WHERE'D YOU GO THEODOSIA?

 


We all know Aaron Burr, famous dueller. Hardly anyone knows the story of his daughter Theodosia Burr Alston. Theodosia, born June 21, 1873, was Burr's only child. Burr made sure Theodosia was better educated than others of her day - not just women. Theodosia had multiple tutors teaching her a variety of subjects. At 5 she wrote her father letters. At 10 she spoke Latin and French. Theo was seen as a prodigy. She was Burr's statement, to paraphrase Hamilton, that women "should be include(d) in the sequel."


While Burr was in D.C. shaping the U.S., Theo was at home, caring for her ailing mother (also Theodosia.) After her mother died, Theo became mistress of the house. She saw to the daily running of the home, supervised staff, and entertained guests. In 1800 Burr was elected as Thomas Jefferson's Vice President. Theo met Joseph Alston, a young man from South Carolina.


They married and Theo moved to South Carolina, away from D.C. and her father. She and Joseph Alston honeymooned in Niagara falls, the first young married couple to do so. That helped make Niagara Falls a popular honeymoon destination. Theo was not fond of life as a plantation mistress. She gave birth to a son, Aaron Burr Alston. The birth left Theo unable to bear more children and caused lingering health issues. Theo would often travel with her son to visit Burr in D.C.


In 1807 Burr was arrested for treason. After his acquittal, he decided to wait out the scandal in Europe. Theo sent her father money and managed his affairs state side. She asked Burr family friend Dolley Madison for help in bringing Burr back to the U.S. and to make sure he still had a place in D.C. upon his return. By 1812 Burr decided to come back to the U.S. Theo's son died of malaria. Her father's return would be a boon to her spirits.


Theo booked passage on the schooner The Patriot. She left South Carolina on December 31, 1812. The Patriot never arrived at its destination. Theories abound, of course, as they always do in mysterious disappearances. Many men on their deathbeds years later confessed to being pirates who boarded the ship, robbed passengers, then sank the boat. But contradictions in the weather, where the boat departed from, and other embellishments make pirates an unlikely cause. A storm suddenly struck not long after The Patriot departed. That seems the most logical cause. Alexandria, Virginia boasts "the grave of the female stranger." Legend says that in 1816, a man and a woman showed up in town, giving no explanation of their identity. The woman died soon after her arrival, and was buried with no name, just "female stranger." Could she have been Theodosia Burr? Maybe, maybe not, but the fact remains that this well-educated woman who could have done so much for America and other women left the world before her full potential could be known.


SOURCES :

Frey, Holly / Wilson, Tracy V., hosts. "The Mysterious Disappearance of Theodosia Burr Alston." Stuff You Missed In History Class, iheartradio, 18 October 2017.

Theodosia Burr Alston. Wikipedia.

FURTHER MEDIA : 

Turney, Sarah, host. "Theodosia Burr Alston." Disappearances, Parcast, 5 January 2023.



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