Theodosia burr alston biography of abraham
Home / Historical Figures / Theodosia burr alston biography of abraham
"You must bring none of your sparks on board," he warned her in merry raillery, "for we have a magazine here and we shall all be blown up." However, Miss Burr's "sparks" were not long allowed to remain in evidence for there came impetuous young Joseph Alston from South Carolina, who straightway routed his rivals and captured her.
No trace was ever found of the ship, her passengers, cargo or crew. Joseph sent for not one, but several physicians, who were on the scene as quickly as possible for those days. As Speaker of the House, he held the most influential office in the state, an office which kept him away from home a lot.
When word reached Theodosia that her father had been accused of contriving a plan to head an expedition against Mexico, believing there would be a war between the United States and that country, she vehemently rose to the occasion to aid her father in proving his innocence.
Noah Smithwick, in his Evolution of a State, specifically mentions going down to the mouth of the San Bernard to scavenge iron from the old wreck to use in his blacksmith business. During the American Revolution, he served in George Washingtons army with great distinction. When he entered the sterncastle, he was surprised to hear a weak, high-pitched, woman-like voice pleading for help in English.
Following the voice, he entered a cabin where he found a small, ghost-like form of a mature white woman.
The night before his departure she spent with him at the house of a loyal friend. When Theodosia left to travel to New York, he was forced to stay behind.
Theodosia boarded a boat for New York in December of 1812.
The vessel was never heard from again.
Over the years, rumors and speculation flowed across the nation while people tried to make sense of the disappearance of such and intelligent young woman.
Some claimed that the ship was captured by pirates while others believed it was sunk by the British.
The most likely scenario is that a violent storm crossed its path and overturned the boat.
Whatever the case, Theodosia Burr Alston, who was not yet 30 years of age, had been lost at sea.
Ladies of the Revolution you say?
Here you go:
Elizabeth Lewis Stands Confidently Against The British
Phillis Wheatley - From Slave Girl to Master Poet
Ester Reed and the Ladies Association
The best place to learn about Theodosia Burr Alston is in a biography of her father.
Although I hate to recommend reading about a woman through the biography of a man, Nancy Isenberg’s ‘Fallen Founder’ is a fantastic look at the Burr Family.
She becomens an accomplished student of many disciplines and subjects.
1801 February: Theodosia marries Joseph Alston in Albany at the same church where she was christened. When he reached the hermits location, he found the white man dead, still strapped to an uprooted giant oak tree. It was reported that Jean Lafitte, at the height of the storm, sailed his Red House, with a draft of twelve feet, completely across the island---and snagged nothing.
His hermit friend was dead.
When the woman learned this, she appeared to lose hope. He is mentioned in the memoirs of the McNeill family, which established itself on the San Bernard in 1822, and by others of Austins Colony. Some thought not, until yet another deathbed confession surfaced several years later. America was at war with Britain, and no one was interested.
They were repeatedly and viciously raped, beaten, fed scraps, and forced to sleep on rags. She then told the Karankawa an amazing story. Then she gave the warrior her gold locket and told him that if he ever met white men who spoke English, he was to show it to them and tell them the story.
The Karankawa said she then began to sing softly to herself until she fell asleep.
No one really knows what happened to her, but enough circumstantial evidence exists to suggest that she was shipwrecked in Texas, dying in the arms of an English-speaking, cannibalistic Karankawa Indian warrior chief.
Theodosia was Aaron Burrs only daughter.