HAMILTON and WASHINGTON: An Unusual Connection

Hamilton, an American Musical is returning to the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington in February 2025. The Broadway production opened in New York in 2015 and has had continuous show tours traveling around the world (including previous Seattle productions in 2018 and 2022).

Believe it or not, Hamilton the Musical had a major impact on my retirement plans. More on that later.

The musical is based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, a teenage orphan immigrant from the West Indies who came to Colonial America in 1772 for education and eventually was recruited to be George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War. He was also our nation’s first Treasury Secretary and is often considered the father of American Capitalism. In fact, he established the global economy which has sustained the Great American Experiment for nearly 250 years.

In 2016, while listening to a song on the Hamilton soundtrack in a borrowed car, I learned two historical facts I had wondered about for decades:

Why did the US Capitol move from New York City to a swamp near Virginia?

How did the US become a global superpower so quickly?

I was so excited after learning these facts, I listened to the entire 46 song CDs repeatedly. In fact, I wanted to learn more about America’s past, so I called the Paramount Theatre to find any resources relating history to the musical Hamilton. The director said there were educational options for children in certain school circumstances but none for adults, suggesting, “Why don’t you start something?”

So I did.

I researched online and eventually initiated a Hamilton Discussion Group at a Kent, Washington community center in 2017. I discovered an organization called The Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, aka The AHA Society. This group had been founded by IBM analyst, Rand Scholet in 2011 after he discovered that the Founding Father’s reputation had been denigrated by his peers. Hamilton was unable to defend his legacy because he died in a duel with the US Vice President, Aaron Burr when Hamilton was in his late 40s. Thus, most Americans only know him as the face on the ten-dollar bill. (Note: The AHA Society helped lobby the US Treasury Department to keep Hamilton’s portrait on the ten-dollar bill when they planned to replace him between 2013 and 2015, the year the musical opened.)

(Left-Right): Rand Scholet, Mary Anne Hamilton, Helena Reynolds - 2019, Bradenton, FL 

When Rand learned that I, like Hamilton, was from an immigrant family, he asked about my parents’ WWII romance stories. I had been writing a memory book for over 40 years, so I sent him a few excerpts. Unbeknownst to me, he had been sharing my stories with his various Hamilton contacts. One recipient was Mary Anne Hamilton, widow of Hamilton’s great-great grandson, Laurens Morgan Hamilton.

In 1965, Mary Anne was a 31-year-old soon-to-be-divorced cocktail waitress with 5 children when she met Laurens, age 65. She was reluctant but he was persistent so they married in 1966. She had no idea why he was so intent on educating everyone about his great-great grandfather. Fifty years later in 2016, she was enlightened after seeing the musical Hamilton at the Broadway Theater in New York. She cultivated a new lease on life -- to continue promoting Laurens’ educational passion -- but she had no idea where or how to start.

"Hamilton" creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, with Mary Anne Hamilton - 2016, Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City

 

 

Subsequently, a neighbor named Greg Plantamura introduced Mary Anne to Rand, founder of The AHA Society, and his wife Cyndee. She also met fellow AHA Society board members Tom and Mariana Oller. Mary Anne was one of the oldest members to join the AHA Society.

From 2017 to 2020, Rand (and sometimes Greg) took Mary Anne to numerous venues around the nation and to the Caribbean Island of Nevis, where Alexander Hamilton was born, to continue sharing information about Alexander Hamilton’s contributions to the foundation of our nation. Greg had also initiated an educational workshop entitled Hamil*Fest at a local college and Mary Anne was honored to be a guest speaker in 2018 and 2019. 

Rand introduced me to Mary Anne by phone and she was a remote guest speaker for our Hamilton Discussion Group in 2018 and 2020.

When the 2020 COVID restrictions confined Mary Anne to her home and nearby park, Rand suggested she type up her memories and he committed to help her find a writer to create a book.

Rand suggested I help with Mary Anne’s book, but I initially declined due to my inexperience, lack of knowledge, and the fact that I live in Federal Way, Washington and they live in Pinellas County, Florida. But when Rand had a sudden heart attack and died in July 2021, I agreed to help Mary Anne as a tribute to Rand’s memory and because I, too, wanted to share her stories and to promote education about Alexander Hamilton to the nation and around the world.

Fortunately, Rand had taught Mary Anne how to use Zoom, so for nearly two years, she and I worked tirelessly together on our project. In August 2023, we self- published hardcover and paperback versions of our book entitled Destined to Be a Hamilton on Amazon. In January 2024, our eBook was ranked as a #1 Amazon Bestseller in two categories (of eleven total bestseller rankings) and a #1 Amazon Hot New Release in five categories (of ten total hot new release rankings). In addition to Mary Anne’s unbelievable life stories, our book also includes 90 Hamilton facts, 70 photos (most in color), and QR links to online resources.

Along the way, Mary Anne and I formed a close working relationship and a deep personal friendship. Although we lived across the continent from each other, we spoke by phone nearly every morning, reading a daily inspirational passage together. When I suggested we contribute book earnings to a national disaster fundraiser -- possibly in exchange for promotional favors -- Mary Anne said she’d rather donate to my two grandsons’ Special Needs Trust Fund. She appreciated that their father (my son, Jason) is a graphics designer without whom we could not have self-published our book.

Mary Anne Hamilton had no idea about the significance of her great-great grandfather-in-law's portrait on the ten-dollar bill until she saw the musical "Hamilton" in 2016. Jason Reynolds, graphics designer for the book Mary Anne and Helena Reynolds wrote, created this special gift for Mary Anne in 2023 with HER portrait on the ten-dollar bill when, at age 89, she became the oldest Alexander Hamilton family advocate. 

 

 

Mary Anne was incredibly vibrant, extremely outgoing, and exceptionally adventurous. It was inspiring for me to observe how she completely reenergized her entire life by starting an educational tour at age 82, writing her first book at age 88, and self-publishing it at age 90. I visited Mary Anne several times in Florida and although she never visited me in Washington, the deep connections between Alexander Hamilton and Washington continue to this day.

When Mary Anne had a stroke in April 2024 and passed away on August 29, 2024, her dying wish was for me to continue sharing our book to educate people around the nation and the world about her great-great grandfather-in-law’s contributions. Destined to Be a Hamilton, which has sold in the US, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, is available on Amazon.com. Mary Anne made such an impact on my life that I have committed to honoring her dying wish as best as I can by promoting our book, offering educational workshops, and sharing her stories in articles and interviews.

Another Hamilton and Washington connection begins on February 4, 2025, when Hamilton, An American Musical opens at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre. Opening day appears to have been destined to occur on what would have been Mary Anne Hamilton’s 91st birthday.

In July 2020, Helena Reynolds retired, ending 30 years as a Senior Activity Center Program Coordinator in Kent, Wash. After assisting her grandson with remote school and caring for her mother in Hospice until she passed away, Helena began writing in 2022. Destined to Be a Hamilton by Mary Anne Hamilton with Helena Reynolds is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback and eBook: Destined to Be a Hamilton: True Life Stories of Mary Anne Hamilton, Great-Great Granddaughter-in-Law of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.