#oliver wolcott

[yr-obedt-cicero]

A recording of Hamilton's days following the duel

July 8th, 1804

Sunday morning, Hamilton walked with Eliza “over all the pleasant scenes” of the Grange estate, and returned home at noon. He read the morning service of the Episcopal church. The hours until evening were spent “in kind companionship” with his family. And at the end of the day, Hamilton gathered his children around him under a near tree, he laid with them upon the grass until it turned dark. [x] According to Alexander Hamilton Jr. in an interview; “Col. Smith, son in-law of John Adams, had dined with us, and the result of a conversation on the subject was a tacit agreement on my father's part not to fight.” [x]

July 9th, 1804

Monday morning, Hamilton left Eliza at the Grange and rode down to lower Manhattan, to his town house at 54 Cedar Street with his four eldest sons. After taking care of his urgent clients and affairs, he drafted his will.

Source — Library of Congress, Digital Collections. Alexander Hamilton Papers: Miscellany, 1711-1820; Hamilton, Alexander; Last will and testament

In the Name of God Amen! I Alexander Hamilton of the City of New York Counsellor at Law do make this my last Will and Testament as follows. First I appoint John B Church Nicholas Fish and Nathaniel Pendleton of the City aforesaid Esquires to be Executors and Trustees of this my Will and I devise to them their heirs and Assigns, as joint Tenants and not as Tenants in common, All my Estate real and personal whatsoever and wheresoever upon Trust at their discretion to sell and dispose of the same, at such time and times in such manner and upon such terms as they the Survivors and Survivor shall think fit and out of the proceeds to pay all the Debts which I shall owe at the time of my decease, in whole, if the fund shall be sufficient, proportionally, if it shall be insufficient, and the residue, if any there shall be to pay and deliver to my excellent and dear Wife Elizabeth Hamilton.

Though if it shall please God to spare my life I may look for a considerable surplus out of my present property—Yet if he should speedily call me to the eternal wor[l]d, a forced sale as is usual may possibly render it insufficient to satisfy my Debts. I pray God that something may remain for the maintenance and education of my dear Wife and Children. But should it on the contrary happen that there is not enough for the payment of my Debts, I entreat my Dear Children, if they or any of them shall ever be able, to make up the Deficiency. I without hesitation commit to their delicacy a wish which is dictated by my own. Though conscious that I have too far sacrificed the interests of my family to public avocations & on this account have the less claim to burthen my Children, yet I trust in their magnanimity to appreciate as they ought this my request. In so unfavourable an event of things, the support of their dear Mother with the most respectful and tender attention is a duty all the sacredness of which they will feel. Probably her own patrimonial resources will preserve her from Indigence. But in all situations they are charged to bear in mind that she has been to them the most devoted and best of mothers. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my hand the Ninth day of July in the year of our lord One thousand Eight hundred & four.

Alexander Hamilton

Signed sealed published & declared as and for his last Will and Testament in our presence who have subscribed the same in his presence.

The words John B Church being above interlined.

Dominick T Blake

Graham Newell

Theo B Valleau

Source — Last Will and Testament of Alexander Hamilton, [9 July 1804]

According to John C. Hamilton, while he was executing it, a friend came in and related to him his fear of an intended fraud. Hamilton took him by the arm and said, “Let us walk past the counting-room of these people. Perhaps, on seeing us together, they may think it expedient to do you justice.” The expedient succeeded. [x]

In the afternoon, the regulations of the duel were finalized by Van Nass and Pendleton. [x] Hamilton wrote that Assignment of Debts and Grant of Power of Attorney would be placed on John B. Church. This was included in a list of seven items given to Nathaniel Pendleton. [x]

Know all Men by these Presents, That I Alexander Hamilton of the City of New York Counsellor at law, in consideration of one Dollar to me in hand paid by John B Church Esquire, (the receipt whereof is hereby acknowleged) have bargained sold assigned and conveyed and hereby do bargain sell assign & convey to the said John B Church all and singular the debts due owing and payable to me: which are specified in the schedule hereunto annexed to be by him collected and the proceeds applied first towards the payment of all and every the debt and debts which I owe to my household and other servants and labourers, and to the Woman who washes for Mrs. Hamilton—and secondly towards the satisfaction and discharge of certain accommodation notes made by me and indorsed by him and which have been or shall be discounted in and by the Manhattan Bank and the Office of Discount & Deposit of the Bank of the United States in the City of New York. And for this purpose I do hereby constitute and appoint him my Attorney to ask demand sue for recover and receive the said Debts and every of them and upon receipt thereof or any part thereof to make and give acquittances. In Witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed & set my hand and seal the Ninth day of July in the year of our lord One thousand Eight hundred & four.

A. Ham⟨ilton⟩

Source — Assignment of Debts and Grant of Power of Attorney to John B. Church, [9 July 1804]

The last remaining hours of the day were spent with his old Treasury protégé, Oliver Wolcott Jr., who later wrote; “Hamilton spent the afternoon & evening of Monday with our friends at my House in Company with Mr. Hopkinson of Phil’. He was uncommonly cheerful and gay The duel had been determined on for ten days.” [x]

July 10th, 1804

The following document is undated, but is theorized to have been composed or finished on Hamilton's last work day, Tuesday. Hamilton wrote a list of reasonings as to why he accepted the challenge;

Source — New York Historical Society. Alexander Hamilton statement on impending duel with Aaron Burr, undated, [July 10, 1804(?)]

On my expected interview with Col Burr, I think it proper to make some remarks explanatory of my conduct, motives and views.

I am certainly desirous of avoiding this interview, for the most cogent reasons.

1 My religious and moral principles are strongly opposed to the practice of Duelling, and it would even give me pain to be obliged to shed the blood of a fellow creature in a private combat forbidden by the laws.

2 My wife and Children are extremely dear to me, and my life is of the utmost importance to them, in various views.

3 I feel a sense of obligation towards my creditors; who in case of accident to me, by the forced sale of my property, may be in some degree sufferers. I did not think my self at liberty, as a man of probity, lightly to expose them to this hazard.

4 I am conscious of no ill-will to Col Burr, distinct from political opposition, which, as I trust, has proceeded from pure and upright motives.

Lastly, I shall hazard much, and can possibly gain nothing by the issue of the interview.

But it was, as I conceive, impossible for me to avoid it. There were intrinsick difficulties in the thing, and artificial embarrassments, from the manner of proceeding on the part of Col Burr.

Intrinsick—because it is not to be denied, that my animadversions on the political principles character and views of Col Burr have been extremely severe, and on different occasions, I, in common with many others, have made very unfavourable criticisms on particular instances of the private conduct of this Gentleman.

In proportion as these impressions were entertained with sincerity and uttered with motives and for purposes, which might appear to me commendable, would be the difficulty (until they could be removed by evidence of their being erroneous), of explanation or apology. The disavowal required of me by Col Burr, in a general and indefinite form, was out of my power, if it had really been proper for me to submit to be so questionned; but I was sincerely of opinion, that this could not be, and in this opinion, I was confirmed by that of a very moderate and judicious friend whom I consulted. Besides that Col Burr appeared to me to assume, in the first instance, a tone unnecessarily peremptory and menacing, and in the second, positively offensive. Yet I wished, as far as might be practicable, to leave a door open to accommodation. This, I think, will be inferred from the written communications made by me and by my direction, and would be confirmed by the conversations between Mr van Ness and myself, which arose out of the subject.

I am not sure, whether under all the circumstances I did not go further in the attempt to accommodate, than a pun[c]tilious delicacy will justify. If so, I hope the motives I have stated will excuse me.

It is not my design, by what I have said to affix any odium on the conduct of Col Burr, in this case. He doubtless has heared of animadversions of mine which bore very hard upon him; and it is probable that as usual they were accompanied with some falshoods. He may have supposed himself under a necessity of acting as he has done. I hope the grounds of his proceeding have been such as ought to satisfy his own conscience.

I trust, at the same time, that the world will do me the Justice to believe, that I have not censured him on light grounds, or from unworthy inducements. I certainly have had strong reasons for what I may have said, though it is possible that in some particulars, I may have been influenced by misconstruction or misinformation. It is also my ardent wish that I may have been more mistaken than I think I have been, and that he by his future conduct may shew himself worthy of all confidence and esteem, and prove an ornament and blessing to his Country.

As well because it is possible that I may have injured Col Burr, however convinced myself that my opinions and declarations have been well founded, as from my general principles and temper in relation to similar affairs—I have resolved, if our interview is conducted in the usual manner, and it pleases God to give me the opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first fire, and I have thoughts even of reserving my second fire—and thus giving a double opportunity to Col Burr to pause and to reflect.

It is not however my intention to enter into any explanations on the ground. Apology, from principle I hope, rather than Pride, is out of the question.

To those, who with me abhorring the practice of Duelling may think that I ought on no account to have added to the number of bad examples—I answer that my relative situation, as well in public as private aspects, enforcing all the considerations which constitute what men of the world denominate honor, impressed on me (as I thought) a peculiar necessity not to decline the call. The ability to be in future useful, whether in resisting mischief or effecting good, in those crises of our public affairs, which seem likely to happen, would probably be inseparable from a conformity with public prejudice in this particular.

Source — Statement on Impending Duel with Aaron Burr, [28 June–10 July 1804]

Hamilton ran into a family friend and client on Broadway, Dirck Ten Broeck, who reminded him that he had forgotten to deliver a promised legal opinion. Afterward, Broeck reflected with astonishment on Hamilton's reaction; “He was really ashamed of his neglect, but [said] that I must call on him the next day, Wednesday—(the awful fatal day)—at 10 o'clock, when he would sit down with me, lock the door, and then we would finish the business.” [x]

Hamilton wrote to Theodore Sedgwick, his friend of many years, who had been the channel of his most useful communications on the policy of the country; thus showing that, to the latest moment, his thoughts were upon that which had formed the leading topic of the Federalist—“the utility of the Union to the political prosperity of the whole American people.” [x] Since one purpose of the duel was to prepare to head off a secessionist threat, he warned Sedgwick against any such movement among New England Federalists.

Source — Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Theodore Sedgwick, 10 July 1804.

New York July 10. 1804

My Dear Sir

I have received two letters from you since we last saw each other—that of the latest date being the 24 of May. I have had in hand for some time a long letter to you, explaining my view of the course and tendency of our Politics, and my intentions as to my own future conduct. But my plan embraced so large a range that owing to much avocation, some indifferent health, and a growing distaste for Politics, the letter is still considerably short of being finished. I write this now to satisfy you, that want of regard for you has not been the cause of my silence.

I will here express but one sentiment, which is, that Dismembrement of our Empire will be a clear sacrifice of great positive advantages, without any counterballancing good; administering no relief to our real Disease; which is Democracy, the poison of which by a subdivision will only be the more concentered in each part, and consequently the more virulent.

King is on his way for Boston where you may chance to see him, and hear from himself his sentiments.

God bless you

A H

Source — Alexander Hamilton to Theodore Sedgwick, [July 10, 1804]

Hamilton then saw Judah Hammond, who was a clerk in AH's law office, where he drafted an elaborate opinion in a legal matter. Hammond later recalled that; “The last time General Hamilton was in the office was in the early part of July 1804, in the afternoon. I was the only person remaining in the office with him. The last thing he did there, in his professional business he did at my desk and by my side. Even the place seems sacred to my memory. The office was at Number twelve in Garden Street, opposite the Church Grounds. The building has been since removed. It was near sunset, the evening bright and serene. The setting sun approached the margin of the horizon, shedding his last rays on the beautiful objects illustrated by his departing splendours. At this closing of the day, when we love to linger in its pleasures, General Hamilton came to my desk, in the tranquil manner usual with him, and gave me a business paper with his instructions, concerning it. I saw no change in his appearance. These were his last moments in his place of business” [x]

According to John C. Hamilton; “—after waiting upon his faithful friend, Oliver Wolcott, at the close of an entertainment given by him, [...] made his last visit. It was to Colonel [Robert] Troup, the companion of his early years.” [x] For weeks, Troup had lain bedridden with a grave illness that Hamilton feared might prove mortal. When he dropped by to visit Troup, Hamilton did not mention the duel and overflowed Troup with medical suggestions;

“The General's visit lasted more than half an hour; and after making particular inquiries respecting the state of my complaint, he favored me with his advice as to the course which he thought would best conduce to the reestablishment of my health. But the whole tenor of the General's deportment during the visit manifested such composure and cheerfulness of mind as to leave me without any suspicion of the rencontre that was depending.”

Source — William and Mary Quarterly, Journal

Afterwards, Hamilton returned to his townhouse. Pendleton found him there and attempted to discuss with him and make a final attempt to dissuade Hamilton from his decision to delope during the duel. Nevertheless, Hamilton insisted he would fire in the air. When Pendleton protested, Hamilton indicated that his mind was made up; “My friend,” he told Pendleton, “it is the effect of a religious scruple and does not admit of reasoning. It is useless to say more on the subject as my purpose is definitely fixed.” [x]

At 10 p.m, Hamilton - even after already writing Eliza a farewell letter dated on the fourth - sat down in his study upstairs and took his quill once more to pen another letter but in favor of Anne Mitchell, Hamilton's cousin, and his largest supporter in his boyhood.

Source — A letter from Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Hamilton, dated July 4, 1804. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Manuscripts Division.

My beloved Eliza

Mrs. Mitchel is the person in the world to whom as a friend I am under the greatest Obligations. I have ⟨not⟩ hitherto done my ⟨duty⟩ to her. But ⟨resolved⟩ to repair my omission as much as ⟨possible,⟩ I have encouraged her to come to ⟨this Country⟩ and intend, if it shall be ⟨in my po⟩wer to render the Evening of her days ⟨c⟩omfortable. But if it shall please God to put this out of my power and to inable you hereafter to be of ⟨s⟩ervice to her, I entreat you to d⟨o⟩ it and to treat ⟨h⟩er with the tenderness of a Sister.

This is my second letter.

The Scrup⟨les of a Christian have deter⟩mined me to expose my own li⟨fe to any⟩ extent rather than subject my s⟨elf to the⟩ guilt of taking the life of ⟨another.⟩ This must increase my hazards & redoubles my pangs for you. But you had rather I should die inno⟨c⟩ent than live guilty. Heaven can pre⟨se⟩rve me ⟨and I humbly⟩ hope will ⟨b⟩ut in the contrary ⟨e⟩vent, I charge you to remember that you are a Christian. God’s Will be done. The will of a merciful God must be good.

Once more Adieu My Darling darling Wife

A H

Tuesday Evening 10 oCl⟨ock⟩

⟨Mrs Ha⟩milton

Source — Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Hamilton, [10 July 1804]

Hamilton descended from his study, and entered the parlor downstairs, there he found his son reading a book. Hamilton watched him pensively for a few moments, before he leaned over his book and smiled as he asked him if he would sleep with him. [x] The son in this story is Hamilton's fifth child, John Church Hamilton, who later recalled the same incident in an interview;

I recall a single incident about it with full clearness. [...] The day before the duel I was sitting in a room, when, at a slight noise, I turned around and saw my father in the doorway, standing silently there and looking at me with a most sweet and beautiful expression of countenance. It was full of tenderness, and without any of the business pre-occupation he sometimes had. “John,” he said, when I had discovered him, “won't you come and sleep with me to-night?” His voice was frank as if he had been my brother instead of my father. That night I went to his bed, and in the morning very early he awakened me, and taking my hands in his palms, all four hands extended, he said and told me to repeat the Lord's Prayer. Seventy-five years have since passed over my head, and I have forgotten many things, but not that tender expression when he stood looking at me in the door nor the prayer we made together the morning before the duel. I do not so well recollect seeing him lie upon his deathbed, though I was there.

Source — Interview with John Church Hamilton, reminiscences about his father.

July 11th, 1804

After Hamilton retired to bed with John uncommonly early, he awoke quietly at three o'clock the next morning. Hamilton reportedly had; “some imperfect sleep; but the succeeding morning his symptoms were aggravated, attended however with a diminution of pain. His mind retained all its usual strength and composure. The great source of his anxiety seemed to be in his sympathy with his half distracted wife and children.” [x] He soon awoke John and took his hands in his palms, “all four hands extended”, he spoke the Lord's Prayer, as John repeated after him. Afterwards he asked his son to light a candle, John asked him what was the matter and Hamilton had lied to him claiming that his little sister, Eliza Hamilton Holly, was ill and had been taken out of town. And that his mother had sent for him and that he was going out with Doctor Hosack. After the candle was lit he sat down and wrote a hymn which he had but just finished when Pendleton and Hosack called for him. The hymn was put in his will where it was found by his wife later on. [x]

Main sources:

Life of Alexander Hamilton, by John Church Hamilton.

The intimate life of Alexander Hamilton, by Allan McLane Hamilton.

Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow.

A Collection of the Facts and Documents, Relative to the Death of Major-General Alexander Hamilton, by William Coleman.

Four letters on the death of Alexander Hamilton 1804, David B. Ogden.

[snacho-to-ur-nacho]

“There were gradations of support for or protest against slavery at this early date, and so Burr’s views on slavery are hard to put into a single category. One telling vignette involves Burr’s own slave Carlos, a young boy and his body servant. In a letter to Theodosia in 1781, Burr expressed his disappointment with a friend who mocked the idea that Carlos might learn to play the violin. The “insult,” as he termed it, shocked him. He found it hard to believe that someone he knew so well could be so insensitive and so unenlightened. Burr made sure that his slaves were well educated. He insisted that Tom, another house slave, apply himself diligently to his reading and writing lessons” -Nancy Isenberg “fallen founder the life of Aaron burr”

I never said burr wasn’t a slaveowner I’m not denying that and of course slavery is horrific. However we need to take into account that he treated his household servants much better than people of the time

Hamilton during the election of 1800 was prepared to orchestrate a coup d’état in order to prevent a republican government from winning so his takes on this election cannot really be trusted (AH to John Jay, May 7, 1800), and besides his opinions of burr didn’t hold much importance considering the fact no one was taking him seriously after the pamphlet slandering his own party leader, Adams.

When the tie between burr and Jefferson was discovered Hamilton at first wanted to take advantage of burr in order to promote the federalists, if that doesn’t sound selfish I don’t know what does! “Initially, Hamilton agreed, confiding to Adams’s secretary of the treasury, Oliver Wolcott, that it might prove useful to “lure” Burr into a compromising situation that would ultimately prove difficult for him, that is, to “lay the foundation of dissention between two chiefs.” But for those Federalists who seriously considered putting Burr in the presidential chair, a darker plot emerged: that of converting the imposter president into a puppet prince. Federalists could lose the election and yet be the power behind the throne, taking advantage of the fact that Burr would be a weak leader without popular support.” -Nancy Isenberg “fallen founder the life of Aaron burr”

He endorsed Jefferson only because he saw he couldn’t keep Adams -so the federalists- in power.

I also really don’t understand what you’re referring to when you mention burr was selfish in what he wrote? I’d love it if you could provide some examples.

The reason his other family was secret was because it would’ve been a scandal to expose it. On the other hand the only proof of the emmons family existing is through oral history. I’m not saying she was lying but it needs to be taken into account.

The burr conspiracy on the other hand was just Jefferson acting completely insane and wanting to get burr executed for “treason” having no proof whatsoever on that charge so there’s not even point in bringing it up lmfaoo

I still don’t see how burr was a hypocrite saying one thing and then doing the opposite

I didn’t scan your posts to see what you read it was just the first post that just popped up when I clicked on your blog lol. Also I have read ron chernow’s biogroahy and it was honestly one of the most biased biographies I’ve ever read. His sources are not clearly stated and a lot of the stuff he writes ought to be taken with a grain of salt since they hearsay and random anecdotes.

Y/A fantasy romance books aren’t really my cup of tea so I don’t think I would enjoy it but thanks for the recommendation!

As for burr being a feminist I’m so glad you brought that up!! He was quite literally the most feminist out of all the founding fathers; he ardently defended the right for women to receive an education, evident from the way he treated his daughter, he was an avid supporter of Wollstonecraft, someone men of the time weren’t too fond of, and he supported women’s rights in the way that they are understood today, meaning that women have the same rights as men and not the way people thought of rights for women back then.

hey anon, thanks for the ask, tho it might be better if u want to debate to just reblog the posts so we can keep it to one place, but anyway yea lets get into this

thanks for telling me about that, i didnt know about that letter, and thats really cool of him to have said that, and thats a fair point

as for hamilton in the election, that wasnt selfish, he knew he was a hated public figure, he wanted federalists to stay in the goverment for the sake of their beliefs (anti slavery, less stare power, more financial aid). not getting intp what the other federalists were thinking, alecander himself simply believed in the abolition of slavery and for the national government to be more powerful than the state government, and therefore wanted a federalist. when he saw there were no federalist options, he chose the best of the two which, in his opinion, would benefit america. he believed burr to be dangerous, and therefore picked jefferson. he believed 'Burr lacked the authenticity that hamilton valued in an honest person. He'd rather have a president that says what they think that he disagrees with than someone who he has no idea what they believe because they pretend to agree with everyone.' burr did, undeniably have a tendancy to put up a fake front, to disagree internally but play along and be agreeable, as stated in several books and online databases.

now, the possibility of her lying is close to zero, and the family wad very real, and im not saying burr was wrong for keeping it secret, but he still did have secrets which he kept, and was said to be a quiet wnd mysterious person who stayed silent a lot by multiple historicql wnd modern accounts.

as for the burr conspiracy, he dis talk to some british agents for sure, whether he was planning on carrying it out or not we arent sure. we cant fully say it was just jeffereon being insane, brcause there are traces of information, which while is not proof, still do point to the idea of burr committing treason. yes, its not complete proof, but we cant say it is complete insanity either.

and, the definition of a hypocrite is yo claim or say something and do the opposite, like burr claiming slavery was bad and owning slaves.

and, as for ron chernows biography, check out pages 2234 to 2521. they could not be more clearly stated. and for Infinity alchemist just check it out, trust me, its a great book with a tiny fandom

yea this probably isnt written qell bc its late and im about to sleep but yea u get the point

[46ten]

Were some of AH's reactions over-the-top?

@icarusbetide wrote the following here:

and i'm paying attention to what you said about how "He viewed things differently than they because he had different motivations" - that's generally how i feel about the reynolds pamphlet, because i can very much see the reasoning behind why he did it, even if it was a terrible political decision. a lot of his actions can definitely be accounted for by thinking of his priorities, which a lot of scholars have nicely argued were public integrity, honor, fame.

do you think there is something illogical/irrational in a lot of his over-the-top reactions to slander, or do you similarly think they are ill-considered but still rational? i don't have an answer, because i think they make sense given his aforementioned priorities, but i've also seen people argue that that level of intensity and "rabidness" probably had some psychological basis. flexner in the young hamilton seems to lean heavily into that (i have grievances with that book in general so i'm not taking his word for it lol), arguing that hamilton would revert to this insecure, child-like mindset at crucial moments - this isn't really about bipolar disorder or ADHD, but i wanted to ask if you think there's merit in that general idea!

I hate Flexner, and others do, too. I think psychobiography is not at all helpful to history, as a discipline, as "facts" are made up to support the psychological speculation.

It's hard for me to come up with hard examples of AH behaving "irrationally" in his life - that was not his personality at all. He was overly rational, an over-thinker at times. And he was also decisive - he would take this risk if he thought that outcome was worth it, but he does not strike me as someone unaware of the pros and cons who was just marching on. (His rationality, his ability to see many sides, his clear-headed thinking and ability to move that to action, and then his judgement, are qualities his colleagues praised about him - which doesn't mean that he didn't have examples of what they considered to be poor judgment - hello Adams pamphlet.)

To discuss the Reynolds Pamphlet briefly, since this is often suggested as an example of how crazy and impulsive/reckless AH was, he spent at least a month composing it. It's long and detailed. He explains why he's writing it. Considering we have it - documented - that AH consulted with some of his friends about dueling Aaron Burr (another example where it's in fashion to claim AH was some crazy loner guy making bizarre choices), I'd speculate that he discussed writing the pamphlet with EH, John Church, Oliver Wolcott, and William Jackson almost certainly, maybe Fish, Troup, Clarkson....He may have discussed it with Philip Schuyler! [He didn't get as far as he did in military/professional/political life without understanding the idea of consultation and seeing all sides to the problem, even if he wasn't aiming for full consensus.]

Callendar's pamphlets (which we no longer have copies of - historians are working from the History...of 1796 and AH's quotes in the Reynolds Pamphlet) took aim at whether AH was a trustworthy public servant - the intent was to wound his public character. He is absolutely going to need to respond to that in some way. The way he wants to respond to it, however, is to have the editor (Fenno) disavow it, and then to have the men (Monroe, Venable, Muhlenberg) to whom he provided an explanation of the Reynolds Affair way back in December 1792 provide him with letters stating that Callendar's allegations are false. He is furious when Monroe refuses, esp when Monroe states that he didn't really believe AH at the time! He's pretty ticked off that he instead has to argue his own innocence himself, and he lets the reader know he's ticked off to have to do this. That's not reckless, impulsive, crazy behavior. The issue, really, is the amount of detail he provides: not only "I didn't do that," but "I instead was doing this...." He is "too honest," "MOST INDISCREET" as GM probably would have put it! But this was also him putting all his arguments out there - this is what you should judge me for, because I was innocent of that other thing - and besides politicians knowing since 1793, the general public already knew (it's in the press by 1795) that there were accusations of adultery around him. He really wasn't revealing anything except rather excruciating details of the affair, but that again, is his "too honest" style and his thinking like the lawyer he is - "I'm giving you guys all the facts!" There may have also been some thinking that by providing all these facts, it would shame folks in the future and he could avoid being the subject of similar attacks - he may have also wanted to correct people on the record about his adultery; it's difficult to say. (Maybe this link to all my posts on the Reynolds Pamphlet will work, for those interested.)

One of AH's best friends, Robert Troup, states "his ill-judged pamphlet has done him incomparable injury," and Webster's quotes are pretty well known - the common objection is sort of a "why respond at all?" Well, AH explains why he responded - it's not unreasonable.

Let me bring this back to Flexner and his speculation that this has to do with some awful childhood events (that we have no record happened) and his resulting insecurity from it. There's no basis for thinking this. No evidence, no assertions from AH that this is a concern for him - it's just a story to sell books (come on down, Chernow!) Now if we're going to argue that some of AH's defensiveness around attacks on his public character came from his being an outsider, so therefore often having to re-assert his position in the gentleman circle, that may carry more weight - and some scholars do argue that. But I don't think AH, through most of his life, thought of himself as an outsider on the American scene.

If you give me some examples of what you consider to be over-the-top reactions to slander, I may try to respond to a few. I am planning a response to your questions about AH's personality, if that's okay, which I will post in a few days.

[theworstfoundingfathers]

Who is the worst? Round 1: James McHenry vs Benedict Arnold

James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was a Scotch-Irish American military surgeon, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland, initiated the recommendation for Congress to form the Navy, and was the eponym of Fort McHenry. He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress. He was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1796 to 1800, bridging the administrations of George Washington and John Adams.

Adams gradually found that three members of the cabinet repeatedly opposed him: [Secretary of War] McHenry, Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, and Treasury Secretary Oliver Wolcott Jr. They appeared to listen more to Alexander Hamilton than to the president and publicly disagreed with Adams about his foreign policy, particularly with regard to France. Instead of resigning, they stayed in office to work against his official policy.

Although many liked McHenry personally, Washington, Hamilton, and Wolcott were said to have complained of his incompetence as an administrator.

During the election of 1800, McHenry goaded Hamilton into releasing his indictment against the president, which questioned Adams's loyalty and patriotism, sparking public quarrels over the major candidates and eventually paving the way for Thomas Jefferson to be elected as the next president. The pamphlet leaked past its intended audience, giving the people reason to oppose the Federalists, since that group seemed to be dividing into bitter factions.

Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. 3 January 1740] – June 14, 1801) was an American-born military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort there to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion. He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became, and has remained, synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold's treason, while some debate their relative importance. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was:

[A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Did he become a traitor because of all the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an already gout-ridden leg? From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family's fortunes? Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen?

[taraross-1787]

This Week in History: Oliver Wolcott, Signer of the Declaration

At about this time in 1797, a signer of the Declaration of Independence passes away. You might be surprised to hear that this signer—Oliver Wolcott—didn’t vote for the Declaration.

He couldn’t! He wasn’t present for the official vote in Philadelphia. Why not? And how did he get his name on the document if he wasn’t even there?

Wolcott was born to a respected family in Connecticut. He graduated from Yale, but he went directly into military service after college. He served in King George’s War as a militia captain. He then studied medicine for a time, but eventually became sheriff of his county instead. He was a judge for a while, and he sat in the state’s legislature.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-oliver-wolcott

[sporadiceagleheart]

Roxanne Lynnette Brandenburg, Sharon Lynn Pettengill Brandenburg, Suzanne J. Crough, Shirley Temple, Cass Gilbert, Samuel Augustus Gilbert, Charles Champion Gilbert, William Laud, Edward Hyde, Frances Aylesbury Hyde, Mary II, James Stuart, Queen Anne, Laurence Hyde, Henry Hyde, Anne Hyde, Mei Shan “Linda” Leung, Dayle Okazaki, Lois Janes, Louis XVII, John Carter, Oliver Ellsworth, Jemima Leavitt Grant, Capt David Ellsworth, Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth, Delia Ellsworth Williams, Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, William Wolcott Ellsworth, God Mary Joseph and Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Shiva, Alice Liddell, Edith Liddell, Lorina Liddell, Annie Oakley, Ella Harper, Arthur Liddell, Harry Liddell, Rhoda Caroline Anne Liddell, Lorina Hanna Reeve, Sharon Lee “Little Miss Nobody” Gallegos, John Barry, Jonathan Swift,Richard Bassett, Sir William Paterson, William Paterson,

[ancestralfindings]

AF-810: Oliver Wolcott: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Oliver Wolcott was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a well-respected American patriot from Connecticut. He not only served in the war as an active participant in battle as a brigadier general (and later, major general), he negotiated a peace treaty with Native American tribes and signed the Declaration. Oliver, the youngest of fourteen children, was a significant contributor to the new United States. This is his remarkable story.

Podcast Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/oliver-wolcott-the-signers-of-the-declaration-of-independence

Check out this episode!

[aswithasunbeam]

Hello, this is kind of a stupid question but do you know how did Hamilton friends, like John Jay or Edward Stevens or anyoke else reacted to his death?

Shock, devastation, and anger were all pretty prevalent in his friend’s letters following his death. Very few people knew about the duel before it happened, and even those who did were baffled by his actions. John Jay sent Philip Schuyler a condolence letter, dated July 24, 1804:

My Dear Sir: The friendship and attachment which I had so uniformly experienced from you will not permit me to delay expressing how deeply and sincerely I participate with you in the afflicting event which the public are all lamenting, and which you have so many domestic and particular reasons to bewail. The philosophic topics of consolation are familiar to you, and we all know from experience how little relief is to be derived from them. May the Author and only Giver of consolation be and remain with you. (Papers of John Jay, p. 298-299).

Oliver Wolcott, who was Hamilton’s deputy at the Treasury, wrote to his wife after visiting Hamilton in July 11, 1804, eloquently expressing the anger and confusion brought by Hamilton’s actions:

General Hamilton left his opinion, in writing, against duelling, which he condemns as much as any man living--he determined not to return to fire of his adversary--and reasoned himself into a belief, that though the custom was in the highest degree criminal, yet there were peculiar reasons which rendered it proper for him, to expose himself to Col. Burr in particular. This instance of a derangement of intellect of a great mind, on a single point, has often been noticed as one of the most common yet unaccountable frailties of human nature....Thus has perished one of the greatest men of this or any age. (Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton, pp. 405-407.)

For more accounts, I’d recommend checking out William Coleman’s “A Collection of Facts Relative to the Death of Major General Alexander Hamilton”, which if full of eulogies and letters by friends and colleagues, including a letter from Hamilton’s friend Rev’d. James M. Mason, who sat with Hamilton on his death bed.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Coming next summer to an off-off-Broadway theater near you, the hit musical sequel of the century, Wolcott, the story of America's second secretary of the treasury.

[sir-dalyk-of-skaro]

[yr-obedt-cicero]

“Alexander, son of the Genl. was graduated the first of this month. He was destined by his father for a merchant. On many accounts it will be best that he receive his education for this profession out of the city. I pray you to inquire whether a respectable place can be obtained for him in Boston. He is now about 18 years of age. I make this request on the suggestion of his family.”

Oliver Wolcott to Rufus King, [August 14, 1804]

[z3r0-c001]

ohhh sour dough toast with butter and a dash of garlic salt and a Pinch of msg

a delightful snackk :~)

[46ten]

The Problems with Letters

I wanted to offer this as my prelude or caution! caution! post about my work on AH’s friendships. AH was a prolific writer yet unlike many of his contemporaries, he left no journal or diary, and almost no retrospective essays. Therefore, in examining AH’s personal life - or rather, trying to evaluate AH’s credibility, which is what I’m trying to do - we’re inordinately dependent on his correspondence, and they’re not necessarily telling us what we think they’re telling us.

The obvious problem is that letters don’t tell the whole story of relationships. They are useful, but they require that: 1) the letters survive; 2) the correspondents actually be apart; 3) we’re not missing relevant background from when the correspondents were together. 

First, it’s striking just how many letters are missing. Some letters were lost; others were certainly destroyed. Almost all of AH’s personal and non-military correspondence to Gouverneur Morris and Philip Schuyler, which we know from other notes existed, is gone. This is a huge loss of both political and personal information about AH. We know that AH planned to send coded letters containing politically sensitive information during the Washington presidency to Morris; these are gone. We don’t have the letter AH actually sent to his father-in-law explaining his reasons for his resignation as Washington’s aide-de-camp. Letters related to AH’s financial dealings for John B. Church - that may suggest insider trading - are suspiciously missing. By my rough estimate, over 50 letters from AH to Elizabeth Hamilton are missing, and this just based on letters referenced in other letters that we have. 

Second, with several of AH’s relationships post-war, the correspondents were infrequently apart. The longest letters from AH to EH are from 1780 and 1781, when they were apart for the longest periods of time because of the war. After that, they are living in the same home and their time apart is infrequent and lasts at most 2 months or so (and very rarely that long). We just aren’t likely to get long, emotionally revealing pages out of that; instead, we usually get updates on travel and health, endearments, and reminders that EH write him. 

This also makes the letters misleading. AH writes to wartime friends such as McHenry, Meade, and Lafayette with warmth and emotion that he doesn’t often to a lot of other friends. From this, we can speculate that he feels special ties to them that he doesn’t to others. The problem with that argument is that he was also apart from them much more than he was with other friends. 

One person who falls into all three categories above is Nicholas Fish. This was one of AH’s longest and probably closest friendships, and AH obviously had a great deal of trust and confidence in him. Fish was a NYC native whom AH likely first met at King’s College, where the former had moved from the College of New Jersey to study law. They formed a composition and speaking club together (with Robert Troup, Edward Stevens, and Samuel and Henry Nicoll); they enlisted in the militia together in spring 1775, although they go separate ways for most of the war. AH probably personally selected Fish as his second-in-command when he received his own field command in July 1781, and was with him at Yorktown. [Fish later provides both Timothy Pickering and EH with details about AH during the war.] Jumping ahead over a decade, Fish serves as AH’s second in his affair of honor with Nicholson (1795). Jump ahead another decade, and he’s one of the executors of AH’s will. Fish names his only son (born in 1808) Hamilton. 

But on Founders, we only have six letters between the two of them, and four are formal letters from the war or about patronage positions or business. One of the two personal letters we do have is missing context. Since most of their lives were lived in NY, they probably did not frequently have reason to write each other long letters. But I also suspect Fish took the opportunity after AH’s death to reclaim his letters. It’s like their close friendship has been wiped clean from history. 

We know Gouvernour Morris was asked to help sort through AH’s mess of papers and correspondence in 1807. Considering their roles as Executors, I think it’s very likely Fish, Church, and Nathaniel Pendleton had the opportunity to go through AH’s correspondence. It’s also possible that Robert Troup was involved. We know Pendleton came to be in possession of AH’s documents related to the drafting of Washington’s Farewell Address, because he gives them to Rufus King in 1810 to keep them out of the hands of EH. 

In the case of several of the men above, they still had active political careers and were otherwise concerned about their own and AH’s political legacies. The PAH notes that Morris “[had removed from his own collection those Hamilton] letters such as ought not to fall into the hands of those who might publish them.” 

So we can see a shaping of a narrative after AH’s death by his friends, and then we get further distortions because of the large number of missing letters. Because we have so little else about AH, letters are enormously helpful, but they paint a very partial picture. Those are my words of caution.

An additional note: it’s interesting how large some of the men above loom in biographies and histories published in the 19th through early 20th century, when these men - and/or their politically active descendants - were still well-known. As time has passed, there’s been a forgetting of these men that has played out in the AH narrative too - AH is now portrayed as nearly friendless in his post-war life, which would certainly come as a shock to Troup, Fish, and Morris - edited to add his beloved Clarkson - who were as steadfast in 30+ years of friendship as one could ever be, and Oliver Wolcott, Rufus King, and Pendleton, who by every other indication all formed deep friendships with AH after the war. And William Duer, the long-time friendship that AH-fandom historians most wish had been scrubbed from history. 

[todaysdocument]

Happy Fourth of July! 

The Engrossed Declaration of Independence: 

Series: Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774 - 1789

Record Group 360: Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1765 - 1821

Transcription: 

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.

                                                                                               The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

                                 When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.____________ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.__ That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind is more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security. __Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. _________ He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good._______ He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.________ He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only._______ He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. _______He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.______ He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. _____He has endeavored to prevent the Population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. ______He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.________ He has made judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the Amount and Payment of their salaries. ________ He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance. ____He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislature._____ He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. _______He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:__For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:__For protecting them, by mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:__For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:__For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:__For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:__ For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses:___ For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these Colonies:___ For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our Governments:____For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.__ He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us._____He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.____He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.____He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.____He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.       In every stage of these Oppressions, We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.  A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.     Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.  We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends._____

        We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent Sates; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which the Independent States may of right do. ___ And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.    

Button Gwinnett                            Wm Hooper                                    John Hancock                          Rob Morris                        Wm Floyd             Josiah Bartlett

                        Lyman Hall                                      Joseph Hewes                                 Samuel  Chase                         Benjamin Rush          Philip Livingston     Wm Whipple

                        Geo Walton                                     John Penn                                         Wm Paca                                    Benj Franklin                  Fran Lewis              Sam Adams

                                                                                                                                                    Tho Stone                                  John Morton                  Lewis Morris           John Adams

                                                                                      Edward Rutledge                        Charles Carrol of Carrollton  Geo Clymer                                                          Rob Treat Paine

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ja. Smith                                                    Elbridge Gerry

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Geo Taylor                                                   Step. Hopkins

                                                                                     Tho Heyward Jnr                                                                                     James Wilson          Rich Stockton             William Ellery

                                                                                      Thomas Lynch Jnr                    George Wythe                                    Gro. Ross               Jn Witherspoon          Roger Sherman

                                                                                                                                             Richard Henry Lee

                                                                                      Arthur Middleton                    Th Jefferson                              Ceasar Rodney                Fra. Hopkinson           Sam Huntington

                                                                                                                                             Benj Harrison                            Geo Read                        John Hart                      Wm Williams

                                                                                                                                             Th Nelson jr.                              Tho M Kean                     Abra Clark                     Oliver Wolcott

                                                                                                                                              Francis Lightfoot Lee                                                                                                   Matthew  Thornton

                                                                                                                                              Carter Braxton

[1907blck]

0913_S_tvball2096 by newspaper guy Via Flickr: 9/12/2012 Mike Orazzi | Staff Linda Farrington talks to Sara Ercoli (5) during her 300th volleyball win at Terryville High School on Wednesday evening. Strobist: AB800 full power to my right, standard reflector (I left the big one at home), set off with a CyberSync.

[sporadiceagleheart]

Roxanne Lynnette Brandenburg, Sharon Lynn Pettengill Brandenburg, Suzanne J. Crough, Shirley Temple, Cass Gilbert, Samuel Augustus Gilbert, Charles Champion Gilbert, William Laud, Edward Hyde, Frances Aylesbury Hyde, Mary II, James Stuart, Queen Anne, Laurence Hyde, Henry Hyde, Anne Hyde, Mei Shan “Linda” Leung, Dayle Okazaki, Lois Janes, Louis XVII, John Carter, Oliver Ellsworth, Jemima Leavitt Grant, Capt David Ellsworth, Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth, Delia Ellsworth Williams, Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, William Wolcott Ellsworth, God Mary Joseph and Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Shiva, Alice Liddell, Edith Liddell, Lorina Liddell, Annie Oakley, Ella Harper, Arthur Liddell, Harry Liddell, Rhoda Caroline Anne Liddell, Lorina Hanna Reeve, Sharon Lee “Little Miss Nobody” Gallegos, John Barry, Jonathan Swift,Richard Bassett, Sir William Paterson, William Paterson,Margarita “Peggy” Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Stephen van Rensselaer II, Catherine Livingston Westerlo, Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Stephen van Rensselaer IV, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, William Paterson Van Rensselaer, Henry Bell Van Rensselaer, Euphemia White Van Rensselaer Cruger, Westerlo Van Rensselaer, Cornelia Bell Paterson Van Rensselaer,Como Nicholas Biddle, James Biddle, Edward Biddle, Nicholas Biddle, Thomas Biddle, John Biddle, Richard Biddle, Charles Biddle,Julia Catherine Krebs Williams, Julia Williams Rush Biddle, Julia Catherine Beckwith, Maria Judith Page Randolph, William Randolph, Mary Randolph Keith Marshall, Mary Isham Randolph Keith, Judith Fleming Randolph, Richard Randolph, Elizabeth Ryland Randolph,Phoebe Isham Belcher,Katherine Royall Perrin,Elizabeth Katherine Banks Royall Isham,COL Henry Lee II,Richard Bland,Katherine Royall Perrin,Mary Elizabeth Bland Lee,Col William Randolph,Mary Isham Randolph,Isham Randolph,Lt. Col Thomas Randolph,Sir John Randolph Sr.,Edward Randolph