Adventure to the Schuyler Mansion

Hi everybody! Thanks for the comments on the last post. I feel great about getting comments from you guys. I'll try to respond to everyone. Okay, now onto the important stuff....

We first went to the Albany Visitor Center to get information. We were at the Visitor Center museum when we took this picture.

Then mom needed to go to the bank to get some money. It was next to Albany City Hall, and there was a statue of Philip Schuyler.

"War hero Philip Schuyler loses his seat in the Senate to young upstart, Aaron Burr." (I remember those lines from Hamilton.)

I learned today that he had one of the biggest houses in Albany during the Revolutionary time period. Important people stayed there, like Benjamin Franklin, Hamilton, George Washington, and Marquis de Lafayette (America's Favorite Fighting Frenchman!).

We went to Philip Schuyler's mansion next. This is the parlor for special occasions. It's where Alexander Hamilton and Eliza got married. Eliza lived there because she was Philip Schuyler's daughter.

Now there is a painting of Hamilton hanging there.

This is Philip Schuyler's office. This is where three of the Federalist Papers might have been written by Hamilton. John Jay and James Madison helped him to write the Federalist Papers, but Hamilton wrote the most.

This is a baby cradle that has been passed down for many years in the Schuyler's possession. I wonder how many babies slept in that cradle?

Sewing time! This is Eliza's sewing box. We don't know much about it, but I think it's cool to imagine that you are the person who used it.

Story time class! (I don't remember the story, so Mom will tell it.)

According to legend, this mysterious mark on the staircase is the result of a Native American tomahawk being thrown at Peggy Schuyler's head during a Loyalist attempt to kidnap Philip Schuyler. Peggy was trying to save baby Catharine, the youngest Schuyler child.  The failed kidnapping attempt is well-documented, however, no accounts of tomahawks being thrown at heads were reported until the 1830's. 

 (Take it away, Eily!)

Thank you Mama! Okay, this is the mansion from the outside. I know, I know, there's a lot of construction. But it's still nice.  I like the clouds.

After we went to the Schuyler Mansion, we had a picnic at Lincoln Park. We loved to gaze at the clouds. Oh, how I love clouds!

After our picnic, we went to Crailo. This is where Catharine Van Rensselaer grew up. She was Philip Schuyler's wife and the mom of Angelica, Eliza, AND PEGGY!.(That was for Hamilton fans.) Some people call it Fort Crailo. Mom will tell why.

It's a fortified house, so if anyone attacked the area, people would come to the house and lock themselves in. Do you remember how they protected themselves?

Yes, I do! Do you see this hole right there, sort of like a key shape? Well, this room didn't exist. They built an addition. Before that, this was the outside wall. Let's all pretend that we're intruders! Then we see a gun poking out. KABOOM! This is called a "gunport."

This is a gunport in the front of the house from the inside. Now we can pretend that we are protecting the house. KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

Crailo is right next to the Hudson River. I was pretending that I was a beautiful princess at the edge of a shore. (Okay, that might have been a bit embarrassing to say!)

I'm sad that I didn't get a picture of the parents' bed at Crailo. It was so small because they used to sleep sitting up. I don't think that would be very comfortable! I probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

We also forgot to take a picture of the kitchen. It smelled so good, even though it was in the basement. Yuck! Spiders!

Overall, the trip was quite good. Thank you for reading! We'll post again after next week's adventure!