Elizabeth (Shipton) Giles (1757-1822)

She was the niece and adopted daughter of William Axtell, a prominent merchant in the West Indies and a Loyalist who built Melrose Hall at Flatbush, New York. She was his principal heir, but when she married the Patriot Aquila Giles, he, "entirely shook her off, and withheld every friendship & attention from her". Axtel's property was confiscated during the Revolution and he left for England, never to return to America. With the help of Alexander Hamilton, Aquila petitioned George Clinton and the New York State Legislature to enable them to buy the Axtell estate for $4,500.