THEODOSIA BURR ALSTON
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Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr perform a duet ballad titled “Dear Theodosia” for their separate newborn babies in the smash Broadway hit Hamilton. Philip Hamilton of Hamilton died in a battle later in the story, but so many people are unaware that Theodosia Burr of Burr also met a tragic end.
When Hamilton propagated allegations that she had an incestuous relationship with her father, she was humiliated. Her assistance in her father’s attempt to secession to the West and subsequent flight from the country when he was put on trial for treason further damaged her reputation. After her son passed away in 1813, she climbed on a tiny boat at the Georgetown harbor and vanished without a trace. Some claim that she fled with pirates, while others assert that she fled in order to wed a Native American. It seems more likely, though, that her boat sank in the choppy waters.