ablumaknows

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about Martha Manning.  We don’t even know what she looked like (and this pains me so much).  Pretty much all we know about her revolves around her relationship with John Laurens.

What happened to Angelica Hamilton remains something of a mystery, largely because she lived in the dark ages of mental health treatment. When she was younger, Angelica was a smart, talented, and happy young girl. Allan McLane Hamilton described her as “a very beautiful girl” and “a charming character.” (Intimate Life, p.219). She took dancing lessons with Nelly Custis, and played the piano well. She also possessed some of her mother’s Schuyler-spunk. In November 1793, Alexander Hamilton wrote a letter to his daughter praising her for beginning to learn French and reminding her to behave herself while she’s staying with her grandparents:

I was very glad to learn, my dear daughter, that you were going to begin the study of the French language. We hope you will in every respect behave in such a manner as will secure to you the good-will and regard of all those with whom you are. If you happen to displease any of them, be always ready to make a frank apology. But the best way is to act with so much politeness, good manners, and circumspection, as never to have occasion to make any apology. Your mother joins in best love to you. Adieu, my very dear daughter.

On December 15, 1793, Philip Schuyler informed Hamilton, “My Angelica3 is perfectly happy, And very lively.” Angelica and her father maintained a teasing relationship into 1801, as indicated by a letter Hamilton wrote to Eliza while he was away on business:

Give my love to Angelica4 & assure [her] that I did not leave her pye out of resentment for her having changed its original destination; but because it was impossible to take it with us without abandonning a basket of Crabs which was sent to my care for Mrs. Rensselaer.5 It has always been my creed that a lady’s pleasure is of more importance than a Gentleman’s, so the pye gave way to the Crabs. It was a nice question, but after mature reflection I decided in favour of the latter. Perhaps as a Creole I had some sympathy with them.

No source seems to indicate Angelica having any kind of mental health issues up to this point. Allan McLane Hamilton is the only source who appears to pinpoint the cause of Angelica’s breakdown. Although AMH was rarely writing from first hand experience, his father, Philip, does seem to have maintained a relationship with Angelica, (see, e.g., Eliza Hamilton to Philip Hamilton, 23 May 1837, printed in the Intimate Life, p.221), so it’s very possible AMH met his aunt and knew her story from the rest of his family. He’s therefore fairly credible as a source (though the family were likely not well informed about what was really wrong). AMH described:

Upon receipt of the news of her brother’s death in the Eacker duel, she suffered so great a shock that her mind became permanently impaired, and although taken care of by her devoted mother for a long time there was no amelioration in her condition, and she was finally placed under the care Dr. MacDonald of Flushing, and remained in his charge until her death at the age of seventy-three. During her latter life she constantly referred to the dear brother so nearly her own age as if alive. Her music, that her father used to oversee and encourage, stayed by her all these years. To the end she played the same old-fashioned songes and minuets upon the venerable piano that had been bought for her, many years before, in London, by Angelica Church, during her girlhood, and was sent to New York through a friend of her father. (Intimate Life, p. 219).

James Kent visited the Hamilton family early 1804, and described in a letter dated 26 April 1804:

His daughter,18 who is nineteen years old, has a very uncommon simplicity and modesty of deportment, and he appeared in his domestic state the plain, modest, and affectionate father and husband.

With far less delicacy, a later visitor to the Grange recorded only as “Mrs. Q” referred to Angelica simply as “a deranged daughter.” (Mr. Daniels and the Grange, p.117).

Though it was increasingly obvious that something was wrong with Angelica after 1801, she remained loved and cared for her by family and friends. Hamilton, eager to keep his daughter happy, included in his 29 December 1802 letter requesting seeds from Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: “My daughter2 adds another request, which is for three or four of your peroquets. She is very fond of birds.” Philip Schuyler also remained eager to see his granddaughter. In Schuyler’s 3 August 1803 letter to Hamilton reporting on Alexander Jr. and James’s visit to Albany, he eneded with the plea: “It would amuse my Dear Angelica16 to take a tour to this place, and be greatly pleasing to me, cannot you find a conveyance for her.” A May 1804 diary entry from Gouverneur Morris indicates Angelica retained some relationships with friends. Morris recorded: “…Go between two and three to Genl Hamilton’s to a Fete given to his Daughter’s Acquaintances and return without being wet though it constantly threatens…” (Mr. Daniels and the Grange, p. 102).

Sudden (?) onset of symptoms triggered by major life stress. While it’s possible that 18th-century observers’ own romantic preconceptions about mental health might have colored their perception of Angelica’s illness, it seems like Angelica had a fairly sudden mental change soon after Philip was killed. It’s common for people with schizophrenia to have their first major psychotic episode (that is, a period in which a person suffers a major decline in their ability to see and reckon with reality, sometimes having hallucinations and acting strangely as a result) after a stressful life event, and even if they recover, relapses can also be triggered by stress. A big part of schizophrenia treatment today is helping people manage their stress.

Onset during adolescence. Philip’s death, in 1801, occurred when Angelica was 17, and it seems that her symptoms began manifesting soon afterwards. The classical age range for the first psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia is 15-20, although in some people, especially women, onset is later and symptoms are milder.

No unusual symptoms during childhood. Although there is a such thing as childhood-onset schizophrenia, it’s very rare. Sometimes, people with schizophrenia will have “prodromal” symptoms before they have psychotic symptoms, but these are subtle and very easy to miss even by modern professionals who know what to look for.

“Uncommonly modest” versus “deranged”: negative and positive symptoms The range of language that people used to describe Angelica’s bearing is very striking to me. To explain – schizophrenia has two broad classes of symptoms: positive and negative. Positive symptoms are the more famous ones and can include delusions, hallucinations, and the unusual behaviors these cause, which can be alarming to both the person with schizophrenia and the people around them. Negative symptoms include social withdrawal, focusing, difficulty taking care of yourself, and general confusion and disorganized thought/ speech (this last one can also get worse with psychosis). Negative symptoms tend to be more persistent, while positive symptoms can come and go. Whoever described Angelica as “deranged” was probably reacting to positive symptoms, which she might not have experienced all of the time or even very often. By contrast, her “uncommon modest” bearing could have been social withdrawal, a negative symptom of schizophrenia– it seems unlikely that she was just shy, since she was described as outgoing and “lively” as a child. Her memory problems, including with recognizing people, could also be a negative symptom. She also seems to have been deeply disconnected from reality, if she continued to think that Philip was alive. It’s possible she was hallucinating that he was talking to her or nearby (this can actually happen to deeply grieving people who are otherwise not affected by any mental illness), or it’s possible that she was just very disoriented in time and space. Either way, her symptoms caused her enough difficulty that her family made sure to keep her close and well-supported throughout her life.

Why write this post at all?