In Hamilton on Disney+, Renée Elise Goldsberry play a prominent role as Angelica Schuyler. The character grows quite fond of her friend Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), but ultimately backs off when he begins a romance with her sister Eliza (Phillipa Soo). Here's what happened to Angelica in real life, and how she ended up back together with Hamilton under sad circumstances.
Angelica first appears in Hamilton during the song "Alexander Hamilton," as she and her sisters express their admiration for a future founding father of America. During "The Schuyler Sisters," the character becomes more relevant in the overall storyline, and "Satisfied" reveals that Angelica has accepted that she'll never have a romantic relationship with Hamilton, and that she must support her sister Eliza. In Act II of Hamilton, Angelica looms in the background when the title character admits to cheating on his wife and attempts to manage the conflict ("The Reynolds Pamphlet"). Ultimately, the Disney+ film acknowledges that Angelica passed away in 1814 ("Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"), approximately a decade after Aaron Burr killed Hamilton in a duel.
In pop culture, Angelica is best known for her alleged affair with Hamilton, primarily due to the Hamilton play and movie. Aside from all the rumors (the two did exchange many letters), the facts show that Angelica married English businessman John Barker Church in 1777, a full three years before sister Eliza married her beau, Alexander. Angelica eventually gave birth to eight children, and passed away at age 58 in New York City. She was buried at Trinity Church Cemetery, the final resting place for both her sister Eliza and Hamilton.
What Hamilton fans may not realize is that Angelica and her family lived in both Paris and London between 1783 and 1799. When Angelica returned to America, her husband actually participated in a duel with the aforementioned Burr, who would later kill Hamilton five years later. In 1797, Angelica's eldest son Philip Schuyler Church — an aide to Hamilton — acquired a piece of land that would be named after his mother. The town of Angelica, New York was designed to reflect the circular geography of Paris.
In 1806, two years after Hamilton died, Angelica and her husband built a 30-room mansion called Belvidere in Belmont, New York. Angelica passed away eight years later, and her husband died at age 68 in 1818. The couple's eldest son, Philip — who lived at Belvidere with his wife Anna — became a judge and helped develop the Erie Railroad that connected New York City to Chicago. Philip lived to be 82 years old and had nine children, one of whom was named after his mother, Angelica — the inspiration for Goldsberry's feminist character in Hamilton.