Description:

Alexander Hamilton
Boston, MA, May 28, 1780
Alexander Hamilton's Sister-in-Law Seeks to Buy a Slave During a Revolution for Freedom
AL
[SLAVERY.] Carter, Autograph Letter, to John Tayler, May 28, 1780, Boston, Massachusetts. 1 p., 7.5" x 9". General toning and edge chipping; soiling on folds.

In this remarkable letter, Angelica Schuyler Church, writing in the third person under her husband's pseudonym of "Carter" writes from Boston to an old acquaintance in Albany, New York, merchant and attorney John Tayler. She had recently learned that Mrs. Van Dyck had left Albany for New York City and sought Tayler's help in buying one of Van Dyck's slaves, "the little negro girl that commonly attends Mrs Vandyck."

Intriguingly, Peggy Jackson, a former slave of Tannake Van Dyck, is known from her will written in 1823 and probated in August 1835 in Schenectady, New York. Perhaps she was the "little negro girl" mentioned in this letter.

Complete Transcript
Mrs Carters Complements to Mr Taylor, she has been Informed that Mrs Vandyck is gone to New York, and if that is true tis probable her servants will be sold; and as none of General Schuylers family are at Albany; Mrs Carter takes the Liberty to request of Mr Taylor to purchase for her, the little negro girl that commonly attends Mrs Vandyck. Mrs Carter desires her best respects to Mrs Taylor. She is very anxious to return to Albany, her family, and her Friends among which number she flatters herself Mr & Mrs Taylor have no objection to be included.
Boston May 28 1780

[address panel:] John Taylor Esq / Albany

Historical Background
During the winter of 1778-1779, Lt. Colonel Cornelius Van Dyck commanded the 1st New York Regiment of the Continental Line at Fort Schuyler near Rome, New York. After service on the Canadian frontier, Van Dyck and the 1st New York returned to Albany in June 1781, then marched south with General George Washington and were present at the siege of Yorktown in September-October 1781. His wife Tanneke Yates Van Dyck may have moved from Albany to New York in 1780.

Angelica Schuyler Church / "Carter" (1756-1814) was born in Albany, New York, the eldest daughter of Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler, and grew up there. Her father fought in the French and Indian War and served in the Continental Congress. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a major general in the Continental Army. In June 1777, she eloped to marry John Barker Church (1748-1818), who had fled England to avoid creditors and settled in America under the name "John Carter." They moved to Boston, where he was involved in banking, shipping, and land and currency speculation. They used the surname Carter for the first seven years of their marriage. In 1780, he and a partner secured a contract for provisioning the French forces in America, and two years later, they became sole suppliers of the American army as well, making them both wealthy. From 1783 to 1785, the Churches and their four children lived in Paris, where her husband was a U.S. envoy to the French government. After a brief visit to the United States in 1785, they settled in England. She made friends with some of the royal family, and he was elected a member of Parliament for Wendover in 1790. They returned to the United States in 1799, where he became a founding director of the Manhattan Company and a director of the Bank of North America.

John Tayler (1742-1829) was born in New York City and moved to Albany, New York, in 1759. He married Margaret Van Valkenburgh (ca. 1743-1796) and adopted her niece, Margaret Venor, who became his sole heir. He was a lawyer, merchant, and land agent. He served in many public offices, including the Provincial Congress (1776, 1777), the Council of Safety (1777), the Assembly from Albany (1777-1787), Canal Commissioner of New York (1792), Recorder of Albany (1793), first judge of Albany County, New York (1797), New York Senate (1802, 1804-1813), Capital Commissioner of New York (1804), Lieutenant Governor of New York (1811, 1813-1817), and Acting Governor of New York (1817). During the Revolutionary War, he served as Clothier General to the Continental Army.

Tanneke Yates Van Dyck (1739-1813) was born in Schenectady County, New York, to Joseph Yates and Eva Fonda Yates. In 1762, she married Cornelis/Cornelius Van Dyck (1740-1792) of Schenectady, New York, who served as lieutenant colonel of the 1st New York State Regiment in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He participated in the siege of Yorktown, where he and the Marquis de Lafayette were officers of the day on September 29, 1781. He was brevetted to the rank of colonel in 1783, shortly before the army disbanded. After the war, he returned to Schenectady, where he was elected to represent Albany County in the state legislature in 1788. In 1790, he and his wife owned four slaves. They had no children.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.5" x 9"
  • Medium: AL

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