Peggy Schuyler is best known for being a minor character in Hamilton, but the hit musical leaves out a great deal of key information about her. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton has long been a cultural phenomenon, but its recent release on Disney+ has reignited its popularity. The musical chronicles the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton, exploring both his political pursuits and his personal relationships. Much of the show’s music is influenced by hip hop, pop, and R&B, a celebrated rarity for a Broadway show, and one that contributed enormously to its popularity.
Inspired in large part by Ron Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton, the show covers quite a lot of historical ground, so it’s unsurprising that some details were left out. Often when historical inaccuracies appear in Hamilton's story, it is in the interest of streamlining the plot or creating more narrative tension. However, Hamilton has been criticized for glorifying the Founding Fathers and other historical figures, sparking much debate and discussion among historians and fans alike. Despite this, the show has brought some much-needed diversity to the Broadway stage, featuring a cast of predominantly non-white actors, and in an article published by The Atlantic, Miranda describes the show as “a story about America then, told by America now.”
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The musical highlights the fact that Peggy was the youngest of the three depicted Schuyler sisters, and makes mention of her good relationship with Hamilton, but leaves out any other discussion of her life. Despite her small role in the musical, Peggy Schuyler is something of a fan favorite, if for no other reason than her delightfully meme-able line, “And Peggy!” in the song “The Schuyler Sisters.” Played by the incredibly talented Jasmine Cephas Jones, Peggy only appears in Hamilton’s first act as Cephas Jones goes on to play Alexander Hamilton’s mistress Maria Reynolds in Act Two. While the portrait of Peggy Schuyler painted by Hamilton is not inaccurate, it is lacking in detail. Here’s what the musical leaves out about about the real Peggy Schuyler.
Peggy Schuyler Came From a Big Family
Born Margarita Schuyler to parents Philip and Catherine in 1758, the third born Schuyler daughter was always known as Peggy. Though Hamilton portrays Philip Schuyler as having no sons (and only three daughters), there were actually eight Schuyler children who survived into adulthood. Angelica was the eldest, followed by Eliza, Peggy, John Bradstreet, Philip Jeremiah, Rensselaer, Cornelia, and finally the youngest, Catherine. The Schuyler family lived in a mansion in Albany and were indeed wealthy, as the musical indicates. The three eldest Schuyler sisters were held in high regard by many for their engaging and friendly personalities. Though she did have seven siblings, Peggy was eight years older than her brother John and 18 years older than her sister Cornelia, so it isn’t wholly inaccurate to imagine the three eldest Schuylers as a tight-knit unit.
Angelica Wasn’t The Only Independent Sister
Though Angelica and Eliza are depicted as the more individual sisters in Hamilton, Peggy was, in reality, quite a bold personality herself. In “The Schuyler Sisters,” she is depicted as sweet and even a little timid as she worries about what their father will think of the sisters’ unapproved visit to town. The real Peggy Schuyler was less likely to have worried about such things and is described, along with her sisters, as possessing “spunky independence” in the Chernow biography. He goes on to describe Peggy as “vain and supercilious” and even calls her “Angelica’s sarcastic sister.” These descriptors are somewhat in conflict with the sweet and naive picture of Peggy seen in the musical, but given that she was also known to be very charming and spirited, it stands to reason that her negative qualities coexisted with the positive ones.
The Schuyler Home Invasion
Chernow’s biography details a story in which several Tories and Native Americans invaded the Schuyler mansion in the hopes of taking Philip Schuyler as a political prisoner for working in favor of the colonies during the American Revolution. Allegedly, while most of the Schuyler family hid upstairs from the intruders, Peggy went to retrieve her baby sister Catherine who had been left in a cradle downstairs. When confronted by an intruder demanding to know where her father was, Peggy cleverly lied, saying that he had “gone to alarm the town,” prompting the intruders to flee.
Supposedly, one such intruder threw a tomahawk at Peggy as she ran back upstairs, which left a gash in the banister that the family elected not to remove or fix. It’s understandable that this anecdote didn’t make its way into the musical as it bears little significance to Alexander Hamilton’s story or his relationship with Peggy, but it is certainly an interesting glimpse at her character.
The Marriage of Peggy Schuyler and Stephen Van Rensselaer III
The musical never makes mention of Peggy’s personal life beyond Hamilton and her sisters, but she was married and had children. Though she came from a rich and influential family, Peggy married a man from an even richer and more influential family. Six years her junior, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, a distant cousin, eloped with Peggy in 1783 when he was only 19 and she was nearly 25. When he turned 21, he became patroon of his family’s manor, Rensselaerswyck, functioning essentially as the landlord of the estate, where tenant farmers could live and work. This led to Hamilton affectionately calling Peggy “Mrs. Patroon.” Interestingly enough, Peggy’s husband was also a prominent member of the Federalist party, making him not only a brother-in-law, but also a political ally of Hamilton’s. Unfortunately, though Peggy and Van Rensselaer had three children, only one survived to adulthood, Stephen Van Rensselaer IV.
Alexander Hamilton and Peggy Schuyler Did Actually Have A Close Relationship
In the song “Helpless,” the musical touches briefly on Hamilton’s good relationship with Peggy, stating that she “confides” in him. In reality, Hamilton confided in Peggy as much as she confided in him, as the two shared a long written correspondence which began before they ever met, while Hamilton was courting Peggy’s sister Eliza. Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton features snippets of many letters in which Hamilton writes to Peggy about how much he loves her sister, and Chernow later conveys that on at least one occasion, Peggy teased her brother-in-law at a party, suggesting a good friendship.
Though Peggy disappears after Hamilton’s first act, the two were in contact until Peggy’s death, which the real Hamilton was present for. Peggy died young, at the age of 42, after falling ill in 1799. Her condition worsened in 1801 while Hamilton was in Albany on legal business. He visited her sickbed often and kept Eliza up to date with her condition until he had to break the news of her death on March 14th, 1801. Though his business was finished before Peggy’s passing, he stayed in Albany a few extra days at her request, indicating a true friendship.
Though it is understandable that Hamilton could not have possibly explored the stories of all of the people in Hamilton’s life, it does tell audiences very little about Peggy Schuyler. However, with what little time the musical is able to dedicate to her, it does accurately express her bright spirit and good relationship with her brother-in-law. When all is said and done, Peggy is not a central figure in the musical; but even if in a smaller capacity, she was still an important part of Alexander Hamilton’s life.
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