Burr, Theodosia (1783–1813)
Burr, Theodosia (1783–1813)
Daughter of Aaron Burr (vice president of the United States), who served as his hostess. Name variations: Theodosia Alston. Born on June 21, 1783, in Albany, New York; lost at sea in the Atlantic, January 1813; daughter of Aaron Burr (vice president of the United States under President Thomas Jefferson) and Theodosia Bartow (Prevost) Burr ; married Joseph Alston, 1801.
Theodosia Burr was the only daughter of Aaron Burr. Her mother, also named Theodosia, had five children from a previous marriage. Theodosia was doted upon as a child and, following the death of her mother when she was 11, grew even closer to her father. Their frequent correspondence, which began in her childhood, ultimately totaled thousands of letters. As she grew older, Theodosia took over as host of the Burr estate and, in 1801, married Joseph Alston, the same year Aaron Burr became vice president. Theodosia remained loyal and supportive as her father's career declined after his duel with Alexander Hamilton in 1804. When he was arrested for treason in 1807, Theodosia moved to Richmond to be near him; the following year, she traveled to New York under an assumed name to say goodbye before he left for England. Upon her father's return to New York in 1812, Theodosia set sail from South Carolina for a long-awaited reunion. The ship, Patriot, however, was lost at sea. The story of Theodosia Burr was fictionalized by Anya Seton in My Theodosia (Houghton Mifflin, 1941).