The Scandalous Hamiltons

 

    An iconic American political family finds itself embroiled in a scandal, full of sex, violence, defamatory charges lobbed from both sides, greed, cover-ups, and divorce. A story about the Kennedys, maybe? No. The Hamiltons.

    

    The Gilded Age was full of scandals. Newspapers competed tooth and nail to out-scandalize their competition. And then this story breaks: the great-grandson of founding father Alexander Hamilton (who was no stranger to scandal in his lifetime), a cunning female con artist, an orphan baby, life in a brothel, bigamy, a stabbing, lurid divorce details, and charges of a faked death. In the early 1890s, this was the story in the headlines. However, this story, which dominated the press for years, is relatively unknown today.

    Robert Ray Hamilton (1851-1890), was the great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton. The surname made him a member of American high society, but his given name and fortune came from his maternal grandfather, Robert Ray. He lived a relatively quiet life until Evangeline L. Mann set her sights on his fortune, telling him she was pregnant with his child. He married her, and his life fell apart as truths emerged which threatened to besmirch his name, reputation, and family. 

    The author, Bill Shaffer, was inspired to write the The Scandalous Hamiltons because he often passed the Hamilton Fountain, bequeathed to the city by Robert Hamilton, located near his home, and he wanted to know more about the benefactor. What he found was an incredible story that played out in courtrooms and newspapers for years.

    Sure, it's the story of the handful of characters, now long forgotten, but it is also the story of the Gilded Age, a period of history during which formality, etiquette, appearances, and social climbing were all important, but just beneath the surface, beneath the shiny golden veneer, everyday Americans were trapped in horrible poverty that generated alcoholism, disease, domestic abuse, crime, and even baby farming.  And newspapers were there to sensationalize both sides of the coin, whipping up scandal, any kind of scandal, just as long as it generated newspaper sales.

    The Scandalous Hamiltons is well worth a read if you're interested in the Gilded Age.