Church, Angelica Schuyler, 1756-1814

Angelica was the daughter of General Philip Schuyler, the sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the sister-in-law of Alexander Hamilton, and the wife of John Barker Church. Angelica was one of the most celebrated beauties of the original thirteen colonies and the young United States and perhaps she is most famous for her love affair with her brother-in-law, Alexander Hamilton. Despite the resulting scandal and embarrassment, Angelica was beloved on both sides of the Atlantic for her warm heart, generous nature, sparkling wit, ethereal beauty and intelligent involvement in the political affairs of the day. She was so esteemed, in fact, that her sister Elizabeth (who truly loved her deeply), never publicly or privately faulted her for having an affair with her own husband, which is to Elizabeth's everlasting credit. Angelica received her final wish: she is buried in Trinity Churchyard in lower Manhattan, not far from the graves of her brother-in-law and her sister, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.