Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane

Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane (c. 1605 – 1638) was the founder of the Strabane branch of the Hamiltons. He died relatively young at about 32 and his wife, Jean Gordon, married Sir Phelim O'Neill, one of the leaders of the 1641 rebellion, after his death.

Claud Hamilton
Baron Hamilton of Strabane
Tenure1634–1638
PredecessorJames, 1st Earl of Abercorn
SuccessorJames, 3rd Baron H. of Strabane
Bornabout 1605
Died14 June 1638
Spouse(s)Jean Gordon
Issue
Detail
James, George, Catherine, & Cecilia
FatherJames, 1st Earl of Abercorn
MotherMarion Boyd

Birth and origins

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Claud Hamilton was born near the beginning of the 17th century, probably in Paisley, Scotland. He was the second son of James Hamilton and his wife Marion Boyd. His father had been created Lord Abercorn by James VI and I in 1603[1] and was further advanced to Earl of Abercorn in 1606.[2] His paternal grandfather was Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord of Paisley. Claud's mother was a daughter of Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock.[3][4] Both sides of his family were of ancient Scottish nobility.

His father had been a Protestant, but his mother, Marion Boyd, was a Catholic, who brought him, like all his siblings, up in that religion. His uncle George of Greenlaw pushed in the same direction.[5]

Family tree
Claud Hamilton with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.[a]
Claud
1st Lord
Paisley

1546–1621
Margaret
Seton

d. 1616
James
1st Earl

1575–1618
Marion
Boyd

d. 1632
Recusant
George
of
Greenlaw
& Roscrea

d. bef. 1657
Frederick
1590–1647
Soldier
James
2nd Earl

d. 1670
Claud
2nd Baron

d. 1638
Jean
Gordon
George
1st Baronet
Donalong

d. 1679
George
3rd Earl

c. 1636 –
bef. 1683
James
3rd Baron

1633–1655
George
4th Baron

1636/7 – 1668
James
c. 1630 – 1673
Courtier
Claud
4th Earl

1659–1691
Charles
5th Earl

d. 1701
James
6th Earl

c. 1661 – 1734
Legend
XXXSubject of
the article
XXXEarls of
Abercorn
XXXBarons H.
of Strabane

Claud had four brothers and four sister,[4] who are listed in his father's article.

Early life and father's succession

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Hamilton matriculated at the University of Glasgow in 1621 but seems to have left university without obtaining a degree.

His father died in 1618.[7] His eldest brother succeeded as 2nd Earl of Abercorn and inherited his father's Scottish estates, but the Irish estates had been settled on him and his younger brothers in his father's will.[8] His was the most prestigious of these properties: the Strabane estate and the castle that his father had built there.

His father had also wanted him to inherit the Irish title as baron Hamilton of Strabane to go with the Strabane estate. However, this proved difficult because of the title's ordinary primogeniture succession. The eldest brother therefore obligatorily succeeded to the title in 1618 and then resigned it, so that the title could be regranted to his younger brother by the crown. This took time and was only to happen in 1633.

His father predeceased his grandfather, who still was Lord of Paisley and held the lands of the former Scottish abbey, which Claud's eldest brother eventually inherited in 1621.[9]

Algeo's crime

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In May 1628 Hamilton's servant Claud Algeo was suspected to be a Catholic and was served with a convocation to appear at the presbytery of Paisley by Ramsay, an officer of the Church of Scotland.[10] However, Algeo assaulted Ramsay[11] and Claud Hamilton supported him. Claud was briefly jailed in June 1628 in Edinburgh Castle for abetting his servant in an assault and ordered to pay £40 to Ramsay.[12][13] Claud Algeo fled to his master's Irish estates.

Lord Strabane by regrant

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In 1633, his elder brother, James, the 2nd Earl of Abercorn in Scotland and the 1st Baron Hamilton of Strabane in Ireland, resigned his Irish title to the crown, which regranted it to Claud on 14 August 1634, with the original precedence.[14] He thereby became the 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane.

Marriage and children

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On 28 November 1632, Lord Strabane, as he was now, married Jean Gordon, fourth daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly.[15] The Huntlys were a Catholic family from Aberdeenshire Scotland.[16]

Claud and Jean had two sons:

  1. James (1633 – 1655), became the 3rd Baron Hamilton of Strabane[17]
  2. George (1636/7 – 1668), became the 4th Baron Hamilton of Strabane[18]

—and two daughters:

  1. Catherine (died 1670/1), married James Hamilton of Manorhamilton, the eldest brother of Gustavus Hamilton, 1st Viscount Boyne and two other husbands afterwards[19][20]
  2. Cecilia, also called Mariana, married Richard Perkins of Lifford[21][22]

Death and timeline

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Lord Strabane died on 14 June 1638, probably at the Castle of Strabane, and was buried at Leckpatrick, Strabane, County Tyrone.[23] He was only in his thirties. His eldest son, James, succeeded him at the age of five as the 3rd Baron Hamilton of Strabane. His widow married Sir Phelim O'Neill in November 1649.[24]

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age Date Event
0 1605, estimate Born.[b]
12–13 1618, 23 Mar Father died and he inherited Strabane.[7]
15–16 1621 Grandfather died.[9]
19–20 1625, 27 Mar Accession of King Charles I, succeeding King James I[26]
22–23 1628 Servant Algeo's crime.[12]
26–27 1632, 28 Nov Married Jean Gordon.[15]
27–28 1633 Made 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane by regrant.[14]
32–33 1638, 14 Jun Died and was buried at Leckpatrick.[23]

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne.[6] Also see the list of children in the text.
  2. ^ Claud, being the 2nd son, must be born several years before the fourth son, George, who was born about 1607.[25]

Citations

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  1. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 2, line 8"On 5 Apr. 1603 he was cr. Lord Abercorn, co. Linlithgow [S.], to him and his heirs whatsoever."
  2. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 2, line 11. "On 10 July 1606 he was cr. Earl of Abercorn, Lord Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell, and Kilpatrick [S.], to him and his heirs male whatever."
  3. ^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 54, right column, line 8. "He [Abercorn] m. Marian dau. [daughter] of Thomas, 5th Lord Boyd. He d.v.p. [predeceased his father] 23 March 1617-18, leaving issue ..."
  4. ^ a b Millar 1890, p. 177, left column, line 22"Abercorn married Marion, eldest daughter of Thomas, fifth Lord Boyd, by whom he had five sons and four daughters."
  5. ^ Wasser 2004, p. 838. "... was raised, along with his siblings, by his uncle, Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw, who converted them to Roman Catholicism."
  6. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 4. "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
  7. ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 47, line 5. "... he [James Hamilton] died in the parish of Monkton, a month after, in the life of his father, 23 March 1618, aged forty-three, and was buried 29 April following in the abbey church in Paisley."
  8. ^ Paul 1904, p. 48. "As the Irish estates were provided to his [the 2nd Earl's] younger brothers by the will of their father, he resigned ..."
  9. ^ a b Holmes 2004, p. 778, right column. "Lord Claud lived in retirement for over twenty years, dying in 1621, and was buried in Paisley Abbey."
  10. ^ Metcalfe 1909, p. 237, line 12. "on May 15 [1628] George Ramsay, the Presbytery officer, being commanded to serve the citation ... went to him with the charge ..."
  11. ^ Metcalfe 1909, p. 237, line 20. "... threw him to the ground under his feete ... punshed him with his hands and feete ..."
  12. ^ a b Metcalfe 1909, p. 239. "After twelve days' warding, Hamilton was released in order that he might attend to the affairs of his brother, the Earl of Abercorn, in Paisley and the west, on condition that he paid £40 to Ramsay for the assault."
  13. ^ Brown 1900, p. 327. "Complaint by James, Archbishop of Glasgow, the moderator and the brethren of the presbytery of Paysley for their interest and by George Ramsey, kirk officer ..."
  14. ^ a b Cokayne 1892, p. 152, bottom. "... in whose favour the Irish peerage had been resigned in 1633 ..."]
  15. ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 50, line 8. "He married, 28 November 1632, Lady Jean Gordon, fourth daughter of George, first Marquess of Huntly, by Lady Henrietta Stuart, daughter of Esme, first Duke of Lennox;"
  16. ^ Forbes-Leith 1889, p. 361. "List of the Catholic Nobility - Earls - Huntly (Gordon)"
  17. ^ Paul 1904, p. 50, line 26. "James, third Lord Strabane, born in 1633 ..."
  18. ^ Paul 1904, p. 50, line 17. "George, fourth Lord Strabane."
  19. ^ Paul 1904, p. 50, line 18. "Catherine, married first, in 1647, to her cousin James Hamilton of manor-Hamilton, eldest brother of Gustavus ..."
  20. ^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 54, right column, line 27. "I. Catherine, m. 1st, 1647. to James Hamilton (see Boyne V. [viscount]);"
  21. ^ Paul 1904, p. 50, line 24. "Cecilia, married to Richard Perkins ..."
  22. ^ Lodge 1789, p. 115, line 2. "... Mariana, to Richard Perkins of Lifford in the county of Donegall, Esq."
  23. ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 50, line 7. "Dying 14 June 1638, he [Claude Hamilton] was buried in the church of Leckpatrick, County Tyrone."
  24. ^ Webb 1878, p. 417, line 48. "In November 1649 he [Felim] married Lady Jane Gordon a daughter of the Marquis of Huntly and the widow of Lord Strabane."
  25. ^ Cokayne 1903, p. 305, line 4. "... was b. probably about 1607;"
  26. ^ Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 16. "Charles I. ... acc. 27 Mar. 1625 ..."

Sources

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Further reading

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Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Baron Hamilton of Strabane
1634–1638
Succeeded by