#486 The Many Intrigues of Eliza Jumel

2026-05-22 · 64 min · 12 entities

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→ hosted by Tom Meyers, Greg Young person

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Feed author/publisher: Tom Meyers, Greg Young
→ hosted by Tom Meyers person

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Feed author/publisher: Tom Meyers
→ discusses Society & Culture concept

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→ discusses History website

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Feed category: History
→ discusses Documentary concept

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Feed category: Documentary
→ discusses Places & Travel concept

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Feed category: Places & Travel

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concepts 6

mentioned Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Documentary concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Documentary
mentioned Places & Travel concept

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Feed category: Places & Travel
discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Documentary concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Documentary
discusses Places & Travel concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Places & Travel

persons 4

mentioned Tom Meyers, Greg Young person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Tom Meyers, Greg Young
mentioned Tom Meyers person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Tom Meyers
hosted by Tom Meyers, Greg Young person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Tom Meyers, Greg Young
hosted by Tom Meyers person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Tom Meyers

websites 2

mentioned History website

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Feed category: History
discusses History website

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: History

Episode description as stored

She arrived in New York calling herself Eliza Brown — but she’d been born Betsy Bowen, daughter of a woman jailed for running a disorderly house in Providence. By the time she died in 1865, she was Eliza Jumel -- Manhattan’s richest woman, mistress of a hilltop mansion in Washington Heights, the widow of a former vice president, and the subject of so many wild rumors that even her New York Times obituary couldn’t keep the facts straight. Tom is joined by Catherine Hughes and Danielle Gaita of the historic Morris-Jumel Mansion to sort the legend from the life. Born in 1775 to grinding poverty, Eliza reinvented herself as an actress at the Park Theater, married the French merchant Stephen Jumel in 1804, and in 1810 moved into the grand house that had served as George Washington’s headquarters in the fall of 1776 — Manhattan’s oldest surviving residence. And from there the story only grows more intriguing. Paris in the age of Napoleon. A staggering art collection. Real estate dealings while her husband stayed an ocean away. A whirlwind second marriage to the 77-year-old Aaron Burr — and a scandalous divorce, finalized on the very day Burr died. Plus: Lin-Manuel Miranda writing Hamilton lyrics in Burr’s old bedroom! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.