Books and Manuscripts

Alexander Hamilton's Son Sends Examples of his Father's Handwriting, Culled From His Legal Notebook

No place, no date (likely New York, ca. 1782-89 or 1795-1804). One oblong sheet, 2 1/4 x 5 in. (57 x 127 mm). Ten lines of autograph notes in Alexander Hamilton's hand, written on recto and verso, cut from a law brief or legal notebook, likely when a lawyer in New York City. Comprising: "A misapprehension on his part would lead/to misapprehension in those who held/under him & continue the mistake"; "Till some Striking circumstance should/Set on foot an inquiry."; "Personal character of the Governor/might have been parsimonious"; "Others might have had claims/by Indian purchase which/it was necessary to elude--"; with an autograph note from Hamilton's son, James Alexander Hamilton, written below his father's final note, "The above written is the/autograph of A Hamilton/a part of a Law brief/J.A.H."; Hamilton's notes affixed at top corner to an autograph letter, from James to an unknown recipient, regarding his father's notes, dated March 28, (18)67, 7 x 5 in. (178 x 127 mm). Lot includes three typed letters from the Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial Commission, ca. May-December, 1956, concerning the above notes possible inclusion in the Bicentennial exhibition in the Treasury Department Building in Washington, D.C.

Alexander Hamilton's third son, James Alexander Hamilton (1788-1878), sends notes written by his father presumably when he was a lawyer, during the period in which James was writing a memoir about his late father. James was the fourth of Alexander Hamilton's eight children, and his third son. In 1805--the year following the elder Hamilton's death during his infamous duel with Aaron Burr--the younger Hamilton graduated, like his father, from King's College (now Columbia University). He then studied law under Judge Nathaniel Pendlton (his father's second during his infamous duel with Burr), and passed the bar in 1809. He practiced law in Saratoga and Hudson, New York, and later became a confidant of Andrew Jackson. He later served as Acting Secretary of State, from March-April, 1829, and then United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1869 he published a memoir about his and his father's life, Reminiscences of James A. Hamilton; or, Men and Events, at Home and Abroad, During Three Quarters of a Century.

While more famously known for his tenure as the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton (1756/7-1804) was also one of the early republic's most preeminent lawyers. Following the end of the American Revolution, Hamilton passed the bar in New York City in 1782, and during the 1780s he quickly rose to become one of the city's most successful lawyers. He was especially known for his civil practice that was popular among the city's merchant class, where he represented traders, testators, and maritime insurance companies. After his tenure as the first Secretary of the Treasury (1789-95) he returned to practicing law in New York City, as well as Albany. His courtroom presence has been particularly noted, where he was known for his "melodious voice coupled with a hypnotic gaze," and, "towering passion that held listeners enthralled." (Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton, p. 190). As an attorney Hamilton litigated landmark cases, including Rutgers v. Waddington, People v. Croswell, Hylton v. United States, and People v. Levi Weeks.