| No Appearance |
| This character page is on a person who is mentioned in Hamilton, but is not portrayed onstage by a cast member. |
Levi Weeks was the accused in the infamous Manhattan Well Murder Trial of 1800, the first murder trial in the United States for which there is a recorded transcript. At the time of the murder, Weeks was a young carpenter in New York City. He was the brother of Ezra Weeks, one of New York's most successful builders of the time.
Relevant History[]
Weeks was accused of murdering Gulielma Sands, a young woman whom he had been courting. Elma disappeared on the evening of December 22, 1799. Some of her possessions were found two days later near the recently created Manhattan Well in Lispenard Meadows, located in today's SoHo near the intersection of Greene and Spring Streets. Her body was recovered from the well on January 2, 1800. Before leaving her boarding house on the 22nd, Elma told her cousin Catherine Sands that she and Levi were to be secretly married that night.
Through his brother's connections and wealth, Weeks retained three of New York's most prominent attorneys, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton.
Although Elma was seen leaving with Weeks and a witness claimed to have seen Weeks making measurements at the well the Sunday before the murder, Weeks was acquitted after only 5 minutes of jury deliberation.
The public strongly disagreed with the verdict, and Weeks was ostracized by the citizens of the city, forcing him to leave New York. He eventually settled in Natchez, Mississippi, where he became a well-respected architect and builder. He married Ann Greenleaf in Natchez and they had four children. Weeks died in Natchez in 1819, at the age of 43.
Musical[]
Levi Weeks is only referenced by name once in Hamilton, in Non-Stop. After establishing Alexander Hamilton's and Aaron Burr's path after the American Revolution, we are shown the two of them defending their client in a courtroom, Levi Week's. We are told that this is the first murder trial of the United Colonies, and it is impressed upon us how important this is to the new nation's legal system, as well as Hamilton himself. Hamilton names Burr as his assistant counsel which Burr immediately corrects him on. Burr states that his client is taking the Non-Guilty plea and asks that trial proceeds.
Song Reference[]
- "Our client Levi Weeks is innocent"
- — Aaron Burr, "Non-Stop"