I’ve written before about the mourning rings created in honor of Alexander Hamilton following his death from the wound received in his duel with Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804. Mourning jewelry was an important part of the rituals surrounding early 19thc mourning. Often including strands of the deceased’s hair, the jewelry was given to close family and friends as a token and a remembrance.
I’ve seen photographs of the ring shown here, but only this past week did I see it in person. It’s currently on display as part of the excellent exhibition Life Cut Short: Hamilton’s Hair and the Art of Mourning Jewelry at the New-York Historical Society (through May 10, 2020.)
The ring was ordered by Hamilton’s widow Elizabeth for Hamilton’s old acquaintance Nathaniel Pendleton (1756-1821). Like Hamilton, Pendleton was a veteran of the American Revolution as well as a lawyer, and had served the new country as a federal judge appointed by President George Washington. Hamilton chose Pendleton to be his second for his duel with Aaron Burr, and although Pendleton tried to dissuade Hamilton from taking action, he later proved to be as good witness and advocate for his friend’s memory. After Hamilton’s death, he spoke publicly about the details not only of the duel itself, but also the events that led to it. (You can read his joint statements - made along with Burr’s second, William P. Van Ness - here and here.)
The letter that Hamilton’s wife Eliza wrote to Pendleton about the ring is exhibited at NYHS along with the ring. Eliza’s spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are idiosyncratic, as was often the case in the eighteenth century:
to comply my friend with a request I make of you, will be doing me a particular favor. it is that you will ware in Remembrance of your [unclear] friend a precious lock of his hair and some times to recollect me with him.
E. Hamilton
Friday 21.
a person will call in the morning for the size of your finger
Written on June 21, 1805 - nearly a year after Hamilton’s death - the brief letter is melancholy, almost forlorn. Why Eliza waited so long to order the ring for Pendleton is not known. Friends and family noted how she was overwhelmed by grief after her husband’s unexpected death, followed by her father’s death a short time later. Left with seven children, the youngest still an infant, she needed to guide them through their grief as well, and securing the family’s welfare had become her greatest concern. Financial pressures were acute. Hamilton had died without a will and deeply in debt, leaving even their home in risk of being seized by creditors until friends stepped in with assistance.
While mourning rings would have been expected for a man as prominent as Hamilton, it’s possible that Eliza may not have been able to afford them. While Pendleton’s ring is gold, its simple split shank and lack of engraving would have made it comparatively inexpensive beside many other mourning rings of the era. The fact that no others are known to exist suggests that it may have been the only one Eliza commissioned. Three years after Hamilton’s death, she was so short of cash that she was forced to write to Pendleton again, this time to ask humbly for a loan.
As Eliza had hoped, this ring must have become one of Pendleton’s treasured possession. The gold surrounding the compartment containing Hamilton’s hair has lost most of its original black enamel border from wear. Not only did Pendleton keep Eliza’s letter, but he also preserved the ring’s red leather box. It remains there now, nestled in black plush and white satin: a symbol of friendship, loss, and remembrance.
Many thanks to Debra Schmidt Bach, Curator of Decorative Arts, New-York Historical Society, for her assistance with this post.
Top photo: Mourning ring containing lock of Alexander Hamilton’s hair presented to Nathaniel Pendleton by Elizabeth Hamilton, 1805. Maker unknown, New-York Historical Society. Photo courtesy N-YHS.
Middle photo: Letter from Elizabeth Hamilton to Nathaniel Pendleton, June 21, 1805, New-York Historical Society. Photo courtesy N-YHS.
Lower photo: Mourning ring containing lock of Alexander Hamilton’s hair presented to Nathaniel Pendleton by Elizabeth Hamilton, 1805, New-York Historical Society. ©2019 Susan Holloway Scott.
Read more about Alexander and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton in my historical novel I, Eliza Hamilton; order here. My latest historical novel, The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr, is now available everywhere. Order here.