much as I want to like this guy, I.... mmmmmmm. I don’t hate him but. If I met him irl, I’d punch him in the nuts.

James Hamilton was born in 1718, the fourth out of eleven children. His father, Alexander Hamilton (psa for men to stop naming their kids after their family members bc it makes it very difficult) was the laird of Grange in Stevenston Parish in Ayrshire, Scotland (another psa for men to stop naming their houses after their childhood homes).

“The truth is that, on the question who my parents were, I have better pretensions than most of those in this country plume themselves on ancestry.” -Alexander Hamilton (not the laird, the twink)

Because James wasn’t the oldest son, he wasn’t very likely to inherit... anything, so he had to make his own fortune! Because that always ends well!

It seems like James was kind of the outcast in his family, like kinda Bruno vibes if you’re picking up what I’m putting down. Also his future financial issues likely contributed to his estrangement from his family. He had no formal education and was “Easygoing and lackadaisical, devoid of the ambition that would propel his spirited son, James Hamilton did not seem to internalize the Glaswegian ethos of hard work and strict discipline.” He was kind of a himbo ngl.

His older brother John took James to a four-year apprenticeship with a businessman named Richard Allen. This started a chain of events where John had to constantly bail James out of debt. He also paid for his apprenticeship, which didn’t work out, so he went to the West Indies to make bank.

He started in St. Kitts, trading sugar. He “must have started out with a modicum [ha] of social cachet in St. Kitts, but it was never enhanced by money or business success.” There’s a whole bunch of business stuff that Chernow explains, but I think Hamilton sums it up pretty well:

“In capacity of a merchant he went to St. Kitts, where from too generous and too easy a temper he failed in business and at length fell into indigent circumstances... It was his fault to have had too much pride and too large a portion of indolence, but his character was otherwise without reproach and his manners those of a gentleman.”

This is interesting, because if he had “manners those of a gentleman” he could have possibly taught those lessons of etiquette to Alexander, since he was described pretty early on as being very gentlemanly, and this could have been a start for him. However, the sentiments Hamilton shows in this statement about his dad were not always the case.

You already heard the story of him and Rachel, so I’ll give you this quote from his great grandson:

“Hamilton’s father does not appear to have been successful in any pursuit, but in many ways was a great deal of a dreamer, and something of a student, whose chief happiness seemed to be in the society of his beautiful and talented wife, who was in every way intellectually his superior.”

Okay, mansplain manipulate malewife.

Sooooo.... about him leaving his family and all that.

He was still leeching off his brother when they moved to St. Croix, and he served as head clerk for Archibald Ingram. Ingram asked James to collect debt from Alexander Moir. The lawsuit ended in January 1766, and after winning, he left his family.

His sudden move could have been motivated by Lavien’s bullshit. However, according to Chernow, “These scenarios seem unlikely given that James Hamilton never appeared on the St. Croix tax rolls, suggesting that he knew all along that he was a transient visitor.”

His son says that it could have been because of the debt, which is the most likely reason in my opinion.

“You no doubt have understood that my father’s affairs at a very early day went to wreck, so as to have rendered his situation during the greatest part of his life far from eligible. This state of things occasioned a separation between him and me, when I was very young.”

Now, it’s time for the Hurricane letter. This is arguably the most famous of Hamilton’s writings, and really the only one from his youth that’s talked about, but it’s mostly used to discuss the hurricane itself, but I think it really shows his frustration towards his father.

In the letter, which is addressed to his father, he blames the cause of the hurricane that caused devastation to St. Croix on the populace of the island, and their ungodliness and sin, and some of the traits he lists as the causes line up with descriptions of his father, or how an “illegitimate” son might view his father who abandoned him.

“The following letter was written the week after the late Hurricane, by a Youth of this Island, to his Father... ‘Where now, oh! vile worm... What is become of thine arrogance and self sufficiency?... How humble, how helpless, how contemptible you now appear. And for why? The jarring of elements--- the discord of clouds? Oh! impotent presumptuous fool! how durst thou offend that Omnipotence, whose nod alone were sufficient to quell the destruction that hovers over thee, or crush thee into atoms? See thy wretched helpless state, and learn to know thyself. Learn to know thy best support. Despise thyself, and adore thy God.’”

James Hamilton stayed in the Caribbean, living on several island St. Vincent by June, 1793. Alexander attempted to come into contact with him, but to no avail. He died some time in the 1790s.

“But what has become of our dear father? It is an age since I have heared] from him or of him, though I have written him several letters… Sometimes I flatter myself his brothers have extended their support to him, and that he now enjoys tranquillity and ease. At other times I fear he is suffering in indigence. I entreat you, if you can, to relieve me from my doubts, and let me know how or where he is, if alive, if dead, how and where he died. Should he be alive inform him of my inquiries, beg him to write to me, and tell him how ready I shall be to devote myself and all I have to his accommodation and happiness.” -Alexander Hamilton to his brother James

James Hamilton Jr

There really isn’t much to say about James Jr, but I can tell you the little about him Chernow put in his biography.

James was born two years before Alexander. When his mother died, he and Alexander stayed together. He, along with Alexander, had to deal with the complicated court decision after their mother’s death.

The court had to decide how to split the inheritance between her three sons. Rachel left behind debts, and their property was immediately claimed.

“The court decided that it had to consider three possible heirs: Peter Lavien, whose father divorced Rachel ‘for valid reasons (according to information obtained by the court) by the highest authority,’ and the illegitimate James and Alexander, the ‘obscene children born after the deceased person’s divorce.’“

This court case exposed James and Alexander to the unfortunate reality of their mother’s life, which really affected Alexander and the way he viewed women.

During the year they were waiting for the decision, all of Rachel’s property was auctioned. Alexander’s uncle bought back his books for him.

Eventually, the decision was made to disinherit the two illegitimate sons, and in November 1769, Peter Lavien claimed the estate, and gave no relief to his half brothers.

James and Alexander were placed under the guardianship of Peter Lytton, their first cousin. (TW for suicide and mental illness, skip this paragraph). According to Peter’s brother, he was “insane”, and he also had a black mistress. On July 16, 1796, Peter Lytton died from suicide, and either “stabbed or shot himself to death.”

Peter wrote a will for his mistress and child, but excluded James and Alexander. Their uncle attempted to help, but couldn't do much, and died a month later. He also excluded his nephews from his will.

Then left to be an apprentice carpenter to Thomas McNobeny. The carpentry industry was one of the industries that people of color mostly worked in, and white people who worked in those industries were considered stupid and less then, since they had to compete with people of color.

James wrote to Alexander sometime in 1785 to ask for money. (here’s Alexander’s response). He possibly died in 1786.

In my personal opinion, he seems kind of distant from Alexander, but still protected him, and his mother likely put him in charge of his younger brother, since that was typical of the 18th century. Because of his circumstances and social standing, he would have been hardworking, but not very well educated.

#alexander hamilton #rachel faucette #james hamilto sr #james hamilton jr #hamilton family #amrev #american history #amrev history #historical alexander hamilton #heeeey its a party in the u s a #do it for richie 💪

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lacrimosathedark · 3 years

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Hamilton Inaccuracies/Corrections (because why not?)

Okay so, I saw a post on reddit that was like, “what’s some inaccuracies in Hamilton off the top of your head?” and I got a whole bunch...and then I had to double check to make sure if I was right...and I’m pretty long-winded...and now I have this 5,000ish word monstrosity. And apparently you can only post 1000 characters at a time on reddit. Laaaaame. So here’s some Hamilton facts I’ve gathered in my brain. Since it was kinda off the top of my head despite being so long, it’s kinda vague in some places, so if anyone wants to expand on anything (or correct me if I oopsed somewhere) please do! Though nicely please.

Also I am also awful at citing things, but I know I learned some of this from @john-laurens and @ciceroprofacto so thank you.

LET’S BEGIN!

Act 1

Rachel Faucette was not a prostitute, but she was a “whore” in the sense that she did what she fucking wanted with her body. During her first marriage she may or may not have been sleeping around, but she refused to stay with John Lavien, her husband, anymore. So he had her arrested. And he could do that. Because patriarchy and theocracy. And she was essentially put in solitary confinement. You can see why she tried to leave, right? She tried to get their marriage annulled or get a divorce. I forget what the issue was but she couldn’t and eventually she just moved to another island where she met James Hamilton.

The intro song makes it seem like Alexander was an only child. He actually had an older brother, James Jr., but he kinda fucked off after their mother died, working and taking care of himself. They also had an older half-brother Peter Lavien, but I don’t think they really knew him other than as the son of their mother’s abusive ex who took everything from them when she died. John Lavien was able to do that because when Rachel was with James Hamilton, she had not been able to get legally divorced from him so she wasn’t really married to James Hamilton, so James Jr. and Alexander were illegitimate ie bastards. He was an asshole. I don't think Peter had anything against the Hamiltons, but I think he grew up to be a Loyalist so. He actually made some trouble in South Carolina for Henry Laurens, John's dad! But I think I read somewhere he also left money for Alex and James Jr. In his will, which is sweet.

This is more visual since it’s not specified in the song, but in the show, Hamilton’s cousin mimes hanging himself. Peter Lytton’s cause of death if I recall was inconclusive, but he was in his bed and there was a lot of blood. So, yeah, he didn’t hang himself.

Alexander did not punch the bursar. However he did return to Princeton later during the war and blew a canon through the school and apparently decapitated a painting of King George lololol. He was under orders, but yknow. Probably felt pretty good after he was rejected for accelerated courses. He wasn’t the only bastard rejected, though! Ben Franklin’s bastard son was too. The guy in charge of admissions, Witherspoon, hated bastards as a concept and Princeton was a very religious school at the time I believe.

It may have been the plan by Aaron and Esther Burr for Aaron Jr to graduate Princeton, but like, he couldn’t really be sure of that? He was like 2 years old when they died, and his older sister Sally was 4 I believe, maybe 5.

Hercules Mulligan met Alex in 1772. His older brother Hugh knew Alex’s old employer in St. Croix and helped him get to mainland America. Alex and Hercules lived together for a long while, and Hercules is actually who got him interested in the revolution.

John Laurens was in England in 1776. He wouldn’t meet Hamilton and Lafayette until he accepted his post as Washington’s aide-de-camp upon his return in August of 1777.

Lafayette couldn’t have met Hamilton before August 1777 because that’s when he met Washington, and he was appointed as a volunteer to the Continental Army only a week prior, and before that he had been in France. But Lafayette later declared their relationship to be like that of brothers, Alexander his closest connection in the states besides Washington.

Lafayette admired and absolutely adored Laurens and they were besties, but neither of them knew Mulligan. They may have met in passing, or heard about him from Hamilton, but nothing more.

“Lafayette” was actually a nickname based on his title of “Marquis de la Fayette”. In his autobiography, he wrote: “It’s not my fault I was baptized like a Spaniard, with the name of every conceivable saint who might offer me more protection in battle.” I’m glad he thought it was funny at least. His name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la Fayette.

Hercules Mulligan is not known to fuck horses.

The Revolution had already sorta started. Actually, Hercules and Alexander had been part of local militias before 1776.

This is more of a miscommunication since the actors are close in age, though the lyrics try to get it across. There’s a reason Mulligan says he’s got the others “in loco parentis”. In 1776 Hamilton and Lafayette would have been 19, Laurens would have been 22, and Mulligan would have been 36.

I think we all know “Laurens, I like you a lot” does not cover the scope of their relationship but that’s rather self explanatory so unless someone asks I’ll leave it at that. And for other clarifications. But at the very least I’ll share this: Anyone who saw them knew they were like attached at the hip (without knowing how attached *winkwonk*) and you could almost always contact one through the other. Laurens was notoriously bad at answering letters, to Hamilton too (and Alex did bitch about it because he is insecure and needs love), but it became quickly known he got back to Hamilton fastest so people would be like “Tell Laurens I said hi!” or “Hey, I need to get these to Laurens, you send them to him.” Which is hilarious. I just imagine Alexander going, “Why me?”

While all of them are Revolutionaries, Laurens is the only one you could solidly call an abolitionist, and Mulligan’s even shaky on the manumission part. He was supposedly part of the Manumission Society Hamilton helped start, but Mulligan also personally owned slaves and was never known to have freed them (One helped him with spy shit. His name was Cato!). In fairness, Hamilton and Lafayette wholeheartedly agreed with Laurens, and Hamilton was the biggest supporter of his battalion plan, and both of them did try to continue working towards equality after the war, but it was never the top priority for either of them and their lives kinda went to hell, so it fell to the wayside. Lafayette actually did some nifty stuff worth looking at, and Hamilton might have tried to keep one of John Lauren’s freed men from Henry Laurens! But as slavery stuck around for a while, it clearly wasn’t anything significant.

Angelica would meet and befriend Thomas Jefferson in Europe, but she would never manage to convince him to put women in a sequel because he’s a huge misogynist and told her in multiple letters that politics isn’t for women and I think he deserves a shoe up his southern backside. Side note, it always bothered me that Lin played up the misogyny in the musical. I mean, yeah, all of them would be misogynists compared to us, but for their time, Hamilton wasn’t so bad. If there was anyone to play up misogyny with, it was Jefferson, because he would tell Angelica for years and years that politics could never make women happy, and that the women in France were foolish for trying etc.. Hamilton would actually discuss politics with Angelica frequently and openly. And there’s a proto-feminist in the cast that was never recognized—Aaron Burr! He respected Theodosia Sr. as an equal and she was his most valuable political ally, and he made sure Theodosia Jr. got the same education any boy of her time would have. He actually respected women to a decent degree. Not to say he wasn't as much of a ho as Hamilton cuz yeah that's accurate (but they were both disaster bisexuals more on Burr's sexuality later)

Farmer Refuted was an essay Hamilton wrote arguing against Samuel Seabury's posts. They weren't shouting in the public square(but Lin got the sass right. I love his face when Hamilton and Seabury are fighting over the podium). Seabury was also really really old, not young and cute like Thayne, hence the line about "mange". Blech.

General Montgomery didn’t take a bullet in the neck, it was a grapeshot from a canon in his head (and his thighs), but close enough I guess. Side note: Burr actually served a short interim on Washington’s staff, but only for like 10 days because they hated each other lolol.

Alexander didn’t bring Laurens, Mulligan, or Lafayette to Washington. Lafayette joined up with the Continental Army in 1777 and quickly convinced them he wasn’t like the other French nobles; he was a glory-seeking kid with a boner for America (for some reason???). Laurens was requested by Washington to join his military family and he arrived also in August 1777 just after Lafayette. Like previously stated, Mulligan was doing shit even before Hamilton did.

Alexander would not have been in charge of spy shit (though may have been somewhat involved). Washington had people like Mulligan for that, who actually saved Washington a few times. But also, the "King’s men who might let some things slide" was the tactic Mulligan used. He was actually very charming, and his wife was very high in British society and he was a skilled tailor, so they were thought of well among the redcoats, and he got a lot of information through chatting with his customers. He also could usually smooth-talk his way out of trouble. Actually, Mulligan blended in so well, when the war was over, people in the city wanted him out cuz they thought he was a Loyalist. So George fucking Washington paid him a visit and commissioned I think a coat from him, and that cleared that up. He got a LOT of business after that.

Alexander would not be Washington’s right hand man, or at least, not his only one if Lin was using that to mean aide-de-camp. In that case, Laurens would also be Washington’s right hand man, along with many men not named in the musical.

John Laurens may have been reliable with the ladies (comes with the territory of being hot, rich, and a perfect gentleman), but he most certainly didn’t want to be. His father noted, rather proudly at the time, that as a young teenager he expressed no interest in girls. John was also married by 1780, and at least Alexander knew. (he told John he'd found out in the well-known April 1779 letter. You know... “Cold in my professions...find me a wife...the length of my nose...” That one.) Because John apparently didn't tell people he was married. Laurens. Sweetheart. Get. Your. Shit. Together.

John also would not be at this ball. February 1779 to March 1780 he is fighting down south, and this ball was early 1780.

The tomcat thing may be half true. Martha Washington did supposedly name a cat Hamilton, but it was an affectionate thing. The slang tomcat meaning ho wasn’t a thing at that time, so it couldn’t be named to tease Alex for his promiscuity. I believe this was one of the many things John Adams made up to slander Hamilton.

Hamilton and Eliza had met before 1780. They had met once two years prior at a dinner her father had hosted. Also, Hamilton had been courting her friend Kitty Livingston, and his friend and fellow aide Tench Tilghman had been attempting to court Eliza, and they’d actually done at least one sort-of double date (which is adorable). So this shouldn’t have been the first time they’d seen each other. Could still be when they fell in love, though, since they started courting after this. Which is cute to think about.

Speaking of Tench and Eliza! I don't remember when this took place but Tilghman journaled it, he went out on something of a hike with a few ladies and they got to a cliff. Of course, he had to help the girls climb up. Except Eliza who started climbing by herself like a natural to the bewilderment and likely horror of the other ladies. Elizabeth Schuyler was a bamf okay?

Of course everyone knows by now, Angelica was married before Eliza. During the Winter’s Ball, she’d already eloped with Jack Carter aka John Barker Church and run away to Boston.

Their courtship was not that fast. Not like, weeks. More like months. Fun fact, Eliza is the only of the five (yes FIVE) Schuyler sisters who didn’t elope and actually got her parents permission! But here’s a heartbreaking fun fact: while Alex was courting Eliza, Laurens was taken prisoner and then on probation. He wasn’t allowed to leave the state of Pennsylvania. He was mentally in a very dark place. Alex kind of procrastinated telling Laurens about Eliza, didn’t say he was courting anyone until they were already engaged.

I can't leave this alone if I'm sad you have to be too. Alex was hella depressed during this time too. Of course he was a soldier so he couldn't see Eliza as much as he'd have liked. On top of that, he kept pushing for an exchange for John and kept getting rejected because they couldn't show preference for him. And then Laurens was sending him very few letters, of course, and the ones he did send were very depressed, even suicidal sounding. He had to work while dealing with that. He had to keep begging Eliza to write to him to be reassured that she still liked him.

No one could show up for Hamilton for the wedding. Some sources say fellow aide James McHenry showed up, but he’s the only one. Alexander even invited his deadbeat dad, offered to pay all his travel expenses and everything, guess how that turned out. So Eliza’s side of the hall was packed and his was empty. God, can you imagine how sad that is?

Another heartbreaking fun fact! John Laurens was out of probation and could have made it to the wedding, was invited (Hamilton, I kid you not, jokingly invited him to a threesome with his new wife in a letter: “I wish you were at liberty to transgress the bounds of Pensylvania. I would invite you after the fall to Albany to be witness to the final consummation.” (emphasis is original to Hamilton. As is the misspelling of Pennsylvania. Yes, seriously.)) and John did not go. Instead he went back to work trying to talk his way out of getting sent as an envoy to France and suggesting Alexander to take his place. You know. His boyfriend who just got married. Sure, he was right that Hamilton was better equipped for the job, but yknow. Another fun fact, one of the guys who voted for John to be the one to go to France was John’s ex-boyfriend Francis Kinloch. Who was a turncoat, and had been a royalist when he and Laurens split. How’s that for some twisty bullshit.

Sorry, this one isn’t about the musical, it’s a tangent, I just got excited about that quote. Both that style of innuendo and the misspelling of Pennsylvania are consistent in Hamilton’s writing. Listening to john-lauren’s podcast about the April 1779 letter can really help you understand how Hammy uses innuendo but also I just love listening to it it’s insightful and hilarious and I love John Laurens but y u do this and my heart hurts for Hamilton but he is also a ho but aNYWAY. As for Pensylvania...well, he kinda made that mistake on an important document. ...It’s The Constitution. He misspelled Pennsylvania on The Constitution. No big deal. Not like something that could haunt his legacy forever. Oh my god I’m so sorry.

Philip Schuyler did have sons. Five in fact. Two of them died pretty young though I think, considering there are three kids in a row named John Bradstreet Schuyler. The other two were named Philip Jeremiah and Rensselaer.

Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan were all married before Hamilton. Hercules Mulligan married Elizabeth Sanders in 1773. Lafayette married his beloved Adrienne in 1774. John Laurens was regretfully obliged to marry Martha Manning in 1776.

Sigh. Again with the misogyny. Anyway, I wanted to comment on the marriage as a loss of freedom. From what I can tell, Elizabeth helped Hercules with his spy work at home. John was literally fighting a war across the ocean from his wife, and probably having an illegal affair with Alexander (though to be fair to him, he was kind of running away from Martha because he didn't marry her for love, gosh, there are no winners here). Lafayette absolutely adored his wife but still was also fighting a war an ocean away, and had multiple affairs, at least one with his wife’s blessing. So yeah, losing your freedom with marriage? Bullshit.

Despite where it is in the musical and Eliza singing the beginning, Stay Alive is roughly about Valley Forge, which would be December of 1777 through June of 78. So before the ball and wedding. (Fun fact! A lot of people theorize Valley Forge as when Hamilton and Laurens’ relationship may have escalated into romantic and/or sexual territory. They may have had more privacy, as small temporary buildings were being made to better withstand the cold, and Hamilton was sick a lot during that time and did need tending a lot. West Indian boi did not like Northern winter.) But yeah, Congress being stupid and the army resorting to eating their horses sometimes and not being able to buy food and equipment? All true. It was a real bad winter.

Mulligan wouldn’t have to go back to New York, he never would have left. He remained there as a tailor and a spy throughout the war. He wouldn’t have been traveling with Washington.

Hamilton and Laurens didn't write essays so much as start working out John's battalion plan and writing letters trying to push for it.

This duel happened in 1778, so like. This timeline is so fucky.

Stay Alive makes it seem like Hamilton was the one who wanted to duel Lee, but it was 100% Laurens from the start. The off-Broadway version demonstrates it a bit better. Hamilton was Lauren's second to save his ass. Hamilton had a rough relationship with Washington, but Laurens admired him greatly and would have willingly defended his commander’s honor. John was a Good Boy who always bowed his head to his asshole father, even at first for his battalion plan, but John wouldn’t let even his father talk shit about Washington. Fun fact about this duel, Alex and John were late to the duel because they “got lost in the woods”. Oooookay. Suuuuuuure. And Baron von Steuben was straight. (Fact: Steuben was very gay and pretty much pushed out of Europe for it. And he actually also had challenged Lee! They talked things out before this.)

Aaron Burr was not Charles Lee’s second. His second was a Major Evan Edwards. Lin wanted a parallel with the final duel. To be fair, that was a really cool way to do it and I like it better that way.

Alexander Hamilton could NOT agree that duels are dumb and immature. He was in 10 duel challenges as a participant in his lifetime, 9 of which he was the challenger. One time he challenged two people at once. One time he challenged an entire politcal party apparently. No, I am not kidding. He had a bad day. And I think you know the one time he wasn’t the challenger.

Lee did not yield on the first shot, nor was Laurens satisfied. Lee was pretty much like, “It’s just a flesh wound!” and wanted to go another round and Laurens agreed, but Hamilton and Edwards managed to talk them down. Yes he was shot in the side. But that wasn’t all because Laurens absolutely roasted Lee at his court martial.

Lee: Were you ever in an action before?

Laurens: I have been in several actions; I did not call that an action, as there was no action previous to the retreat.

I love this man. So much. The sass of this man.

We don’t know if Washington was angry about the duel with Lee. We do know that Laurens, and probably Hamilton, had Christmas dinner with him two days later. When Hamilton left, it was because Washington had snapped over a misunderstanding (caused by Lafayette actually, and he really tried to make it better because Lafayette is a sweetheart), and then continued to deny Hamilton the command he requested, and he resigned. It was entirely unrelated to the duel and Laurens. However, the daddy issues are real.

I don’t know if Lafayette went to France for more funds and came back with more guns, but Laurens certainly did! Ben Franklin told him to chill, but he actually got super impatient and ended up supposedly disrespecting and maybe kinda threatening the court, demanding what he needed, and walking out. They were were kind of shocked and impressed into giving more than had been requested. Any existing deities bless John Laurens. I love him.

Lafayette actually nominated his own aide to lead the charge and Hamilton appealed for himself and Washington finally gave in to Hamilton.

Laurens was not in South Carolina. When he finally got back from France, he was sent to Yorktown. He actually was commanding the group Alexander led. (Power couple lol) He also helped with negotiations after the battle. Also, supposedly making the British play ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ on their way out was Laurens’ idea because boy is made of sass and spite.

Henry Laurens would not have sent a letter to Hamilton about John’s death. Even if he would have, he couldn’t. At that time, he’d been locked up in the Tower of London as a prisoner. We have no idea when or how Alexander found out, or who might have told him. We know he wrote to Nathanael Greene on October 25 and Lafayette on November 3 (literally 2 months after Laurens' death), and the mentions of Laurens were very short. It’s thought that he really couldn’t talk about Laurens. People have compared it to the stories of how Benjamin Tallmadge apparently couldn’t hear Nathan Hale’s name without crying.

After Yorktown Alexander resigned and John went down south to flush British troops out of the southern states. His group was ambushed at Combahee River and he decided to charge instead of wait for backup and he died. Many people think it was a combination of his usual recklessness, suicidality, and glory-seeking mixed with a desperation with the war coming to an end. It was such a small skirmish. He deserved better. He left his daughter, Frances, whom he had never met, orphaned, as her mother had died months earlier from sickness. She was adopted by John’s oldest younger sister, also coincidentally Martha Laurens (though married was Martha Laurens Ramsay).

The Levi Weeks case was years later than that, in 1800, though it was alongside Burr. Hamilton actually lost his first trial as a defense lawyer and was not with Burr.

The whole conversation where Hamilton proposes Burr help him write the Federalist Papers is fake. Lin made that up entirely.

John Church’s wealth kinda...varies. He was a gambler. At first, he was actually in quite a bit of debt. He did make it big eventually and he and Angelica moved to Europe. He really didn’t seem to be a lot of fun to most people, but Angelica eloped with him. She chose him against her father’s wishes. I don’t get why Lin kept writing lines saying she didn’t love him, at least at first. He also does this in the cut song Congratulations where she says “I languished in a loveless marriage” bish you eloped wat She also lived as a socialite and was adored by anyone who met her apparently, so like???? da fuq Lin. Didja really do Laurens dirty for these lies or at the very least uncertanties? Could you not prop up that romance without making her say she hates her husband?

Act 2

More of a personality miscommunication. Irl Thomas Jefferson was shy, quiet, and hypersensitive, nothing like how Daveed plays him. If you knew a guy like the real Jefferson in real life you might be endeared to him out of pity or because he seems sweet, but in the short time of a musical that would immediately be read as cold and unlikable. So the best way to portray “this guy is a likable asshole” is to make him loud and made of sass which is what Daveed does magnificently. So, not at all accurate to real Jefferson, but gets the concept of him across.

Thomas was not off getting high with the French. Probably. He was making negotiations for the Revolution. And abusing Sally Hemings (his, at the time, 14 year old slave, who was also his sister-in-law, and 30 years his junior, and was brought along to entertain his daughter). And actually probably chatting up with Angelica!

By the time Philip was 9, he had two sisters, Angelica (7) and his foster/adopted sister Frances Antill (6), but he also had two brothers already, Alexander Jr. (5) and James Alexander (3), with maybe another one on the way since William Stephen would be born next year.

The whole comma thing is backwards. It was Angelica who made the initial mistake. Hamilton pointedly and flirtatiously teased her about it before closing it with “Adieu ma chere, soeur” French for “Goodbye my dear, sister”. So it’s more playful and less lovey dovey in context, so the tone is all wrong. It’s not romantic, it’s teasing and snarky.

Say No To This feels like it’s over quick. The affair lasted a year, not just the summer Eliza was away.

Clermont Street wasn’t renamed until many years later.

I don’t know that Alex has always considered Burr a friend. Irl they weren’t as close, and Hamilton was keenly aware of how slimy Burr could be.

Lafayette was NOT fine. He was imprisoned a lot during the French Revolution, the poor man, and many members of his wife’s family were killed. HOWEVER! Hamilton was not just sitting by. Angelica and her husband did make an attempt to rescue Lafayette, and the Hamiltons fostered Lafayette’s son Georges Washington Lafayette (yes that was his actual name). So Hamilton also did not forget Lafayette.

Not all his defendants got acquitted, obviously. Stop being cocky, Ham.

People comment on how Jefferson whines about Hamilton’s fashion sense while literally dressed in violet velvet. The original plan was to have him in browns, but Daveed is just such a friggin star that they just had to give him something brighter and decided to go with a Prince-inspired look. Originally the browns were going to be representative of his supposed representation of farmers. Though note here: Jefferson’s agricultural representation is much the same as modern Republicans’ rural representation. More for show.

Actually, let's get political for a sec. I've done some research in my hyperfixation and in searches for Hamilton shiz I've ended up stumbling into far-right nonsense and I know how to recognize the degrees of nonsense from years of actually paying attention to it now because this is what I do apparently. Which is weird, right? Lin kinda portrays him like a lefty. Well, here's the thing. Any proud historically educated Republican will tell you that their roots are in the Federalist Party. Which is technically true. What they will neglect to mention is the flip between parties that happened when the Republicans decided to use southerners racism to their advantage in elections. Being subtly racist can get the racists and the non-racists on your side! Yeah, it's gross. Federalists are more like Democrats. The corporatists. They clearly care more about companies and Wall Street, but they put actual action into social progress on rare occasion. Democratic-Republicans are like Republicans, conservatives who don't want social change and rail against it and pretend they aren't for corporate interests while being just as bad as the other guys. But Republicans have a tendency to rewrite history to paint themselves as the good guys, or reclaim things that aren't theirs as their own. Just look at the Civil War! Or...literally just...America I guess. Yikes. But yeah, here's your warning. Don't just go looking at and trusting things labelled Federalist. It likely won't be friendly.

John Adams didn’t fire Hamilton, Hamilton left. Eventually. And this is not the only time this kind of verbal confrontation happens, and not the one that destroys the Federalist Party. That actually happens after the Reynolds Pamphlet. But John Adams hates Alexander Hamilton with the burning passion of a thousand suns and really kinda earns this.

I’m not sure if he specifically called Alex a Creole bastard but I wouldn’t be surprised, there were other similar racist and bastard-related insults. You know the tomcat thing mentioned above. He started the rumor of the affair with Angelica. He accused him of being a rake (male version of whore at the time). He also may have behind closed doors accused him of being a sodomite. His (probably gay) son Charles helped with that one, bringing back rumors from a dinner he had with Hamilton (who he was working for) and John Church because Church joked about Alex being fond of a guy. Adams probably thought working for Hamilton was what made his son gay and alcoholic (Charles was an alcoholic and may have died in part because of that; Hamilton was not an alcoholic, but he supposedly could not hold his drink. He was smol).

Jefferson, Madison, and Burr didn’t accuse Hamilton of speculation. It was James Monroe, Abraham Venable, and Frederick Muhlenberg. Lin wanted to keep consistent representation of the Democratic-Republican party. But anyway, the whole thing went to hell because Monroe sent the letters to Jefferson (or I’ve also heard Monroe gave them to Madison who sent them to Jefferson) who, the spiteful gangly fucker, started spreading rumors because fuck Hamilton, amirite? Hamilton challenged Monroe to a duel over that. And who stopped this duel? Aaron Burr. He gets to be the good guy now and then.

It wasn’t just total strangers that got Alex off the island. He was sponsored by his cousin Ann Lytton and his teacher Reverend Hugh Knox. Also, he was kind of expected to get an education and come back and help out the island...guess what he never did. Oops.

This one I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure. I think Eliza was upstate with her family when the Reynolds Pamphlet was released, away from Alex. I also know she had recently given birth to their son, William Stephen. A lot of people think Alexander had been keeping that in mind. Eliza had had a miscarriage once before, when she was under a lot of stress and alone and with the kids and he had to be away (Whiskey Rebellion), so some people think he made sure she was surrounded by her family and waited until the child was born to drop this on her, and gave her distance from him if she needed it. At least he knew he fucked up, and he really did love her.

Those weren’t Alexander’s guns. They belonged to John Church.

It was quite some time between Philip’s challenge and the actual duel.

Another age miscommunication; Eacker was 27ish and Philip was 19 when the duel happened. There was a whole 8 years between them!

Eacker didn’t shoot early. Actually, both of them stood staring at each other for a really long time doing nothing. But Philip went to make a move and Eacker shot him.

Alex and Eliza had made up from the Reynolds Pamphlet bullshit before Philip died. When he passed, Eliza was already pregnant with the son they would also name Philip in honor of his older brother.

Hamilton wasn’t really the deciding factor in the election of 1800. But he did say that about Burr and it did help swing the vote somewhat. But also, this was before Philip died. Philip died in 1801.

If a vote is that close, you can’t win in a landslide??? That’s not how words work???? Mister Miranda????? You are a writer??????? Sir???????

Burr actually held a term as Jefferson’s Vice President.

The Burr vs Hamilton Duel was in 1804 and was actually about another election and other things Hamilton was saying about him. Burr was running to be governor of New York and lost but heard about Alexander telling people the things he listed Alexander saying in Your Obedient Servant.

Thayne should not have played Alexander’s doctor. Sydney should have played Alexander’s doctor. Do you know why? Philip and Alexander had the same doctor when they died. Alexander took that doctor with him to the duel. His name was David Hosack.

While there’s evidence to suggest Burr experienced immediate regret (he stepped forward as if wanting to see if Hamilton was okay and supposedly asked after him and wished him well before Alexander passed) in the years that followed, until he was on his death bed, he expressed nothing but neutrality or even pride for having shot Hamilton. The ‘the world was wide enough’ comment could plausibly be entirely made up, and even if it were true, it was supposedly said toward the end of Burr’s life. Burr's life was quite a ride after Alex. He tried to make like his own empire out of Texas, and then of course was tried for treason, but he got out of that, but then everyone hated him for that ON TOP OF already hating him for killing Hamilton, so he had some crazy journey around Europe for a while. He kept a journal, writing entries like letters to Theo. The most notable things I think he writes he'd "been amused for an hour with a very handsome young Dane. Don't smile. It is a male!" which implies maybe Theodosia knew her dad was bi and was at least amused by it? And he spent a while living with Jeremy Bentham, who is generally accepted to have been gay (if you want more Burr gayness look into Jonathan Bellamy and Robert Troup. Troup knew Hamilton too!). Unrelated to his sexuality but I find it important, Burr spent, in modern cash, $40 on a coconut, in his own words, "like an ass." He returned to America eventually. I dont remember if it was before or after his foreign adventures, but his beloved grandson (also named Aaron Burr) died, and then not long after, Theodosia was lost at sea on her way to visit her dad. No one knows what happened to her. It's so sad. Anyway he married a wealthy widow named Eliza, spent all her money on charity, and died the day their divorce was finalized. And Eliza Jumel's divorce lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr..

Poor Eliza couldn’t go through all of her husband’s papers. Her son, John Church Hamilton, finished the work for her when she no longer could and put together the biography that inspired Chernow’s that inspired Lin’s musical. (He named a son Alexander and a daughter Elizabeth. He even named one of his sons Laurens! Aw.) And we have come full circle.

The End :33

There’s probably more but that’s what I’ve got. Thanks for reading!

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yr-obedt-cicero · 2 years

Note

Heyo,

I just found out that Hamilton’s jerkass half brother, Peter Lavien, actually went and lived in South Carolina and met Henry Laurens at least once or something. Imagine him and John actually met and John having no clue who he is.

And when Hamilton mentions he has a half brother named Peter Lavien in Valley Forge, John goes, “👁👄👁 I met him before.”

It's honestly hilarious when two historical figures - who have barely any connection other than like they are their brother's lover's twice removed cousin's butler - meet. Like how Francis Kinloch is distantly related to Hamilton, and he was also basically Laurens's ex boyfriend. Or how everyone was married to a Livingston or Knox somewhere down their family tree.

Such a small thirteen colonies.

#amrev #american history #american revolution #alexander hamilton #historical alexander hamilton #peter lavien #john laurens #historical john laurens #henry laurens #queries #sincerely anonymous

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ultrahamilham · 3 years

Note

Also side note Johann wasted most of his wealth before marrying Rachel. So i am assuming once wed Johann got her wealth.

Rachel felt stifled by her older husband, finding him crude and insufferable. She was miserable with him.

In 1746 the teenage bride gave birth to Peter her only legitimate son. In 1748, Lavien bought a half share in another small sugar plantation, enlarging his debt and frittering away Rachel’s fast dwindling inheritance. The marriage deteriorated to the point where the headstrong wife simply abandoned the house around 1750.

Lavien ranted in a subsequent divorce decree that while Rachel had lived with him she had “committed such errors which as between husband and wife were indecent and very suspicious.” In his severe judgment she was “shameless, coarse, and ungodly." Enraged, his pride bruised, Lavien was determined to humiliate his unruly bride. Seizing on a Danish law that allowed a husband to jail his wife if she was twice found guilty of adultery and no longer resided with him.

In Fort Christiansvaern they could be whipped, branded, and castrated, shackled with heavy leg irons, and entombed in filthy dungeons. The remaining cells tended to be populated by town drunks, petty thieves, and the other dregs of white society. It seems that no woman other than Rachel Lavien was ever imprisoned there for adultery.

Lavien imagined that when Rachel was released after three to five months this broken woman would now tamely submit to his autocratic rule that:

“Everything would be better and that she like a true wife would have changed her ungodly mode of life and would live with him as was meet and fitting,” as the divorce decree later proclaimed.

In reality he had not broken her invincible spirit. Her time in jail only made her want to get rid of him more.

After staying with her mother for a week Rachel did something brave but reckless that sealed her future status as a outcast: she fled the island, abandoning both Lavien and her sole son, Peter. In doing so, she relinquished the future benefits of a legal separation.

Now James Hamilton, had also been bedeviled by misfortune in the islands. Born around 1718, he was the fourth of eleven children (nine sons, two daughters). He and Rachel met in the early 1750s. They had two known children James in 1753(?) and Alex in 1755(?).

She put her two sons in a Jewish school. A large percent of the community were Jewish. The island they lived on was full of violence and gore. Hamilton saw or lived off the violence and gore is saw daily (either with the inhumane slave treatment or duels).

Lavien wish to marry his new woman that abruptly prompted him to obtain an official divorce summons from Rachel on February 26, 1759.

In a document seething with outrage, Lavien branded Rachel a scarlet woman, given to a sinful life. Having failed to mend her ways after imprisonment, the decree stated, Rachel had “absented herself from Lavien for nine years and gone elsewhere, where she has begotten several illegitimate children, so that such action is believed to be more than sufficient for him to obtain a divorce from her.”

And so Rachel was brandish as a whore. He two sons became bastards and she couldn't have Hamilton in her name. James Sr. let the boys keep his surname.

This was how Lavien designated Alexander and his brother: whore-children. He was determined to preserve his wealth for his one legitimate son, thirteen-year-old Peter. Thrust back into the world of her former disgrace, Rachel lived blocks from the fort where she had been jailed and no longer had the liberty of posing as “Mrs. Hamilton. And most likely Alex never laid eyes on his father for the man was a workaholic and scrounging off his brother's fortunes.

Rachel and the kids were taken care of by Anne her sister and James Lytton her husband. And Rachel made clothes to sell.

In 1767 thirty-eight year old Rachel and her son Alexander contracted a unnamed illness. Rachel had to endure an emetic and a medicinal herb called valerian, which expelled gas from the alimentary canal. Alexander submitted to bloodletting and an enema. On February 19th 1767 at 9:00PM Rachel passed away as her son lay beside her. Alexander survived and attended the funeral while still ill he recovered enough to stand.

And the two were sent to their cousin Peter Lytton. Unlike in the musical Peter Lytton didn't end his own life by hanging. On July 16, 1769, PeterLytton was found dead in his bed, soaked in a pool of blood. According to court records, he had committed suicide and either “stabbed or shot himself. Peter's black mistress Ledja nor their son informed the boys.

And from there Alexander's story takes place.

Ooooh okay! That's pretty interesting!!!

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Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf

1755-01-11: Olivia and Alexander Hamilton’s Birth - Olivia and Alexander were born in Charlestown, St. Kitts, and Nevis.

1765-01-16: Hamilton’s Father Left - James Hamilton, Olivia and Alexander Hamilton's father, and a Scottish Laird, left Hamilton and his family, most likely due to the fact, Olivia, Alexander, and James Jr. were his illegitimate children. It was a relief for the children because he would always beat up James Jr. and Olivia, trying to protect their youngest sibling.

1766-02-17: Hamilton’s Mother Dies - Rachel Faucette Buck, Hamilton's mother, died on February 19, 1768. Cause of death: Yellow Fever. After her death, Alexander and Olivia moved to live with their cousin for a year. Before she died, she gave Olivia the Hamilton ring (gold ring, amethyst pearl-shaped center, and small emerald cut emeralds) that was said to be passed down from generation to generation and a navy blue and dark purple diary, she gave Alexander her necklace from George (5 sapphire petals, a red ruby center, and a thin gold chain).

1766-02-20: Hamiltons In Court - John Lavien (Rachel’s husband) arrived wanting a divorce decree. He wanted the court to reward the entire estate to his son, Peter because the twins were illegitimate. Alexander and Olivia had their uncle, James Lytton, sign a false birth year for court documents that had them add two years their senior. The only thing they got was books taken from Peter, thanks to their uncle.

1767-02-17: Hamilton’s Cousin Committed Suicide and James Jr. Left to Become a Carpenter- Peter Lytton committed suicide over the death of his wife. Alexander and Olivia are now, with no money and family, or destitute orphans. James Jr had to leave the twins behind to become an apprentice of a carpenter.

1771-01-16: Alexander In Charge Of A Trading Charter - Since girls couldn’t work, Alexander had to. Turns out, that Alexander had the perfect “age” for jobs.

1772-08-31: Hurricane Maria Hits - Hurricane Maria hit St. Croix, where Alexander was working and Olivia was nearby to look out for her younger brother.

1772-09-06: Alexander Writes About Hurricane Maria - Alexander wrote to his father describing the storm and gained the attention of the island’s elite. He “wrote his way out”.

1772-12-01: Olivia Receives a Letter That Alexander Died - Somewhere between these months, Olivia gets a letter that the ship Alexander was on sunk and there were no survivors. She was then sold to a family in Setauket, Long Island as a slave, where she meets Benjamin Tallmadge, Anna Smith, Abraham Woodhull, and Caleb Brewster.

1776-09-15: Olivia Gets Freed - Thankfully Olivia was considered white, so she was taught how to improve her grammar, writing, healing, cooking, etc. She still had her Nevis accent, but Olivia could play it off by saying Spanish was her native language. Speaking of languages, Olivia was fluent in French, Latin, Greek, Italian, Danish, and Hebrew. 4 or so years later, Olivia was a free woman.

1777-04-27: Olivia Reunites With Alexander - Olivia gets assigned as a spy for the continental army. The rest of the army gets word that she had the same last name as Alexander’s. After being reintroduced to each other, Olivia forces Alexander to take more care of himself (eating, sleeping).

1777-09-11: Olivia gets shot in the side during the Battle of Brandywine.

1777-10-18: Olivia And Alexander Presumed Dead - Both Hamilton twins jumped in the Schuylkill River and swam deeper, hoping the British Cavalry presumed them dead. They were washed down miles going with the current of the river. Alexander carried her unconscious body to the Patriot camp. Hercules Mulligan found the twins and helped them get to their destination quicker.

1777-10-19: Washington Finds Out The Twins Are His - Olivia woke first and told Washington to read her diary for answers because she was too tired. He found out about Olivia’s life story and found out Olivia Rachel and Alexander James Hamilton were his biological children. Washington then found out about the Hamilton family ring and Rachel’s flower necklace. Olivia and Washington swore to never tell this to Alexander and to any human being (not a certain diary written in code that no one, but Olivia and Alexander can understand).

1777-10-20: Olivia sneaks off to the Battle of Paoli, instead of resting.

1777-10-21: The Locket - Washington gave Olivia a gold locket engraved with ‘Together In Mount Vernon, Virginia’ complete with a gold chain. Inside was a portrait of the Hamilsiblings (Alex, Olivia, Ben, and Laf) on the right and a portrait of the Washington couple on the left.

1778-05-25: Olivia Comes Back - After disguising herself as a black-haired, Dutch woman, named Denise Melody, she returned to Washington about the British army. Olivia resigned as a spy because she didn’t want to come back to England ever again. But mostly, she was afraid that King George III would force her to marry him.

1778-05-26: Olivia Becomes The First Woman General - After listening from every soldier in the Continental Army, General George Washington makes Olivia a General. The only difference is that she would be traveling with the main camp because she doesn't have enough experience to lead her own army. She helped train the under-trained soldiers, sewed clothes for those who were practically naked, negotiated with wealthy families to give the army food, helped with the battle plans because of her knowledge as a spy, and her overall kindness and empathy to everyone helped her rise to the top to not only the soldiers but to the rest of the people in the Colonies.

1778-06-28: The Battle of Monmouth - Olivia saves Benjamin Tallmadge from William Bradford when Charles Lee ordered him to. The rest of the army arrives behind Washington. Olivia participates in the Battle of Monmouth.

1778-09-15: Olivia And Lafayette’s Relationship - In Olivia’s diary, she didn’t specify the date because she wrote “I believe it is the 15th of September 1778”. In the entry, she wrote about her and Lafayette’s relationship began as platonic but over time, it became romantic.

1778-11-01: Olivia Joins The Culper Ring - After begging and pleading to her father and Commander in Chief, Olivia joins the Culper Spy Ring with the rest of the members: Benjamin Tallmadge, Caleb Brewster, Anna Strong, Abigail, Abraham Woodhull, and Robert Townsend. Olivia gets a golden band from Apollo that helps disguise her appearance with the use of the mist, she gives the other rings to the other members. They created a cover that the golden rings were from their deceased family member. In reality, they used it to signal the others when they need help or have information about the British.

1778-12-15: Olivia As a Maid - Olivia disguises herself as a beaten and branded girl as a Caribbean slave, even though she was white by the Continental Army to John André's home to spy on him. She later resigns from her post before her next battle.

1779-07-16: Stony Point - Olivia helps capture Stony Point, New York with the army.

1779-11-17: Olivia And John Get Married - To keep the relationship between John and Alexander less suspicious, Olivia proposed a marriage proposal to John’s father; Henry, who knew about their secret relationship, agreed. Even though both adults were married, they had no love for the other than familial love. They agreed that their marriage was only public and behind closed doors, they would seek out their paramour (John-Alexander and Olivia-Lafayette).

1780-06-17: Olivia’s Quadruplets - 9 months later, Olivia gave birth to 4 children: Rachel Olivia, Alexander John, George Benjamin, and Elizabeth Gilberta Laurens from oldest to youngest. The godparents of each child were Olivia-Martha Washington, Alexander-George Washington, George-Benjamin Tallmadge, and Elizabeth-Lafayette. Because of this, Olivia took a break from the army for a while.

1780-09-23: Caleb Brewster and Olivia Find Out Arnold's A Traitor - After talking with Anna Strong, Brewster and Olivia ride full speed towards West Point, NY to deliver the message to George Washington. Ben and Olivia tried to shoot Arnold, but due to their closeness, they couldn't.

1780-10-02: John André Hanged - André was born a child of Athena and knew about the Greek Gods. He knew that Olivia was spying on him, but didn't comment on it until they were in private before his execution. The Fates had cut his string in front of him when Olivia posed as a maid and had demigod dreams of his death. John knew that Olivia was a legacy of Apollo and Athena, he didn't want to hurt his family.

1780-12-14: Alexander and Eliza Get Married - Eliza accepted John’s relationship with her husband as long as Alexander doesn’t cheat on her with other women.

1780-12-15: Olivia Boards L'Hermione - Olivia joins Lafayette to bring down turncoat Benedict Arnold. They join 1, 200 troops and sail south to Virginia.

1781-05-20: Abraham Boards L'Hermione - Abraham gets captured by the French and gave information to Lafayette, but before anything else happens, the ship gets attacked by cannons. When Brewster and Olivia identify Abraham as a spy for the Culper Ring named Samuel Culper Sr, they sail to Yorktown, Virginia.

1781-09-28: The Battle Of Yorktown - Olivia gets shot 3 times during the battle but recovered soon after. Lafayette soon bid Olivia farewell to sail back to France. Olivia gives him her very long lock of braided hair inside a portrait locket necklace of her for him to remember her by. He also gives her a braided lock of his hair and a portrait locket of himself.

1782-01-22: Olivia Becomes An Aunt - Phillip Hamilton was born.

1782-08-27: John Laurens Dies - Olivia, Alexander, Hercules, and Lafayette get letters from Henry Laurens that John died in South Carolina. In her letter, Olivia receives her husband’s wedding ring. Heartbroken, Olivia vows to never marry again.

1782-09-01: Olivia And Alexander Return To New York - Olivia gets a house in Harlem near her brother and his family. She led a quiet life with her children, unlike Alexander, for a while.

1783-01-01: Olivia Bids Angelica Farewell - Over the course of the years, Olivia and Angelica became best friends. She hated the fact that Angelica and her family would go back to the same country they fought for years.

1783-06-20: Pennsylvania Mutiny - Olivia watches the 10 leaders of the Pennsylvania Mutiny be gunned down by their own men beside Alexander and Ben.

1783-09-03: The End Of The Revolution - The Treaty of Paris was finally signed which negotiated between America and Great Britain, ended the revolution, and recognized America as an independent.

1787-10-?: Alexander Asks Olivia To Co-Write The Federalist Papers - Sometime before the writing of the Federalist Papers, Alexander asks Olivia to co-write it with John Jay, James Madison, and himself. Olivia politely declined because she believed that the three men could do it without her.

1787-05-25: The Twins Go To The Constitutional Convention - Olivia Hamilton Laurens and Alexander Hamilton were one-half of the New York delegates. The former was the only woman to go to the Constitutional Convention. Though the twins did little in writing the Constitution, they signed the paper anyway.

1789-02-04: Olivia Becomes The First Woman Vice President - Olivia ran for President all in good fun. The results were unanimous because she was one of the contributing factors that helped America become independent, only second to George Washington, and became the Vice President of the United States.

1790-03-22: Olivia Meets Thomas Jefferson - When Jefferson and Olivia met, let’s just say that they will forever be enemies. This is partly the reason why Alexander and Jefferson were also enemies.

1790-06-20: Olivia Refuses To Go To The Jefferson Dinner - Olivia doesn’t go to the dinner with Jefferson, Madison, Alexander, and a few others saying she had other things to do. But she doesn’t go because she didn’t want to be caught in the middle of a verbal fight between Alexander and Jefferson, again.

1791-07-05: Olivia Finds Out About Alexander’s Affair - Alexander needed to speak to someone about his affair with Maria Reynolds, so he went to Olivia (naturally). Olivia slaps him and tells him about his promise to Eliza when he married her. She tells him if her husband finds out and tells/writes you to give him money to keep the affair a secret, he himself would pay entirely.

1792-?-?: Olivia Receives Word About Lafayette’s Capture - Historians would never know the date when Olivia gets a letter that Lafayette fled from France and in prison because she only wrote the year and stopped writing in her diary for the rest of that year. They figured that she was extremely heartbroken to write.

1793-02-25: Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf - Olivia was poisoned by a loyalist named Micheal Key. Thankfully the poison was expired and went on to sit in Mount Vernon for hours talking about the establishment of the first U.S. bank. But due to Olivia’s frail and weak body for not eating and sleeping at the correct times, she became gravely ill. She sent her four children to Setauket with Abraham Woodhull. the week before. The four mentioned people came to her room in Mount Vernon. minutes before Olivia died. She gave Washington the locket he gave her all those years ago, gave Benjamin her sun hair comb he gave her when the war was over and her golden spy ring, gave Eliza her and John’s wedding rings and gave Alexander the Hamilton family ring and her diary (she instructed him to only read the entry about their true heritage when he is on his deathbed). She then instructed Ben to give Lafayette, her one true love, to give the gift he gave her when they started their relationship, a sapphire bracelet when he visits America once more. Olivia told the three to forgive her for leaving too early, she remembered the time she gave Washington piano lessons (which failed), the time where she forced Alexander to eat and sleep more regularly, and the time where she helped Eliza with her pregnancy with Phillip and her other children. She sang, “Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf,” which she does when she tries to reassure those around her. Olivia’s last words were, “I’ll see all of you on the other side, John, my love, I’m coming.” She was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery with a large monument. When the States learned of her death, the nation stopped working for days. Everyone who knew her (which was a lot) attended the funeral ceremony. Washington placed a bronze statue of Olivia depicting her holding a gun in her right hand and her diary in her left hand with the four rings on her fingers to show that women too, can be powerful.

1793-02-26: Micheal Key Hanged - Because he assassinated the Vice President, Micheal John Key was hanged the next day at noon.

1867-01-11: Olivia On Currency - In memory of Olivia, they put her face on the $20 on her birthday. However, in 1928, she was briefly replaced by Andrew Jackson but quickly regained her place after much controversy.

1999-12-15: Olivia Becomes Lyria - Olivia Rachel Hamilton Laurens, rebirthed to Lyria Eclair Graham de Vanily, the most powerful demigoddess of her century.

#oliviarachelhamilton #Olivia Hamilton #Alexander Hamilton #turn amc #turn: washington's spies #I finally figured out how to do the read more link

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