Family:James Hamilton and Rachel Faucett (1)

From Wikipedia:

Hamilton was born in Charlestown, the capital of Nevis in the British West Indies, out of wedlock to Rachel Faucett Lavien, of part French Huguenot descent, and James A. Hamilton, fourth son of Scottish laird Alexander Hamilton of Grange, Ayrshire.^[1] Hamilton's mother had been separated previously from Johann Michael Lavien of St. Croix ("a much older German Jewish merchant-planter"^[1]); to escape an unhappy marriage, Rachel left her husband and first son for St. Kitts in 1750, where she met James.^[2]They moved together to Rachel's birthplace of Nevis, where she had inherited property from her father. ^[3]Their two sons were James, Jr., and Alexander.

James later abandoned Rachel and their two sons, allegedly to "spar[e] [Rachel] a charge of bigamy . . . [after finding out that her first husband] intend[ed] to divorce her under Danish law on grounds of adultery and desertion."^[1] Rachel supported the family by keeping a small store in Christiansted. However, she contracted a severe fever and died on February 19, 1768, 1:02 am, leaving Hamilton effectively orphaned. In probate court, Rachel's "first husband seized her estate" and obtained the few valuables Rachel had owned, including some household silver.^[1] Many items were auctioned off, but a friend purchased the family books and returned them to the studious young Hamilton.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Practical Proceedings in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Alexander Hamilton. Forward by Williard Sterne Randall. p. ix. 2004. New York Law Journal.
2. ↑ Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Books, (2004), p. 12.
3. ↑ Chernow, p. 17