Georgina Schuyler Explained

Georgina Schuyler
Birth Date:1841
Birth Place:New York City, US
Death Date:December 25,
Occupation:Composer and writer
Relations:Louisa Lee Schuyler (sister)

Georgina Schuyler (1841 – December 25, 1923) was an American composer and article writer. She was a member of multiple societies. From 1901 to 1903, Schuyler led the campaign to have Emma Lazarus's poem "The New Colossus" placed in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The plaque was placed inside the statue's pedestal in 1903.

Career

Schuyler was a part of the soldiers' aid societies within Westchester County, New York during the Civil War. She was also a part of the Hospital Book and Newspaper Society within the United States Sanitary Commission. A 14-song collection of her compositions was published in 1886.

Schuyler was a friend of Emma Lazarus and after Lazarus died in 1887, Schuyler found Lazarus's poem "The New Colossus" in 1901.[1] She led the campaign to have "The New Colossus" placed in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.[2] It took until 1903 for the poem to be placed in the pedestal on a wall, later being placed inside an exhibit within the pedestal in 1986.[3]

The governor of New York chose her to be a trustee of the Schuyler Mansion in 1911 and she was the author of The Schuyler Mansion at Albany. The Century: 1897, Volume 55 stated that Schuyler's music is true art.[4] Schuyler also wrote articles about history and genealogy. She was in the Society of the Colonial Dames of America.[5] Schuyler was also a philanthropist, art patron, and a supporter of the social reform programs that were started by her sister Louisa.[6]

Personal life

Schuyler was born on 1841 in New York City to George Lee Schuyler and Eliza (Hamilton).[5] She is a descendant of Alexander Hamilton.[6] She attended private schools, including Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz's School for Girls in 1858 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[5]

Schuyler, who never married, died at her home, 570 Park Avenue in New York City where she lived with her sister, Louisa, on December 25, 1923.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Plaque, 'The New Colussus' . National Park Service . December 24, 2020.
  2. Book: Bette Roth Young. Emma Lazarus in Her World: Life and Letters. August 1, 1997. Jewish Publication Society. 978-0-8276-0618-0. 3.
  3. Web site: Colossal Ode . Lehman . David . 2004 . Smithsonian Magazine . December 24, 2020.
  4. Book: The Century: 1897. 1898. Century Company. 779.
  5. Book: The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women. 1924. Halvord Publishing Company. 36.
  6. Web site: Georgina Schuyler . Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum . December 24, 2020 . Smithsonian Institution.
  7. News: Miss Georgina Schuyler. . 6 November 2023 . . 26 December 1923.