Five years after Alexander Hamilton’s untimely death as a result of a mortal wound inflicted in a duel with Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s widow, Elizabeth, submitted a petition to Congress asking for a pension based on her husband’s military service as Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary War. Hamilton had relinquished his claim to a pension for ethical reasons.

In her petition presented to the House of Representatives on May 30, 1809, Elizabeth Hamilton asked Congress to restore her husband’s right to a pension. Along with her petition, she submitted a personal statement of his property and debts. Believed to have been written on July 1, 1804, just days before he died, Hamilton’s statement is an explanation of his financial circumstances “if an accident should happen to me.” In it, he ties his public service to the present state of his finances, which included debts that would prove a burden to his family. Mrs. Hamilton’s initial attempt to secure a pension failed, but in 1816, Congress passed a bill granting a full pension to Mrs. Hamilton.

Alexander Hamilton’s “Statement of My Property and Debts, with Remarks”, 7/1/1804, Records of the U.S. House of Representative (ARC 306690)

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    Another fascinating piece...US National Archives!