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Ray Family Papers

Call Number

MS 513

Date

1794-1889, inclusive

Creator

Extent

0.75 Linear feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The Ray Family was a prominent New York City family in the nineteenth century. Family members include Cornelius Ray (1755-1827), Robert Ray (1794-1879), Richard Ray (1799-1836) and Robert Ray Hamilton (1851-1890), the great grandson of Alexander Hamilton and primary member of the family featured in this collection. The majority of the materials concern a scandal Hamilton was the victim of, between August and November 1889, when a woman named Evangeline (Eva) Mann falsely led him to believe he was the father of a baby, Beatrice, who she had reportedly purchased from a midwife.

Biographical / Historical

The Ray Family was a prominent New York City family in the nineteenth century. Family members include Cornelius Ray (1755-1827), Robert Ray (1794-1879), Richard Ray (1799-1836) and Robert Ray Hamilton (1851-1890), the great grandson of Alexander Hamilton and primary member of the family featured in this collection.

Robert Ray Hamilton was born in New York City on March 18, 1851 to Schuyler Hamilton and Cornelia Ray and attended Columbia College and Law School. He practiced law for a few years and then discovered an interest in politics. Hamilton was elected a member of Legislature from 1887-89 and served as the Republican Assemblyman in the eleventh district in 1881 and from 1886-88.

In the mid-1880s Hamilton began an unfortunate relationship with Evangeline (Eva) Mann, which resulted in a scandal that captivated public attention for months. Hamilton secretly married her in January 1889 after she convinced him that he had fathered a baby, Beatrice, who she had reportedly purchased from a midwife. In August of that year Hamilton discovered that not only had Eva lied to him about Beatrice, but that she was still reportedly married to another man, Joshua Mann. During an argument about Mann, Eva attempted to attack Hamilton with a knife; however, failing to hit him, she turned her attack on a maid, Mary Donnelly, who she suspected of telling Hamilton the truth about Beatrice and Mann. As punishment for stabbing and nearly killing Mary, Eva was sentenced in September 1889 to two years in the state prison in Trenton, NJ. By October Hamilton began the process of having his marriage with Eva annulled.

In May 1890 Hamilton left New York to take part in a hunting trip in the West. However, he soon made headlines again when he was found drowned in Yellowstone National Park's Snake River that September.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following two series. Within these series materials are organized alphabetically and then chonologically. In the case that an item was undated, it was placed at the end of all similar, dated items.

Missing Title

  1. Series I: Ray Family
  2. Series II: Robert Ray Hamilton

Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence, deeds and business records from the Ray Family, primarily belonging to or concerning Robert Ray Hamilton, the great grandson of Alexander Hamilton. The majority of the materials date from a four month period in 1889 following a scandal involving Robert Ray Hamilton and Evangeline (Eva) Mann, a woman he secretly married after she falsely led him to believe that he was the father of a baby, Beatrice, who she had reportedly purchased from a midwife.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Conditions Governing Use

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as the Ray Family Papers, MS 513, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Custodial History

Donated to the New-York Historical Society by Albert Paradis in 1980.

Collection processed by

Ashley Todd

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:47:11 -0400.
Language: Finding Aid is written in English

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024