First of all, sources say that Hamilton was partially responsible for his son Philips’ death. When Philip was at King’s …show more content…
When Philip said that he challenged Eacker to a duel to fight in his honor, Hamilton could not be exasperated with his son. Philip was simply taking after his father. Hamilton was ridiculed as he was growing up, as he and his brother James Jr. were bastard sons of a Scotsman and a woman named Rachel Faucette Buck. Rachel Faucette was previously married to Peter Lavien, but she was consistently abused by him and for a short period of time was imprisoned because of Lavien. Rachel Faucette ran away, and met James Hamilton. James Hamilton Sr. left his new when Hamilton was ten years old because of debt and the fact that Rachel was still technically married to Lavien, and just a short two years later, his mother and him were ill, and while Hamilton survived, his mother, sadly, did not. He was sent to live with his cousin, who a year later, committed suicide. James Jr. and Alexander were orphans, and to make matters worse, Lavien came back and took the fortune that his mother left for him. As a teenager, he became a clerger to Nicholas Cruger, a merchant who traded goods with the British colonies. Cruger was so impressed with Alexander that despite only being fourteen, he was left in charge of the trading charter whenever Cruger had a trip overseas.