Today, we went for a drive to Morristown to see a couple of old house: the Schuyler-Hamilton House and the Ford Mansion. Before we set out on our trip, we had lunch at Camillo's, a restaurant in Sayreville. The drive was about forty-five minutes long and we got to the Schuyler-Hamilton House around 3:00. I took a photo of a sign on the garden fence which explains what happened there: this is where Alexander Hamilton met and courted Eliza Schuyler. We were lead into the parlor, where a member of the D.A.R told us about the Battle of Trenton and how George Washington's army ended up in Morristown and how the owner of the house at the time, Dr. Cochran, inoculated the men against smallpox. Dr. Cochran's wife, Gertrude, was the sister of General Philip Schuyler, whose daughter Elizabeth (known as Eliza or Betsy) came to stay in 1780. Her parents hoped that she would marry one of the Continental Army's eligible officers but she ended up falling in love with Alexander Hamilton, George Washington's dashing aid-de-camp. Though Hamilton was a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks, her parents allowed the marriage because he was brilliant, ambitious, and destined for greatness. The gift shop sells peg dolls of the two love birds which were too cute for me to pass up.
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Then we were shown around the house. Upstairs is a bedroom known as Betsy's room, which is filled with dolls, including a rather unsettling life-sized doll tucked into the bed. On the dresser were some items which a woman like Eliza Schuyler would have used, such as a curling iron, hair combs, and a corset busk. In closed in a special case is a ruffled widow's cap, lace collar, and a lock of hair belonging to Eliza herself.
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Our next destination was Ford's Mansion, which served as George Washington's head quarters when the Continental Army was stationed in Morristown. We arrived too late for the final tour of the mansion, and only got to poke around in the visitor's center. In the little museum exhibit, there were some beautiful articles of clothing and furniture as well as copy of a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. I was disappointed with this part of the trip, but hopefully we can come back again next time I'm in New Jersey. Another disappointing part of the trip was when my grandfather proposed that we get ice cream on our way home, but when we got to the place where my grandparents like to go for ice cream, we found that the line in front was too long. It is what it is, as my mom would say.
