"Best of wives and best of women." That's how Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was described in a letter from her husband, America's first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. And after all I've learned about her, I can only agree. She was so much more than just the wife of a founding father. It's about time that her story gets told.

She was born Elizabeth Schuyler in Albany, NY on August 9, 1757. Elizabeth- who went by Eliza or Betsy- was the second child of General Phillip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler. She and her older sister, Angelica, along with their younger sister, Margarita or "Peggy" were very close. Though they had two other sisters, they themselves were referred to together as "The Schuyler Sisters". They were often seen together before they each got married.

Eliza was said to have been a tomboy growing up, which resulted in the strong-willed, confident woman that even strangers knew her to be. Although she had no formal schooling, she did know how to read and write with little difficulty. When she wasn't learning how to read, write, sew, or knit from her mother, Eliza often accompanied her father to meetings of the Six Nations. She met Benjamin Franklin when he briefly stayed at the Schuyler family home, the Pastures. Like many of the wealthy Dutch families in the area, the Schuylers attended the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany. Eliza had a very religious upbringing, something that she carried with her for the rest of her life.

As for her romantic life, Betsy meet her future husband, Alexander Hamilton when he stayed the night with her family. She didn't like him at first; she found him too egotistical. She met him again two years later while staying at her aunt's house. Her aunt and uncle had been helping treat the sick and wounded American soldiers, and Eliza had come to help. Hamilton had been stationed there. The two got to know each other, and soon started courting. Despite the ongoing American Revolutionary War, they married within a year on December 14, 1780 with Eliza's father's blessing. This ultimately ended up being a rarity among the Schuyler girls. Out of all five of them, only two of them- Eliza included- had gotten their father's blessing over their marriages.

Elizabeth helped her new husband write his infamous 31 letters to Robert Morris. These were political letters, that would later help shape Alexander's career. The new couple soon started a family. In January of 1782, Eliza gave birth to their first child, Phillip Hamilton. In October of that year, Alex served as a general in the infamous Battle of Yorktown. The American Revolution drew to a close two years later. In September of 1784, their second child, Angelica, was born. Eliza and Alexander were satisfied with their life. At least, that's what Elizabeth thought.

Alexander began his lifelong political career around this time. He became a lawyer, who often worked cases for the New York citizens who had been loyal to the British during the revolution, and helped them get back their homes and property. He was frowned upon for this, but he continued doing what he saw right and just. It was here that he became political rivals with future vice president, Aaron Burr. Alexander participated in the Constitutional Convention and was a founding father of the United States of America. He co-authored The Federalist Papers. George Washington hired him as the United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1789. (This is the reason why he is featured on the ten-dollar bill.) He wrote much of President Washington's farewell speech, and he even invented capitalism!

Around 1794, rumors started going around that Alexander had cheated on Betsy. She didn't believe it in the slightest, quickly dismissing them. However, in 1797, Alexander published "The Reynolds Pamphlet". This was a nearly one-hundred-page long document admitting that Alexander Hamilton had a "torrid affair" with a woman named Maria Reynolds. Maria's husband, James, blackmailed Hamilton into paying him for not publicly revealing the scandal. This had been part of James' elaborate scheme to get a large sum of money. He had planned the whole affair. Maria had gone along with it, though her exact reasons for doing so are unknown.

When Eliza found out about the affair, she packed up her belongings and left Alex in New York. She took their children with her. They now had five of them- Phillip, Angelica, Alexander Jr, James, and John. She was also pregnant with a sixth child, William. She only returned to New York when Phillip contracted typhus and the local doctor could not cure him. But that isn't the end of the story. Eliza eventually FORGAVE Hamilton, and they had another child, Eliza.

In 1801, Phillip was in a duel with George Eacker. Eacker had insulted Alexander, Sr., and Phillip had challenged him to a duel him over it. Although in a duel you were supposed to count to ten and then fire, Eacker and Phillip stood, neither shooting, for the first minute. Then Eacker shot, hitting Phillip. Phillip died thirteen hours later at his aunt Angelica Schuyler Church's home, with his father and mother at his side. Earlier that year, Eliza's sister Peggy had also died, so the loss of Phillip was another hard blow for Eliza. Six months later, Eliza gave birth to her eighth child, Phillip Hamilton II- who was sometimes called "Little Phil".

More tragedy was to come, however. In 1804, Alexander Hamilton got in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. Burr fatally shot Hamilton in between his ribs. Hamilton died hours later, with Eliza and all seven of his surviving children at his side. Hamilton had written Eliza two letters before the duel. One of those letters included the infamous lines "The consolations of Religion, my beloved, can alone support you; and these you have a right to enjoy. Fly to the bosom of your God and be comforted. With my last idea; I shall cherish the sweet hope of meeting you in a better world. Adieu best of wives and best of Women. Embrace all my darling Children for me."

Eliza's story certainly did not end there. Her friend, Isabella Graham started an organization in 1806 called The Orphan Asylum Society after taking in six orphans. She had taken them in instead of sending them to the local almshouse, as they likely would have been required to work there in return for food and shelter. Isabella wanted them to be placed somewhere safe and loving. So, she enlisted the help of her daughter and Elizabeth Hamilton. Together, the founded The Orphan Asylum Society, of which Eliza became the deputy director. The organization provided food, clothes, and shelter until loving homes could be found. In 1977, the organization merged with another, Society for the Relief of Half-Orphan and Destitute Children, also called Windham Child Care to create Graham Windham. Graham Windham is a still-running organization that services children and families in abusive and neglectful homes in low-income areas of New York City. The programs include family foster care, adoption, child abuse prevention, after-school and youth development, behavioral support, mental health services, and college and career access and support. Services are provided in 13 locations, one of which is The Graham- or Graham Windham- School, which is a residential school for students who have struggled in other settings.

'Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?' Is a question pondered in the Broadway musical Hamilton. She devoted her life to telling her husband's story and honoring his legacy. She deserved the title of 'Best of wives and best of women'. It's now her turn to have her story told. I hope that you enjoyed learning about her as much as I did! Any questions?