LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - NOVEMBER 20, 2022 by Lynne Belluscio I recently went to see the musical Hamilton in Rochester and decided to brush up on the history of Hamilton and the LeRoy family. It’s complicated, but very interesting. First of all, Herman LeRoy who the town was named after, and whose son lived in LeRoy House, knew Alexander Hamilton. They were almost the same age. Herman was born in 1758. Hamilton was born in 1757 on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Hamilton came to New York city in 1772. This was before the Revolution had started, but there were rumblings and a British flag was flown over the city. Herman’s father had come to New York in the 1750s and with his brother-in-law Captain Anthony Rutgers, had set up a rope walk, which was where hemp was twisted into miles of rope that was essential for the sailing ships that filled the New York harbor. Herman’s father was the foreman of the first United States grand jury ever assembled in New York and by 1770 was considered one of the wealthiest residents of the city. As we know, Alexander Hamilton had little money and knew that his future was in education. He entered Kings College in the fall of 1774. He also married wealthy Elizabeth Schuyler, December 14, 1780. Herman married Hannah Cornell October 19, 1786, at William Bayard's house. (Hamilton, after the ill-fated duel, would be taken to William Bayard’s house, where he would die July 11, 1804.) Herman’s father reported to the New York Provincial Congress in March 1776, four months before the Declaration of Independence and then fled New York City with his family to Dutchess County. He petitioned the NewYork Committee of Correspondence for permission to return to New York City to secure papers but General Washington denied his request. Apparently, Herman’s father was suspect because he was in communication with some British Tories. This was because of some business dealings with the British. Never-the-less, just before the end of the war, in 1788, Herman LeRoy founded Bayard and Company with his brotherin-law William Bayard and it was the largest commercial house in New York City. Alexander Hamilton was their attorney. One of the LeRoys clerked for Hamilton before joining the family firm of Jacob LeRoy & Sons. In 1807, the New York City Council named LeRoy Street, between Morton and Clarkson Streets, in his honor. If there was any doubt as to their loyalty, the company presented $20,000 ($650,000 today) to the War Fund. Herman’s father died in 1792. In 1802, at the age of 44, Herman LeRoy became president of the Bank of New York, which had been founded by Alexander Hamilton. The history of the Bank of New York is chronicled in a small book, “Window on America – The Growth of a Nation as seen by New York’s First Bank.” At the time of Hamilton’s death in 1804, he owed Herman LeRoy $4280 ($61,000 today). (Thomas Jefferson also owed LeRoy and Bayard money, but it was not forgiven.) LeRoy forgave the Hamilton loan, and helped support his wife, Elizabeth. She died on November 9, 1854, at the age of 97. She andAlexander had eight children. Their eldest son, Philip was also killed in a duel in 1801, two years before his father. Phillips second at the duel was Jacob LeRoy’s sister’s husband, George Eacker. The pistols that were used by Hamilton and Burr in the duel, were recently auctioned by the Rock Island Auction Company in Illinois for $1.5 million. The pistols were given to Hamilton by his father-in-law Philip Schuyler who had carried them during the French and Indian War. The pistols were made by Wogdon of England for Philip Schuyler and were later engraved with “AH”. It is believed that Hamilton carried the pistols while serving with Washington during the decisive Battle of Yorktown in Virginia in 1781. Helene Phelan, from Alleghany County wrote a book about the “Man Who Owned the Pistols.” It is an account of John Barker Church, the adventurer who came to this country under an assumed name, married into the prominent New York Schuyler family and became one of the leading financial figures in the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary periods of the young republic. John Barker Church was married to Angelica Schuyler and was Hamilton’s brother-in-law. He bought land in Allegany County and his son, Philip was the land agent for his father. (Angelica, New York is named for Angelica Schuyler.) According to Phelan, it was the Church family that owned the pistols and that John Barker Church had bought the pistols in London in 1795 or 1796. Interestingly, John Barker Church had dueled withAaron Burr in 1799 over a different matter, although used a different set of pistols. Made of walnut, brass and gold, each weighing several pounds, the pistols were described by noted scholar Ron Chernow as having “the best claim to authenticity.” They were heavy .455 caliber with nine-inch-long barrels. They were set to discharge on their regular triggers that required a pressure of ten pounds. Set on hair triggers, they would fire on a slight squeeze. John Barker Church built a beautiful mansion in Belvidere, known as Triana. John Barker IV noted that for many years the BurrHamilton pistols belonging to his great grandfather were kept in a secret drawer in a desk in Triana. The pistols remained in the Church family until 1942. They were sold to Robert Abeles. The pistols were last seen on public display at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington D.C. in 2018. Hamilton and the LeRoy Family Herman LeRoy Alexander Hamilton

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