Theodosia Bartow Prevost

Uncommon card · No. 151649

Theodosia Bartow Burr (née Bartow, formerly Bartow Prevost; November 1746 – May 18, 1794) was an American Patriot. Raised by a widowed mother, she married British Army officer Jacques Marcus Prevost at age 17. After the American Revolution began, her own Patriot leanings led her to offer the use of her house, the Hermitage, as a meeting- and resting-place for revolutionaries, including Alexander Hamilton, Marquis de Lafayette, and Aaron Burr; it was briefly used as the headquarters of George Washington, who counted her amongst his friends. Burr's visit to the Hermitage began a secret romance that, following the death of Prevost's first husband, led to marriage. The couple relocated to New York City to support Burr's legal career, where she became an important ally during his entry into politics. She was known for her wit, unusually deep education and intellectual acuity. Her death in 1794 left Burr without "his best ally in the political wars to come".

Read on Wikipedia · Image Henry Benbridge, Public domain