John Church Hamilton

John Church Hamilton
Born (1792-08-22)August 22, 1792
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died July 25, 1882(1882-07-25) (aged 89)
Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater Columbia College (1809)
Occupation Historian, lawyer
Spouse(s) Maria Eliza van den Heuvel
Children 10
Parent(s) Alexander Hamilton
Elizabeth Schuyler

Military career

Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1814
Rank Second Lieutenant

John Church Hamilton (August 22, 1792 − July 25, 1882) was a historian and lawyer who was the fourth son, fifth child of the founding father Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler.

Early life

John Hamilton was born on August 22, 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] He was one of eight children born to Alexander Hamilton (1755/7–1804), the first Secretary of the Treasury, and Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854). His maternal grandparents were Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a Revolutionary War hero and United States Senator from New York, and Catherine Van Rensselaer. He was eleven years old when his father was killed in a duel with vice president Aaron Burr.[2] In 1809, he graduated from Columbia College.[1]

Career

Army service

After graduating from Columbia, he studied law until March 1812, when he began serving in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, attaining the rank of second lieutenant. During this time he served as an aide-de-camp to Major General, and future president, William Henry Harrison.[2] In June, 1814, he resigned his position in the Army and returned to private life.[1]

Historian

According to his obituary in the New York Times, "he did not apply himself to the practice of law, but, having strong literary tastes, devoted himself to the study of history, with a view to writing his father's life." Between 1834 and 1840, he sorted through his father's letters and other papers and published two volumes of the The Life of Alexander Hamilton.[2] In 1851, he published seven volumes of History of the Republic of the United States of America.[3]:726

John Church was prompted to write a biography about his father by his mother, Elizabeth Schuyler, after several biographers abandoned the work. Despite efforts, a seven volume history of his father’s exploits was published after his mother's passing.[3]:17 In his biography on his father's life, it is said he censored out letters between his father and John Laurens. When Ron Chernow mentions this, he uses the word 'sanitized'.[3]:229 A letter dated April 1779 shows this in crossed out words and the words 'I must not publish the whole of this' scrawled at the top. Chernow mentions this is done by an early editor, likely John Church.[3]:171 Many letters from their conversations are missing on top of this, it is not unlikely that he destroyed these letters. Hamilton biographer Ron Chernow concludes that while no relationship can be conclusively proven, he is led to believe that Hamilton had "at the very least" an "adolescent crush" on Laurens.[3]:96

He published an edition of The Federalist, with notes and comments that was highly praised by the Horace Greeley. His opinions on economics were at different times solicited by Judge William T. Lawrence, General Ulysses S. Grant and by President Chester A. Arthur.[1]

Politics

Hamilton was a member of the Whig Party and later became an ardent Republican, but never held elected office, losing a run for Congress to represent part of New York City.[1]

Family

His son, Schuyler Hamilton
His daughter, Elizabeth Hamilton Halleck Cullum

He was married to Maria Eliza van den Heuvel (1795–1872), daughter to Jan "John" Cornelis van den Heuvel, a prominent and wealthy merchant of this city, and Charlotte Augusta Apthorp.[4] Together they had the following children:

On July 25, 1882, the 89 year old Hamilton died at Stockton cottage, on Ocean Avenue, Long Branch due to complications of jaundice and catarrh. His funeral was held at Trinity Church in Manhattan.[1]

Legacy

In 1880, he presented a statue of Alexander Hamilton that in Central Park near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the unveiling, on November 22, 1880, he said: "Upon a base of granite rock with a tracing of forest trees marking its central position and valuing the sympathies of this distinguished assemblage, I present it to this great Metropolis through your honor, (Edward Cooper) its esteemed Mayor. Though preferring it were the act of others, I may be permitted to avow a trust near the close of a century of our natural existence, time having developed the utility of his public services and the lessons of his polity, that this memorial may aid in their being recalled and usefully appreciated under the blessing of a Constitution ordained and established by the people of the United States of America."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The Death List of a Day. John Church Hamilton.". The New York Times. July 26, 1882.
  2. 1 2 3 "John Church Hamilton". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chernow, Ron (2005). Alexander Hamilton. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-1012-0085-8.
  4. ↑ "Maria Elizabeth Van den Heuvel Hamilton (1795 - 1873) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  5. ↑ "EX-JUDGE PEABODY MARRIED.; THE BRIDE, THE GUESTS, AND SOME OF THE PRESENTS.". The New York Times. 4 February 1881. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  6. ↑ The Granite Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, History and State Progress. Concord, N.H.: J.N. McClintock. 1901. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Henry Wager Halleck, Jr., Elizabeth's only son, was born in 1856
  8. ↑ "Funeral of Laurens Hamilton.". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Col John Church Hamilton (1792 - 1882) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
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