Name/Title
Letter from Mary (Molly) Hamilton to Alexander Hamilton IIIEntry/Object ID
HHV 005.73Tags
Accessioned objectDescription
Letter from Mary (Molly) Hamilton to Alexander Hamilton IIISubject
Preparing for Christmas, mail steamers, a ball at Mrs. Miller’s, new sleigh with the log tail greys, “Torkino dinner”??, “she biddy party”?, violinists, music. Visit to the Irvings, playing a “duett” with Catharine Irving, Irving house “neat” and “silver bright”, Christmas, “vile French literature”, “Mysteries of Paris”, 25 cents a copy, the “breakfast bell”Subject Person/Organization
Mary Morris Hamilton Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton III, James Alexander Hamilton, Isabella II, Mary Ann Jones, Cambridge Livingston, George Schuyler, Catharine Ann IrvingSubject Place
* Untyped Subject Place
Nevis, Boston, MA, New York, Sunnyside, SpainCollection
Hamilton CollectionCataloged By
Tara R. IacobellisCategory
Documentary Artifact
Communication Artifacts
Letter Details
Letter Date
Dec 14, 1843 - Jan 28, 1844Postmark
Date and Time of Postmark
[POSTMARK - red ink, circle]Sender
Name
From M. Dec. 26hAddress
For Alex’r Hamilton
Sec’y U.S. Legation
Madrid
R. G. Beasely Esq
U.S. Consul
HavrePrimary Language
EnglishTranscription
Transcription
[IMPRINT]
J H WALSH
& SONS
NEWBURGH
Nevis 14th December - 43
The Arcadia is advertised to sail from Boston / on Saturday so that it is high time that our bud / - get should be begun for Spain, Tom can’t think / what relief Your last letters, (when they did come ) / gave, for they were two days behind the right time, / and we had given up all hope by that packet, / and had gone into the wide field of conjecture / as to the cause of your silence, each one in his heart / yet fearing to own it, thinking You were sick; you / will thus see how important it is You should not / miss one steamer. You certainly see the real / bona fide scenes of bloodshed + murder, there / seems to be a recklefsnefs of life and of taking / life which is wonderful, The poor little Queen / is in a sad interesting position, now she will / heave to bear the responsibility and perhaps [???] / of measures which were formerly given to her min / =isters. The last steamer brought a letter to Pa / enclosing one for me. We are preparing for a / nice Christmas, (Oh if you could only drop down / among us) We hope for Grand ma + Grand Pa / with the girls, Mary Ann Jones, Bow, Cambridge / Livingston, Perhaps + Aunt Schuyler and a great / many children all on the “tiptoe of expectation” /
[END OF PAGE 1]
In the mean time we all going to “ship in / town tomorrow for a ball at Mrs. Miller’s except / Mama who stays at Aunt Fan’s. Mrs M, does / not give dancing parties owing to the size of her / rooms, but there are confidential hints of some / great artist to make music for us, and I / must tell you that our artists are not to be des / =pised, have we not Ole Bull + Vieux Temps / two among the best violinists extant __
We had a nice little visit form Aunt Fan + Uncle / on Friday eve’g last they came up in the elegant / new sleigh with the long tail greys, The next morn’g / Pa + Monsieur Tom went to town for the [Torkino / dinner?] + we had the nicest [she biddy?] party till / Sunday Morning that could be. 8 o’clock PM / I have been down to tea + have just Tommy / wrap up Pa in his Choub, to go jingling off to / Constants to meet a few friends at whist + a / petit soupé, George Schuyler came up with / Tony last night, who came laden with quails / + all manner of good things; George dropped / in just as Gec + I were driving off to pafs the / evening at the Irvings. Catherine had learned / a duett at that I sent over a few days ago + we played / it together. We pafsed two or three hours very pleasant / =ly. George helping us on with new jokes or old / ones as the case might be, I never saw a house / more neat + orderly that[^ n] thiers is, silver bright /
Every where, but I was told to leave half this / letter for another lady + if I go on at this rate / will not leave any thing like a fair proportion / to my only + very dear brother I must sign my / name Mary + go to packing up my things for tomorrow.
26th December You see what a jump I have for / my poor letter go no further than Pa’s pocket and he / presented it to me on Christmas day, I shall tie / it to some papers and send it to You by a packet / They say You will not want Your papers sent by a steamer / + it is seems to be giving You such old dates otherwise, / that I hate to send them. _ They are inundating / our City with this vile French literature and the / tales are immense. Thousands of the “Mysteries of / Paris” are sold + every body is reading although the / condem-[page torn] they read, they have not translated [page torn] / several others which are selling as rapidly. 25 cen-[page torn] a copy. Is it not a pity that such exciting stuff / should be oriented here, which must do harm / to most of those who read. Our country people / love excitement under whatever form it my come / I shall write You all about our Christmas by the / packet steamer but only send this unstatis / =factory scrap because it is written the / breakfast bell has rung and George Schuyler / is to take all this down with him in the boat
Merry Christmas + good bye dear Alex I only / hope [??the] next will be spent together. You / will have to tell us about Spain all the rest of our / lives _ Yrs. Mary
[ADDRESS]
For Alex’r Hamilton
Sec’y U.S. Legation
Madrid
R. G. Beasely Esq
U.S. Consul
Havre
[REVERSE OF ADDRESS]
From M. Dec. 26h
Rec’d Jany 28th. 1844
[Red Wax Seal]Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
EnglishOther Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Former NumberOther Number
H 908General Notes
Note Type
Curatorial RemarksNote
Condition: GoodCreated By
tiacobellis@hudsonvalley.orgCreate Date
July 31, 2024Updated By
cmonaco@hudsonvalley.orgUpdate Date
October 17, 2025
