Burr, Theodosia
was born in 1783, in New York city. After her mother's death in 1794 Theodosia became mistress of her father's house and the companion of his leisure hours. On Feb. 2, 1801, she married Joseph Alston, a wealthy and talented young planter of South Carolina, who in after years became governor of his native state. The devotion of Theodosia to her father approached idolatry; through all the disasters of his career she clung to him with unshaken fidelity. She and her husband were cognizant of her father's scheme to become emperor of Mexico; her son was to be the heir to the throne, and when Burr was brought to trial at Richmond his daughter was there, and, by the power of her beauty and intellectual graces, did much to stay the torrent of popular indignation and secure a favorable verdict. She died at sea, in January, 1813.