Disappearance of the Patriot-- Part 2

Logbooks from British warships off the North Carolina coast  reported a severe storm that struck January 2, 1813, after the Patriot left South Carolina.  The Patriot would have been a bit north of Cape Hatteras when the storm was at its fiercest and facing hurricane-strength winds in the early morning hours of January 2.

The Patriot was never heard from again.  Despite the many conspiracy theories and tales about Theodosia surviving it is most likely she perished with the rest of the ship's passengers and crew that day.

(I have also read that the British ships had stopped the Patriot, but after seeing a letter from Joseph Alston, the governor of South Carolina, asking for them to allow the ship to continue on its way, they did.  But, who will ever know.)

--Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 5: Her Disappearance

7.  IN 1813 SHE DISAPPEARED FOREVER.

Aaron Burr had experienced some very difficult years in his life, but nothing like he did  between 1812 and 1813.

First, his ten-year-old grandson, Theodosia's son, Aaron Burr Alston, died of malaria in June 1812, just a month after he returned from Europe.  A few months later, Theodosia boarded the schooner Patriot, which had been used a s a privateer during the War of 1812, for passage to New York to visit her father.

But, the ship never reached its destination, taking along with crew ad passengers, the 29-year-old Theodosia.

To this day, no one knows what happened.  Many stories abound to answer this question, with the best one seeming to be the ship was captured by pirates.  But, most likely, her end will never be known.

This hit her father hard who was quoted as saying t felt like he "was severed from the human race" because of it.

What Happened To Her?  --Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 2: Merriwether Lewis? and Her Honeymoon

2.  SHE MAY HAVE BEEN CLOSE TO EXPLORER MERRIWETHER LEWIS

This has been a tabloid story for over a century.  Supposedly they met at a dinner hosted by Thomas Jefferson and  and had a discussion about whether Lewis might find mastadon relatives in his upcoming trip west.  But the timing of their opportunities to be together don't bear this out.

Whether they were sweet on each other is not known.

3.  HER HONEYMOON DESTINATION WAS THE START OF A TREND

On February 2, 1801, 17-year-old Theodosia married a wealthy Southerner named Joseph Alston and they went to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon.  Now, this is common , but they were considered to be the first celebrity couple to do so.  Today, Niagara Falls is called "The Honeymoon Capital of the World."

That Theodosia, the Princess Di of Her Age.  --Cooter