Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer (September 19, 1758 – March 14, 1801) was the third daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler. She was the wife of

Stephen Van Rensselaer III Stephen Van Rensselaer III (; November 1, 1764January 26, 1839) was an American landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician. A graduate of Harvard College, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's mano ...

, sister of Angelica Schuyler Church,

Philip Jeremiah Schuyler Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (January 21, 1768 – February 21, 1835) was an American politician from New York. His siblings included Angelica Schuyler, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and Margarita Schuyler Van Rensselaer. Life He was the son of Re ...

, and

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton Elizabeth Hamilton (née Schuyler ; August 9, 1757 – November 9, 1854), also called Eliza or Betsey, was an American socialite and philanthropist. Married to American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, she was a defender of his works and co- ...

, and sister-in-law of

John Barker Church John Barker Church, John Carter, (October 30, 1748 – April 27, 1818) was an English born businessman and supplier of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He returned to England after the Revolutionary War and served in the Hous ...

and

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

Early life

Peggy Schuyler birth date, Schuyler family Bible

Peggy Schuyler was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

on September 19, 1758, the third daughter of

Catherine Van Rensselaer Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler ;, also known as "Kitty", (November 10, 1734 – March 7, 1803) was a Colonial and post-Colonial American socialite and the matriarch of the prominent colonial Schuyler family as wife of Philip Schuyler. Early l ...

Schuyler (1734–1803) and Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a wealthy patroon and

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. She had seven siblings who lived to adulthood, including

(1768–1835), Angelica Schuyler Church (1756–1814) and

(1757–1854). Her maternal grandparents were Johannes van Rensselaer (1707/08–1783) and his first wife, Engeltje Livingston (1698–1746/47). Johannes was the grandson of Hendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740). The Schuyler family was among the wealthy Dutch landowners who had settled around Albany in the mid-1600s, and both her mother and father came from wealthy and well-regarded families. Despite the unrest of the French and Indian War, which her father served in and which was fought in part near her childhood home, Peggy's childhood was spent comfortably, including receiving from her mother a basic education and training in domestic skills including sewing. Like most Dutch families of the area, the Schuylers attended the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

in Albany.

American Revolution

On August 7, 1781, a group of Tories and Native Americans forced their way into the

Schuyler Mansion Schuyler Mansion is a historic house at 32 Catherine Street in Albany, New York. The brick mansion is now a museum and an official National Historic Landmark. It was constructed from 1761 to 1765 for Philip Schuyler, later a general in the Cont ...

in Albany, searching for Philip Schuyler, whom they intended to make a prisoner of war. According to a story which may be legend, family members and guests, including Eliza and Angelica, who were both pregnant, ran upstairs to hide, but soon realized they had left Philip and Catharine Schuyler's newborn daughter Catharine (1781–1857) downstairs. Peggy went downstairs to get the baby, but was threatened by one of the Native Americans, who asked where Philip was. Thinking quickly, Peggy replied that Schuyler had "gone to alarm the town". Fearing capture, the raiders fled, but one threw a tomahawk at Peggy, who was running upstairs with the child. The tomahawk left a cut mark in the banister, which the Schuyler family supposedly left in place as a memento. This detail begins to appear in published works in the 1830s, but no contemporary evidence of it can be found in the letters and records of Philip Schuyler or of the Loyalists, under the direction of Captain John Walter Meyer, who led the raid.

Personal life

In June 1783, Peggy married

(1764–1839), a distant cousin, who was 19 at the time; she was almost 25 when they eloped. Stephen was the eldest child of Stephen Van Rensselaer II, the ninth patroon of Rensselaerswyck, and Catharina Livingston, daughter of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great Bri ...

, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.Bielinski, Stefan. "Stephen Van Rensselaer III"
nysm.nysed.gov; accessed April 15, 2016. The Van Rensselaers were one of the richest and most politically influential families in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Some friends and family argued that Van Rensselaer was "far too young" to be married, but most agreed that the marriage to Peggy would help further his career. Upon attaining his majority at age 21, Van Rensselaer assumed responsibility as lord of Van Rensselaer Manor as his father had died when he was only five years old. By 1789, their marriage had resulted in three children, all of whom were baptized at the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany. Only one survived to adulthood:

Stephen Van Rensselaer IV Stephen Van Rensselaer (March 29, 1789 – May 28, 1868), known as the "Young Patroon" and sometimes the "last of the patroons" was the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck. Early life Van Rensselaer was born on March 29, 1789 in Albany, New York. H ...

(1789–1868). Peggy became ill in 1799. Her condition worsened during the winter of 1800–01, and she died on March 14, 1801. According to Ron Chernow,

was in Albany for legal business when her health declined. "Hamilton visited her bedside often and kept Eliza posted on developments. When Hamilton finished his court work, Peggy asked him to stay for a few days, and he complied with her wishes. In mid-March, Hamilton had to send Eliza a somber note: ‘On Saturday, my dear Eliza, your sister took leave of her sufferings and friends, I trust, to find repose and happiness in a better country.’" She was originally buried in the family plot at the Van Rensselaer estate, and later reinterred at Albany Rural Cemetery.

Relationship with Alexander Hamilton

Unlike her sister Elizabeth, who was married to

, and Angelica, who had an affair with him, Peggy maintained a correspondence with Hamilton that was purely platonic. She first began writing to him in 1780, after he began courting her sister.

In popular culture

Peggy was portrayed by

Jasmine Cephas Jones Jasmine Cephas Jones (born July 21, 1989) is an American-British actress, singer, and producer, who originated the dual roles of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the Broadway stage musical ''Hamilton''. In 2020, Cephas Jones won a Primetime ...

in ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'', a popular 2015 Broadway musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. Jones originated the roles of

Maria Reynolds Maria Reynolds (née Lewis; March 30, 1768 – March 25, 1828) was the wife of James Reynolds, and was Alexander Hamilton's mistress between 1791 and 1792. She became the object of much scrutiny after the release of the Reynolds Pamphlet and cen ...

and Peggy Schuyler

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, and reprised them when the show made its transfer to Broadway. Peggy is featured as a supporting character in the song "

The Schuyler Sisters "The Schuyler Sisters" is the fifth song from Act 1 of the musical ''Hamilton'', based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. Background Musical di ...

" and is a background character for much of Act 1.

References