Alexander Hamilton

While generally believed that Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis, research into his family’s history unearthed by historian Michael Newton suggested that Hamilton’s parents spent a considerable amount of time on St. Eustatius. We had a hunch that young Alexander may have spent some time on the island as well, and that proof of this might be found in historical documents held at the National Archives. To this end, we set out on a search to find out more about the Hamiltons’ whereabouts during Alexander’s early childhood, which until now was shrouded in mystery.

Spending hours and hours of scanning through countless pages of mid-eighteenth-century census records held in thick tomes with elegant cursive writing, we finally found what we were looking for. James Hamilton, Alexander’s father, was listed in the St. Eustatius census records from 1759 to 1767. From 1763 to 1765, his wife (Rachel Faucett) and his two sons (Alexander and James Jr.) are listed as well. Alexander thus spent a few years of his early childhood on St. Eustatius, a rich trade center with a cosmopolitan society. The fact that five enslaved people were listed as part of the Hamilton household as well provides some insight into the family’s standing within society and suggests they were comfortably situated within the island’s middle class.

Our research was published in the Journal of the American Revolution’s 2021 Annual Volume. The full article can also be read on the Journal’s website at https://allthingsliberty.com/2020/10/alexander-hamiltons-missing-years-new-discoveries-and-insights-into-the-little-lions-caribbean-childhood/