Unlike many of the other Founding Fathers of America, Alexander Hamilton was not born into a family of wealth and title. Hamilton's mother, Rachel Fawcett, married sugar planter John Lavien on the island of St. Croix in the 1740s. Their relationship was tumultuous, and Lavien frequently beat her. After Lavien had Rachel imprisoned for a short term after one fight, she left her husband and son and fled to the islands of Nevis and St. …showed first 75 words of 626 total…

…showed last 75 words of 626 total…later became known as Princeton University. Cruger's influence as a prominent businessman helped Knox secure an interview for Alexander at the College of New Jersey. In October of 1772, Hamilton left St. Croix for New York. He later recalled that after boarding the ship, he never had the desire to return to St. Croix or any other part of the Caribbean, and once he landed in New York, quickly made the United States his new home.