I met Gwendolyn through the Aaron Burr Association, which I joined when researching my biographical novel of Burr's last wife Eliza Jumel. She's a true Renaissance woman.
About Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn has been writing on law and politics for twenty years. She became an investigative reporter and legal commentator (sub nom Jennifer Van Bergen) for various online news outlets after 9/11 and has published two books prior to MALICE: THOMAS JEFFERSON'S CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY AARON BURR as well as several scholarly law journal pieces.
Her research on Burr's friend and protege, novelist Leonora Sansay uncovered and established that mysterious woman's true origins and biographical history for the first time since her first anonymous novel came out in 1808, the year of Burr's treason trial.
A former theatrical actress and director, singer/songwriter, poet/playwright/short story writer, Gwendolyn has also been developing a musical based on her "Malice" book (12 songs already produced), and is circulating her 3-scene, one-act short play using mostly actual words of those involved in the Jefferson conspiracy. She is presently outlining a film screenplay, as well, based on the same story.
She has a law degree from Cardozo School of Law (1999) but does not practice law due to a long illness from Lyme disease, contracted in 1992. She also has a Master of Science in Int'l Education (2009) and 30 credits towards an LL.M. in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School (earned in 2011). She taught Archetypes for Writers for ten years (1993-2003) at the New School University in NYC and taught law at the Anglo-American University in Prague (2009). See her profile on Facebook.
About MALICE: THE THOMAS JEFFERSON'S CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY AARON BURR
The conspiracy conducted by President Thomas Jefferson to destroy his former Vice President, Aaron Burr was covered up and buried for more than 200 years. Van Bergen has unearthed the details, the elements of the crime, and the conspirators in this scholarly, nonfiction book that dips in and out of various aspects to make the case.
On this day in 1833, former Vice President Aaron Burr, 78 and poor, showed up at Eliza Jumel's doorstep with a minister. Eliza, 58, New York City's richest woman, agreed to marry him. I so enjoyed researching and writing my biographical thriller ELIZA JUMEL BURR, VICE QUEEN OF THE UNITED STATES.
A true rags-to-riches story: how “Bouncin’ Bet Bowen”
George Washington’s daughter, became Eliza Jumel Burr, wife of Vice President
Aaron Burr
and New York City’s wealthiest woman
While researching Hamilton, I
became fascinated with his political nemesis Aaron Burr, which led to Aaron's
last wife Eliza Bowen Jumel. Only a handful of biographies of her exist, so I
learned as much as possible about her from these books and other sources I
found.
She came from the filthy streets of Providence and wound up owning to the grandest mansion in New York City, which has been Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War and is open to the public. The urchin Betsy Bowen used her street smarts and business acumen to become Madame Eliza Jumel Burr, Vice Queen of America. Her legacy lives on—in the Morris Jumel Mansion of Washington Heights, where her spirit still lingers, 147 years later.
During her ninety-one years, she begged on the streets, sold her body, married a rich man, married a former Vice President, and as New York City’s grand dame, traveled Manhattan in the coach Napoleon Bonaparte gave her. Throughout her adventurous and unconventional life, Eliza’s one regret was that she could not publicly announce that George Washington was her father. When Eliza was ten years old, her mother told her of Washington’s visit to Providence. They spent one night together at the home of Freelove Ballou, an aunt who later adopted Eliza. She was born nine months later. Her many attempts to reach her father gained her an invitation to Mount Vernon weeks before his death. Eliza’s love of make-believe brought her to Manhattan’s John Street Theatre, where she played many leading roles. When the theatre was bought by a speculator and torn down, she “made a living how I could” – at the brothel of Manhattan madam Sally Marshall, whose ladies entertained senators and other prominent figures. Eliza met the charismatic Aaron Burr when he became New York’s Attorney General. While standing outside Federal Hall after President Washington’s inauguration with her best friend Susannah Shippen, she caught a flash of dark eyes that sparkled and caught the sunlight like jewels. Susannah innocently introduced them, unaware of their instant attraction. Deeply in love, Eliza wrote: “Colonel Aaron Burr appeared to me the perfection of manhood personified. Wherever he went he was petted and caressed by our sex. And yet, he never took advantage of his position.” Eliza named her only son George Washington Bowen, believing Aaron was the father. While Aaron climbed the political ladder on his way to the Vice Presidency, Eliza met wealthy wine merchant Stephen Jumel, a native Frenchman. Knowing Eliza’s heart belonged only to Aaron, he wooed her and trusted her to invest his capital in Manhattan real estate. With her shrewd negotiating skills and street smarts, they amassed an empire. On Eliza and
Stephen’s first trip to France together, the fallen and beaten Napoleon
Bonaparte boarded Stephen’s brig the Eliza,
seeking an American vessel to ensure
his escape from the British. Stephen,
in all seriousness, offered the Emperor a wine barrel to stow away in. The
Emperor, haughtily put out when he realized Stephen wasn’t joking, accepted
Eliza’s invitation to hide in their New York home, but never made it to the new
world. However, he did give Eliza his yellow coach and other costly gifts, now
on display in the Jumel Mansion. Stephen’s business connections afforded
him and Eliza introduction to the upper echelons of Paris society. She met King Louis XVIII, but
he shunned her begging to let Stephen join court circles.
Back home, she resumed her
love affair with Aaron, whose wife Theodosia had died of cancer. He was now
Vice President, having lost the presidency to Thomas Jefferson. Eliza asked him
to marry her, but he turned down her proposal. He just wasn’t ready for
remarriage.
After the most famous duel in
American history, Aaron fled New York City while Alexander Hamilton lay dying.
When Hamilton died the next day, Aaron was indicted for murder. After four
frantic months, Eliza finally received a letter from him, under an assumed name,
R. King.
Financed by his son-in-law Joseph, he’d bought the rights to a half million
acres in the South. He planned to make it into a new state, settle it with
adventurous pioneer men, attract a slew of colonists and settlers, and make
himself Governor.
His next hurried missive told her that he’d abandoned the entire plan. Why?
He didn’t say. But President Jefferson had filed a formal charge of treason
against Aaron. He was brought to Richmond, Virginia for trial.
He’d gathered so much support and adoration from Richmond, he was wined,
dined and acquitted, with his daughter at his side.
He finally returned to Eliza after finishing out his term as Vice President,
but soon sailed for England. Believing her life with him was over, she dragged
herself back to Stephen and proposed marriage to him—only to be turned down
once again. Determined to become Mrs. Jumel, she faked her impending death with
the help of a loyal servant, a bottle of hot water to raise her temperature,
and white powder to mimic deathly pallor. She called her doctor and had a
stable hand inform Stephen that she was dying. When he rushed to her bedside,
she begged him, “Before I leave this world,
it would mean so much to me if I could leave as Mrs. Jumel.” He summoned a
priest and they were wed even before she received last rites. But of course she
made a miraculous ‘recovery’ and once again, returned to her wheeling and
dealing.
While tending to his
farmlands, Stephen fell from a cart and died in Eliza’s arms two days later.
She was brought up on murder charges which were dropped. A despondent Eliza
once again turned to her true love, Aaron, back in New York at his law
practice.
One evening, Aaron showed up at her doorstep
with a minister in tow, the same Reverend Bogart who’d married him to his first
wife Theodosia fifty years before. He proposed to Eliza on bended knee: “I give you my hand, Madame; my heart has
long been yours.”
She finally became Mrs. Burr at age 56. Aaron was a robust and youthful 78.
He began to
spend Eliza’s money recklessly, plowing through $13,000 within a few months.
The bickering became grounds for divorce when a maid caught him in a
compromising position with another woman. Brokenhearted, Eliza hired a lawyer Who
handled family matters—including divorces. Who was this lawyer? Alexander
Hamilton Jr. Aaron received the
final papers on September 14, 1836, and died later that day. Eliza returned home to her family and lived
another 29 years as Mrs. Burr, the name she’d always longed for.
Abandoned at childhood, Betsy Bowen found out she is George Washington's daughter and escaped the streets of Providence to become Eliza Jumel Burr, New York's richest woman. She pursued Aaron Burr, the love of her life, for decades and he finally proposed when he was 80 and she was 56. She divorced him on adultery charges, and he died two days after being served the papers. Who was her lawyer? Alexander Hamilton, Jr., the son of the man Burr killed in the famous 1804 duel.
Eliza believed George Washington was her father. Nine months before she was born, her mother spent one night with the general and became pregnant. Eliza's many attempts to reach her father gained her an invitation to Mount Vernon weeks before his death.
She met the love of her life, Aaron Burr, at President Washington's inauguration. While Aaron was in the capital serving as a senator, Eliza met wealthy wine merchant Stephen Jumel, and faked her own death to get Stephen to marry her. When Stephen fell from a cart and died in Eliza's arms, she was brought up on murder charges, which were dismissed. Aaron proposed to her and she became Mrs. Burr, her lifelong wish.
Eliza Jumel Burr
From Eliza Jumel Burr, Vice Queen of the United States: July 11, 1804, a day I'll never forget, a Wednesday, I rose early from fitful sleep. Two of my servants huddled in the kitchen, murmuring instead of cooking. They held the newspaper wide open.
When I walked in, they froze as if turned to stone, and held the paper out to me.
"What is it?" Without fresh coffee I was half-awake. But seeing the paper, I trembled. My mouth dried up. "Oh, no." I hid my eyes with my hands, I couldn't bear to look.
"M-Miss Eliza..." Mary stammered. "Vice President Burr shot General Hamilton in a duel."
Too weak to stand, I grabbed a chair and sank into it. "He shot Hamilton?" My head spun, dizzy with relief. But I still didn't know about Aaron. "Is he all right? The vice president?"
"We don't know, ma'am. It just says General Hamilton was mortally wounded."
Without another word, I ran down the hall, threw open the front door, not closing it behind me, and raced to Gold Street in the gathering morning heat. Humidity soaked my clothes. I mopped sweat from my face.
I banged on his door. No answer. "Aaron, open the door, it's me, please, we need to talk!" I banged again. Echoes answered me. He'd fled. But where? When would I see my beloved again?
Hamilton died the next day, and the city fell to its knees in mourning.
The tolling church bells and muffled drumbeats echoed through the sweltering city air.
****
I saw Mrs Hamilton on Broad Way, head to toe in widow's weeds. I wanted to approach her and offer my condolences, but she knew I was intimate with the vice president, so I kept my distance. Their country home, The Grange, was not far from the Morris mansion I planned to buy. We'd be neighbors someday.
Those of you who have seen the play Hamilton are now familiar with Aaron Burr's last wife, Eliza. She started out dirt poor in Providence and with her street smarts and business acumen, became New York City's richest woman. Read about my visit to her mansion and my 'ghostly' experience:
Me on the Steps of the Jumel Mansion
In researching my biographical novel about Aaron Burr and his last wife, Madame Eliza Jumel, I visited her mansion in Washington Heights, NYC. It's beautifully restored and maintained, befitting the once-richest lady in New York.
You can also hear the many stories of her ghost wandering the mansion in a purple gown, rapping on walls and windows, and yelling at schoolkids to shut up! One July night in 1833, Aaron, age 77, showed up at Eliza's door with the same minister who married him to his first wife Theodosia fifty years before. After several rejections of his proposal, she finally agreed to marry him in the front parlor (photo below).
Front Parlor
When she realized he was a gold-digger (as by then, he was broke), she began divorce proceedings, also charging him with adultery, as he had a mistress in Jersey City. In an ironic twist, she hired Alexander Hamilton Jr. as her lawyer. But in the most ironic twist of all, he died the same day he received the final papers.
When we visited, my husband Chris & I were on the 2nd floor where the bedrooms are. I was standing in the doorway of her bedroom (Aaron's is across the hall), and said out loud that I wondered if they ever slept together, or always in the separate rooms. Chris said, 'she was so old, and he was 80!'
I replied, 'Well, from what I've read of him, he could still get it up.'
A minute later, Chris asked me if I laughed after saying that. I definitely had not laughed. That means somebody else did! He'd heard a woman's throaty chuckle, NOT my voice at all.
Aaron's Bedroom
We were the only (living) people up there at the time. I'm convinced it was Eliza, eavesdropping on us, and I was able to give her a laugh. Have you ever heard of a ghost laughing? I never have! If you're ever in the area, visit the mansion--it's an unforgettable experience. My biographical novel is titled ELIZA JUMEL BURR, VICE QUEEN OF THE UNITED STATES. I enjoyed researching this fascinating woman's life. Purchase ELIZA on Amazon
Abandoned at childhood, Betsy Bowen found out she is George
Washington’s daughter and escaped the streets of Providence to become Eliza
Jumel Burr, New York’s richest woman. She pursued Aaron Burr, the love of her
life, for decades and he finally proposed when he was 80 and she was 56. She
divorced him on adultery charges, and he died two days after being served the
papers. Who was her lawyer? Alexander Hamilton, Jr., the son of the man Burr killed
in the famous 1804 duel.
Eliza believed George Washington was her
father. Nine months before she was born, her mother spent one night with the
general and became pregnant. Eliza’s many attempts to reach her father gained
her an invitation to Mount Vernon weeks before his death. She met the love of
her life, Aaron Burr, at President Washington’s inauguration. While Aaron was in the capital serving as a senator,
Eliza met wealthy wine merchant Stephen Jumel, and faked her own death to get
Stephen to marry her. When Stephen fell from a cart and died in Eliza’s arms,
she was brought up on murder charges, which were dismissed. Aaron proposed to
her and she
became Mrs. Burr, her lifelong wish.
Eliza Jumel Burr
****
From Eliza Jumel
Burr, Vice Queen of the United States:
July 11, 1804, a day I’ll never
forget, a Wednesday, I rose early from fitful sleep. Two of my servants huddled
in the kitchen, murmuring instead of cooking. They held the newspaper wide
open.
When I walked in, they froze as if
turned to stone, and held the paper out to me.
“What is it?” Without fresh coffee I
was half-awake. But seeing the paper, I trembled. My mouth dried up. “Oh, no …”
I hid my eyes with my hands, I couldn’t bear to look.
“M-Miss Eliza …” Mary stammered. “Vice
President Burr shot General Hamilton in a duel.”
Too weak to stand, I grabbed a chair
and sank into it. “He …shot Hamilton?” My head spun, dizzy with relief. But I still didn’t know
about Aaron. “Is he all right? The vice president?”
“We don’t know, ma’am. It just says
General Hamilton was mortally wounded.”
Without another word, I ran down the
hall, threw open the front door, not closing it behind me, and raced to Gold
Street in the gathering morning heat. Humidity soaked my clothes. I mopped
sweat from my face.
I banged on his door. No answer.
“Aaron, open the door, it’s me, please, we need to talk!” I banged again.
Echoes answered me. He’d fled. But where? When would I see my beloved again?
Hamilton died the next day, and the
city fell to its knees in mourning.
The tolling church bells and muffled
drumbeats echoed through the sweltering city air.
****
I saw Mrs Hamilton on Broad Way, head to toe in widow’s weeds. I wanted to
approach her and offer my condolences, but she knew I was intimate with the
vice president, so I kept my distance. Their country home, The Grange, was not
far from the Morris mansion I planned to buy. We’d be neighbors someday.
When researching my biographical novel about Aaron Burr's last wife Eliza Jumel, I came across a quote about Aaron: "He was catnip to women" attributed to historian Ray Swick. I wanted to include that in my book, and figured he'd been one of Aaron's buddies who lived in the 19th century or even earlier, during Aaron's salad days as a ladies' man AND catnip (he was very good looking! Take a gander, below)
I asked one of my Aaron Burr Association friends, Marty Kakuk, who told me that Ray Swick is very much alive and living in West Virginia! She put me in touch with him, and I asked his permission to use his quote. He graciously obliged. The book went on sale, with Ray's quote, and he sent me this message just last week: Do you believe that confession is good for the soul? I trust you will, because mine is about to descend upon you. For many years, since I coined the phrase about Aaron Burr being "catnip to women", I labored under the illusion that it was an original thought that had descended on me one day courtesy of Clio, the muse of history. But lo and behold, not long after I dispatched written permission to you to use the expression in your book, while sorting through some of my books while downsizing my library, I happened across some old copies of the American Heritage magazine. I was scanning through the stack to see if I should save any of them, when my eye lit upon an article in the August 1965 issue. About Rudolph Valentino, it is entitled, "The Overloved One". In an early paragraph there appears a line that almost made me drop my upper plate: "H. L. Mencken...described the Sheik as 'catnip to women'. So you see, quite unwittingly, I am a FAKE! I can only suppose that, decades ago, I read the article and the phrase lodged in my subconscious. I am going into such detail in case some voracious reader will come across the American Heritage piece and then accuse you of misquoting the catnip phrase. So all I can say is, Forgive! Please Forgive!!! Ray, you are forgiven, and I hope my readers will forgive him, too!
Thanks for your support on my new my bio novel about Eliza Jumel Burr...it is #1 in the Bio category on Amazon.
I became interested in Aaron Burr when researching my Hamilton book, and his last wife Eliza really grabbed me...a woman after my own heart! By age 50 she owned half of New York City, married Aaron and divorced him when he started blowing thru her money. He also had a girlfriend in Jersey City and Eliza charged him with adultery. He died the day he got served with the divorce papers. Who was her lawyer? Alexander Hamilton Jr. of course! (can't make this stuff up!)
A true rags-to-riches story: how “Bouncin’ Bet Bowen”
George Washington’s daughter, became Eliza Jumel Burr, wife of Vice President
Aaron Burr and
New York City’s wealthiest woman
While researching Hamilton, I
became fascinated with his political nemesis Aaron Burr, which led to Aaron's
last wife Eliza Bowen Jumel. Only a handful of biographies of her exist, so I
learned as much as possible about her from these books and other sources I
found.
She came from the filthy
streets of Providence and wound up owning to the grandest mansion in New York
City, which has been Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War and
is open to the public. The urchin Betsy Bowen used her street smarts and
business acumen to become Madame Eliza Jumel Burr, Vice Queen of America. Her
legacy lives on—in the Morris Jumel Mansion of Washington Heights, where her
spirit still lingers, 147 years later.
During her ninety-one years, she begged on
the streets, sold her body, married a rich man, married a former Vice
President, and as New York City’s grand dame, traveled Manhattan in the coach
Napoleon Bonaparte gave her. Throughout her adventurous and unconventional
life, Eliza’s one regret was that she could not publicly announce that George
Washington was her father. When Eliza was ten years old, her mother told her of
Washington’s visit to Providence. They spent one night together at the home of
Freelove Ballou, an aunt who later adopted Eliza. She was born nine months
later. Her many attempts to reach her father gained her an invitation to Mount
Vernon weeks before his death. Eliza’s love of
make-believe brought her to Manhattan’s John Street Theatre, where she played
many leading roles. When the theatre was bought by a speculator and torn down,
she “made a living how I could” – at the brothel of Manhattan madam Sally
Marshall, whose ladies entertained senators and other prominent figures. Eliza met the
charismatic Aaron Burr when he became New York’s Attorney General. While
standing outside Federal Hall after President Washington’s inauguration with
her best friend Susannah Shippen, she caught a flash of dark eyes that sparkled
and caught the sunlight like jewels. Susannah innocently introduced them,
unaware of their instant attraction. Deeply in love,
Eliza wrote: “Colonel Aaron Burr appeared to me the perfection of manhood
personified. Wherever he went he was petted and caressed by our sex. And yet,
he never took advantage of his position.” Eliza named her
only son George Washington Bowen, believing Aaron was the father. While Aaron climbed
the political ladder on his way to the Vice Presidency, Eliza met wealthy wine
merchant Stephen Jumel, a native Frenchman. Knowing Eliza’s heart belonged only
to Aaron, he wooed her and trusted her to invest his capital in Manhattan real
estate. With her shrewd negotiating skills and street smarts, they amassed an
empire.
Eliza Jumel Burr
On Eliza and
Stephen’s first trip to France together, the fallen and beaten Napoleon
Bonaparte boarded Stephen’s brig the Eliza,
seeking an American vessel to ensure
his escape from the British. Stephen,
in all seriousness, offered the Emperor a wine barrel to stow away in. The
Emperor, haughtily put out when he realized Stephen wasn’t joking, accepted
Eliza’s invitation to hide in their New York home, but never made it to the new
world. However, he did give Eliza his yellow coach and other costly gifts, now
on display in the Jumel Mansion. Stephen’s business connections afforded
him and Eliza introduction to the upper echelons of Paris society. She met King Louis XVIII, but
he shunned her begging to let Stephen join court circles.
Back home, she resumed her
love affair with Aaron, whose wife Theodosia had died of cancer. He was now
Vice President, having lost the presidency to Thomas Jefferson. Eliza asked him
to marry her, but he turned down her proposal. He just wasn’t ready for
remarriage.
After the most famous duel in
American history, Aaron fled New York City while Alexander Hamilton lay dying.
When Hamilton died the next day, Aaron was indicted for murder. After four
frantic months, Eliza finally received a letter from him, under an assumed name,
R. King.
Financed by his son-in-law Joseph, he’d bought the rights to a half million
acres in the South. He planned to make it into a new state, settle it with
adventurous pioneer men, attract a slew of colonists and settlers, and make
himself Governor.
His next hurried missive told her that he’d abandoned the entire plan. Why?
He didn’t say. But President Jefferson had filed a formal charge of treason
against Aaron. He was brought to Richmond, Virginia for trial.
He’d gathered so much support and adoration from Richmond, he was wined,
dined and acquitted, with his daughter at his side.
He finally returned to Eliza after finishing out his term as Vice President,
but soon sailed for England. Believing her life with him was over, she dragged
herself back to Stephen and proposed marriage to him—only to be turned down
once again. Determined to become Mrs. Jumel, she faked her impending death with
the help of a loyal servant, a bottle of hot water to raise her temperature,
and white powder to mimic deathly pallor. She called her doctor and had a
stable hand inform Stephen that she was dying. When he rushed to her bedside,
she begged him, “Before I leave this
world, it would mean so much to me if I could leave as Mrs. Jumel.” He summoned
a priest and they were wed even before she received last rites. But of course
she made a miraculous ‘recovery’ and once again, returned to her wheeling and
dealing.
While tending to his
farmlands, Stephen fell from a cart and died in Eliza’s arms two days later.
She was brought up on murder charges which were dropped. A despondent Eliza
once again turned to her true love, Aaron, back in New York at his law
practice.
One evening, Aaron showed up at her doorstep
with a minister in tow, the same Reverend Bogart who’d married him to his first wife Theodosia
fifty years before. He proposed to Eliza on bended knee: “I give you my hand, Madame; my heart has
long been yours.”
She finally became Mrs. Burr at age 56. Aaron was a robust and youthful 78.
He began to
spend Eliza’s money recklessly, plowing through $13,000 within a few months.
The bickering became grounds for divorce when a maid caught him in a
compromising position with another woman. Brokenhearted, Eliza hired a lawyer Who
handled family matters—including divorces. Who was this lawyer? Alexander
Hamilton Jr. Aaron received the
final papers on September 14, 1836, and died later that day. Eliza returned home to her family and lived
another 29 years as Mrs. Burr, the name she’d always longed for. The Morris-Jumel Mansion still stands in
Harlem, New York City and is open to the public.
I joined the Aaron Burr Association when I was researching my bio novel about his last wife Eliza. When I started reading about him, I found him more interesting than Hamilton, the subject of my previous book. As history buffs know, it's so easy to get hooked on a historical figure. Every "Ricardian" has a unique story about how they "met" and got hooked on Richard III.
You may know that Aaron killed Hamilton in the most famous duel in US history, in 1804. And then what happened? Hamilton died 2 days later, and Aaron (Thomas Jefferson's Vice President) went into exile for a while. When he returned to Washington D.C. he made a speech that didn't leave a dry eye in the house.
The Association is made up of history buffs like me, and many members are Aaron's relatives.
This year, the Association had their meeting in the Bordentown, NJ area. We stayed in Hamilton NJ (what are the odds), and toured many historical sites. The Bordentown County Times sent some reporters to join us, and here's a reprint of the article that just appeared, with a video.
EVERYTHING IS RELATIVE
Bordentown City visit has Aaron Burr Association seeking family history
BORDENTOWN CITY — A small garden in downtown here recently drew the attention of a national nonprofit group seeking a bit of family history.
Members of the Aaron Burr Association gathered at the corner of Crosswicks Street and Farnsworth Avenue, where a hardware store once stood. But the lack of a structure, as well as a morning drizzle, didn’t dampen the appreciation association members had for the location’s significance.
Demolished in the mid-20th century, the store was owned by Samuel Burr, a cousin of the historically famous dueler and then-U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr. However, it also was the young city’s social and commercial epicenter, according to ABA member Doug Kiovsky, of Princeton, the tour’s guide.
“Bordentown City was an up and coming town, just before the Civil War,” said Kiovsky.
Members of the Aaron Burr Association take a walking tour down Crosswicks Street.
Dorann Weber
The business’ popularity was rivaled only by the post office, according to a memoir written by the owner’s son, ABA founder Samuel Burr Jr. The book, Kiovsky said, indicated that the store sold dry goods, linens, tools and animal feed, as well as telephone service and fire insurance later on.
The store’s site was one of the stops along the tour that brought to Burlington County Burr family members and descendants, scholars and others with an interest in the history and genealogy of the clan.
Founded in 1946, the association’s mission is to preserve Aaron Burr’s legacy as a student, soldier, lawyer, politician, arts patron, educator, banker and family man, rather than his role in the 1804 duel that killed former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
The group meets annually at locations with a connection to the Aaron Burr family, as well as to Hamilton. Past meetings have been held in diverse places, such as Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina, and Saratoga, New York.
“This is the first time we’ve been to Bordentown,” said ABA president Stuart Fisk Johnson, a Burr family descendant. “Next year, we’re going to Center City Philadelphia.”
Samuel Burr was a cousin of Aaron Burr. According to Kiovsky, he plied his trade at a family member’s store in Moorestown before moving to Bordentown City and purchasing his business. He, his wife and children were also heavily involved in the community through their various careers and volunteer work.
Bordentown Cemetery was the beginning of the local tour. Samuel Burr and his family are buried at the site, and his wife Anna served as president of the Bordentown Cemetery Association during her lifetime.
The tour group later stopped at the Clara Barton Schoolhouse, a one-room structure that served as the country’s first public school. Although the Burr children did not attend the school, Samuel Burr did correspond in writing with Barton, a teacher and founder of the American Red Cross, and they shared an educational ideology, according to Kiovsky.
Douglas Kiovsky tells the group the history of the one-room Clara Barton Schoolhouse.
Dorann Weber
“He met her in Washington, D.C.,” the tour guide added.
Stops at Old City Hall, the Francis Hopkinson House and a pizza lunch at The Vault restaurant gave the tourists opportunities to learn more about the family and the city it helped grow. The Vault is housed in a former bank whose president was Sarah Burr, a descendant of Samuel Burr.
Bordentown City's Old City Hall was one of the many stops along the walking tour.
Dorann Weber
The tour was part of a week-long gathering that included visits to the Peachfield plantation in Westampton, the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton and Andalusia, a historic home in Pennsylvania. The group's annual business meeting was held in Mount Holly, at the home of Burr descendant Judy Gauntt.
Moorestown native Anna Burr Root was among the touring guests who traveled a distance to attend the ABA gathering. While visiting the region, the Clifton Park, New York, resident said she planned to show her daughter where she grew up and learn more about their family history.
“Historians know a lot more than I do,” she said. “I enjoy the camaraderie and seeing the places.”
In addition to knowing the Burr genealogy and seeing sites related to the family, Johnson said the ABA tours help create awareness for the group’s mission.
“We’re concerned with correcting the (legacy) of Aaron Burr,” he said.
Johnson and other association members said they hope people will look closer at the duel with Hamilton to better understand the facts of the incident and to learn about Burr’s many attributes.
“Aaron Burr was one of the first feminists, advocating for women’s education,” he added. “Theodosia, his daughter, spoke six languages. He had her educated like a wealthy man.”
Johnson said Burr also was a Patriot, served as a military colonel and fought in the Battle of Monmouth during the Revolutionary War.
According to Johnson, Burr ironically saved Hamilton’s life by leading him to safety during a battle and was a member of an anti-slavery society that his dueling partner founded.
As for the infamous incident in Weehawken, Burr family members say their famous ancestor may not have meant to kill Hamilton. Research has shown that the dueling pistols supplied by Hamilton had hair triggers that may not have been known to Burr.
“Hamilton may have fired prematurely,” said Johnson.
I joined the Aaron Burr Association when I was researching my bio novel about his last wife Eliza. When I started reading about him, I found him more interesting than Hamilton, the subject of my previous book. As history buffs know, it's so easy to get hooked on a historical figure. Every "Ricardian" has a unique story about how they "met" and got hooked on Richard III.
You may know that Aaron killed Hamilton in the most famous duel in US history, in 1804. And then what happened? Hamilton died 2 days later, and Aaron (Thomas Jefferson's Vice President) went into exile for a while. When he returned to Washington D.C. he made a speech that didn't leave a dry eye in the house.
The Association is made up of history buffs like me, and many members are Aaron's relatives.
This year, the Association had their meeting in the Bordentown, NJ area. We stayed in Hamilton NJ (what are the odds), and toured many historical sites. The Bordentown County Times sent some reporters to join us, and here's a reprint of the article that just appeared, with a video.
EVERYTHING IS RELATIVE
Bordentown City visit has Aaron Burr Association seeking family history
BORDENTOWN CITY — A small garden in downtown here recently drew the attention of a national nonprofit group seeking a bit of family history.
Members of the Aaron Burr Association gathered at the corner of Crosswicks Street and Farnsworth Avenue, where a hardware store once stood. But the lack of a structure, as well as a morning drizzle, didn’t dampen the appreciation association members had for the location’s significance.
Demolished in the mid-20th century, the store was owned by Samuel Burr, a cousin of the historically famous dueler and then-U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr. However, it also was the young city’s social and commercial epicenter, according to ABA member Doug Kiovsky, of Princeton, the tour’s guide.
“Bordentown City was an up and coming town, just before the Civil War,” said Kiovsky.
Members of the Aaron Burr Association take a walking tour down Crosswicks Street.
Dorann Weber
The business’ popularity was rivaled only by the post office, according to a memoir written by the owner’s son, ABA founder Samuel Burr Jr. The book, Kiovsky said, indicated that the store sold dry goods, linens, tools and animal feed, as well as telephone service and fire insurance later on.
The store’s site was one of the stops along the tour that brought to Burlington County Burr family members and descendants, scholars and others with an interest in the history and genealogy of the clan.
Founded in 1946, the association’s mission is to preserve Aaron Burr’s legacy as a student, soldier, lawyer, politician, arts patron, educator, banker and family man, rather than his role in the 1804 duel that killed former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
The group meets annually at locations with a connection to the Aaron Burr family, as well as to Hamilton. Past meetings have been held in diverse places, such as Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina, and Saratoga, New York.
“This is the first time we’ve been to Bordentown,” said ABA president Stuart Fisk Johnson, a Burr family descendant. “Next year, we’re going to Center City Philadelphia.”
Samuel Burr was a cousin of Aaron Burr. According to Kiovsky, he plied his trade at a family member’s store in Moorestown before moving to Bordentown City and purchasing his business. He, his wife and children were also heavily involved in the community through their various careers and volunteer work.
Bordentown Cemetery was the beginning of the local tour. Samuel Burr and his family are buried at the site, and his wife Anna served as president of the Bordentown Cemetery Association during her lifetime.
The tour group later stopped at the Clara Barton Schoolhouse, a one-room structure that served as the country’s first public school. Although the Burr children did not attend the school, Samuel Burr did correspond in writing with Barton, a teacher and founder of the American Red Cross, and they shared an educational ideology, according to Kiovsky.
Douglas Kiovsky tells the group the history of the one-room Clara Barton Schoolhouse.
Dorann Weber
“He met her in Washington, D.C.,” the tour guide added.
Stops at Old City Hall, the Francis Hopkinson House and a pizza lunch at The Vault restaurant gave the tourists opportunities to learn more about the family and the city it helped grow. The Vault is housed in a former bank whose president was Sarah Burr, a descendant of Samuel Burr.
Bordentown City's Old City Hall was one of the many stops along the walking tour.
Dorann Weber
The tour was part of a week-long gathering that included visits to the Peachfield plantation in Westampton, the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton and Andalusia, a historic home in Pennsylvania. The group's annual business meeting was held in Mount Holly, at the home of Burr descendant Judy Gauntt.
Moorestown native Anna Burr Root was among the touring guests who traveled a distance to attend the ABA gathering. While visiting the region, the Clifton Park, New York, resident said she planned to show her daughter where she grew up and learn more about their family history.
“Historians know a lot more than I do,” she said. “I enjoy the camaraderie and seeing the places.”
In addition to knowing the Burr genealogy and seeing sites related to the family, Johnson said the ABA tours help create awareness for the group’s mission.
“We’re concerned with correcting the (legacy) of Aaron Burr,” he said.
Johnson and other association members said they hope people will look closer at the duel with Hamilton to better understand the facts of the incident and to learn about Burr’s many attributes.
“Aaron Burr was one of the first feminists, advocating for women’s education,” he added. “Theodosia, his daughter, spoke six languages. He had her educated like a wealthy man.”
Johnson said Burr also was a Patriot, served as a military colonel and fought in the Battle of Monmouth during the Revolutionary War.
According to Johnson, Burr ironically saved Hamilton’s life by leading him to safety during a battle and was a member of an anti-slavery society that his dueling partner founded.
As for the infamous incident in Weehawken, Burr family members say their famous ancestor may not have meant to kill Hamilton. Research has shown that the dueling pistols supplied by Hamilton had hair triggers that may not have been known to Burr.
“Hamilton may have fired prematurely,” said Johnson.
