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Highlights are just to show proposed changes to facilitate discussion.

Lead Sentence

Current: Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804)
Change: Alexander Hamilton (c. 1754-1757^[1] – July 12, 1804)

Childhood in the Caribbean

Current:
It is not certain whether the year of Hamilton's birth was in 1755 or 1757.^[2] Most historical evidence, after Hamilton's arrival in North America, supports the idea that he was born in 1757, including Hamilton's own writings.^[3]^[4] Hamilton listed his birth year as 1757 when he first arrived in the Thirteen Colonies, and celebrated his birthday on January 11. In later life, he tended to give his age only in round figures. Historians accepted 1757 as his birth year until about 1930, when additional documentation of his early life in the Caribbean was published, initially in Danish. A probate paper from St. Croix in 1768, drafted after the death of Hamilton's mother, listed him as 13 years old, which has caused some historians since the 1930s to favor a birth year of 1755.^[5]

Historians have speculated on possible reasons for two different years of birth to have appeared in historical documents. If 1755 is correct, Hamilton might have been trying to appear younger than his college classmates, or perhaps wished to avoid standing out as older.^[5] If 1757 is correct, the single probate document indicating a birth year of 1755 may have simply included an error, or Hamilton might once have given his age as 13 after his mother's death in an attempt to appear older and more employable.^[6] Historians have pointed out that the probate document contained other proven inaccuracies, demonstrating it was not entirely reliable. Richard Brookhiser noted that "a man is more likely to know his own birthday than a probate court."^[3]

Change:
It is not certain which year, between 1754 and 1757, is that of Hamilton's birth.^[2] ^[1] Most historical evidence after Hamilton's arrival in North America, supports the idea that he was born in 1757, including Hamilton's own writings.^[3]^[4] Hamilton listed his birth year as 1757 when he first arrived in the Thirteen Colonies, and celebrated his birthday on January 11. In later life, he tended to give his age only in round figures. Historians accepted 1757 as his birth year until about 1930, when additional documentation of his early life in the Caribbean was published, initially in Danish. A probate paper from St. Croix in 1768, drafted after the death of Hamilton's mother, listed him as 13 years old, which has caused some historians since the 1930s to favor a birth year of 1755.^[5] Subsequent research revealed additional documentation that overlaps time periods with the probate record, likely ruling out the 1757 date and indicating Hamilton was born between February 23 and August 5, 1754.^[7]

Historians have speculated on possible reasons for two different years of birth to have appeared in historical documents. If 1755 is correct, Hamilton might have been trying to appear younger than his college classmates, or perhaps wished to avoid standing out as older.^[5] To support the 1757 date, it has been speculated that the single probate document indicating a birth year of 1755 may have simply included an error, or Hamilton might once have given his age as 13 after his mother's death in an attempt to appear older and more employable. ^[8] However, the other subsequently discovered documents corroborate a pre-1757 date.

References

^ ^a ^b Newton, Michael E. (2019). Discovering Hamilton. Eleftheria Publishing. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-0-9826040-4-5. Cite error: The named reference "Newton2019" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Logan, Erin B. (July 12, 2018). "Alexander Hamilton, immigrant and statesman, dies at 47 — or 49". The Washington Post.
^ ^a ^b ^c Brookhiser, Richard (2000). Alexander Hamilton, American. Simon and Schuster. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-43913-545-7.
^ ^a ^b Newton, Michael E. (2015). Alexander Hamilton: The Formative Years. Eleftheria Publishing. pp. 19–30. ISBN 978-0-9826040-3-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chernow, p. 17.
^ See, e.g., Chernow, Flexner, and Mitchell's Concise Life. Compare Brookhiser, at 16, and McDonald, at p. 366, n. 8. McDonald favors 1757 but acknowledges its minority status, saying that the probate clerk's alternate spelling of "Lavien" suggests unreliability.
^ See Newton, 2019, pp. 4-9. Three primary source documents provide an overlapping date range of February 23 - August 5, 1754. The first source is well-known; a February 22, 1768 probate court appraisement of Rachel Faucett's estate, stating Hamilton was 13 years-old. The second source is the 1759 divorce court proceedings of Michael Lavien v. Rachel Faucett, in which Rachael's sister, Jemima Gurley, testifying that April, stated Faucett's youngest child at the time (Hamilton) was "about three years old" when they arrived on St. Eustatius in 1757. The third source, is 1771 legal testimony from Hamilton himself, in which he stated he was 17 years-old.
^ See, e.g., Chernow, Flexner, and Mitchell's Concise Life. Compare Brookhiser, at 16, and McDonald, at p. 366, n. 8. McDonald favors 1757 but acknowledges its minority status, saying that the probate clerk's alternate spelling of "Lavien" suggests unreliability. Historians have pointed out that the probate document contained other proven inaccuracies, demonstrating it was not entirely reliable. Richard Brookhiser noted that "a man is more likely to know his own birthday than a probate court."

Bibliography

Biographies

Ambrose, Douglas; Martin, Robert W.T. (2006). The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life & Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0814707142.
Bailey, Ralph Edward (1933). An American Colossus: The Singular Career of Alexander Hamilton. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.
Brookhiser, Richard (2000). Alexander Hamilton, American. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0684863313.
Chernow, Ron (2005). Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-14-303475-9.
Cooke, Jacob Ernest (1982). Alexander Hamilton. Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 978-0-684-17344-3.
Ellis, Joseph J. (2002). Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage. ISBN 978-0375705243.
Ellis, Joseph J. (2005). His Excellency: George Washington. Vintage. ISBN 978-1400032532.
Emery, Noemie (1982). Alexander Hamilton: An intimate portrait. Putnam. ISBN 978-0399126819.
Flaumenhaft, Harvey (1980). The Administrative Republic of Alexander Hamilton. University of Chicago, Department of Political Science.
Fleming, Thomas (2000). Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465017379.
Flexner, James Thomas (1997). The Young Hamilton: A Biography. Fordham University Press (2nd ed.). ISBN 978-0823217908.
Hendrickson, Robert (1976). Hamilton I (1757–1789). Mason/Charter, 1976. ASIN B003VZWXVA.
McDonald, Forrest (1982). Alexander Hamilton: A Biography. W. W. Norton Company. ISBN 978-0-393-30048-2.
Miller, John Chester (1959). Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox. Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0060129750.
Mitchell, Broadus (1957). Alexander Hamilton: Youth to Maturity (1755–1788), Volume 1. Macmillan.
Mitchell, Broadus (1957). Alexander Hamilton: The National Adventure (1788–1804), Volume 2. Macmillan.
Murray, Joseph A. (2007). Alexander Hamilton: America's Forgotten Founder. Algora. ISBN 978-0875865010.
Newton, Michael E. (2015). Alexander Hamilton: The Formative Years. Eleftheria Publishing. ISBN 978-0982604038.

* Newton, Michael E. (2019). Discovering Hamilton. Eleftheria Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9826040-4-5.

Randall, William Sterne (2015). Alexander Hamilton: A Life. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-0620-1532-7.
Schachner, Nathan (1946). Alexander Hamilton. New York City: D. Appleton Century Co. ASIN B0006AQUG2.

[Newton2019-1] Newton, Michael E. (2019). Discovering Hamilton. Eleftheria Publishing. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-0-9826040-4-5. Cite error: The named reference "Newton2019" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[Logan2018-2] Logan, Erin B. (July 12, 2018). "Alexander Hamilton, immigrant and statesman, dies at 47 — or 49". The Washington Post.

[Brookhiser16-3] Brookhiser, Richard (2000). Alexander Hamilton, American. Simon and Schuster. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-43913-545-7.

[Newton19-4] Newton, Michael E. (2015). Alexander Hamilton: The Formative Years. Eleftheria Publishing. pp. 19–30. ISBN 978-0-9826040-3-8.

[chernow17-5] Chernow, p. 17.

[6] See, e.g., Chernow, Flexner, and Mitchell's Concise Life. Compare Brookhiser, at 16, and McDonald, at p. 366, n. 8. McDonald favors 1757 but acknowledges its minority status, saying that the probate clerk's alternate spelling of "Lavien" suggests unreliability.

[7] See Newton, 2019, pp. 4-9. Three primary source documents provide an overlapping date range of February 23 - August 5, 1754. The first source is well-known; a February 22, 1768 probate court appraisement of Rachel Faucett's estate, stating Hamilton was 13 years-old. The second source is the 1759 divorce court proceedings of Michael Lavien v. Rachel Faucett, in which Rachael's sister, Jemima Gurley, testifying that April, stated Faucett's youngest child at the time (Hamilton) was "about three years old" when they arrived on St. Eustatius in 1757. The third source, is 1771 legal testimony from Hamilton himself, in which he stated he was 17 years-old.

[8] See, e.g., Chernow, Flexner, and Mitchell's Concise Life. Compare Brookhiser, at 16, and McDonald, at p. 366, n. 8. McDonald favors 1757 but acknowledges its minority status, saying that the probate clerk's alternate spelling of "Lavien" suggests unreliability. Historians have pointed out that the probate document contained other proven inaccuracies, demonstrating it was not entirely reliable. Richard Brookhiser noted that "a man is more likely to know his own birthday than a probate court."

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