James Hamilton (1710 – 14 August 1783), son of the well-known American lawyer Andrew Hamilton, was a prominent lawyer and governmental figure in colonial

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He served as Deputy Governor of the Province from 1748 to 1754, and again from 1759 to 1763.Armor, William C., ''Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania, With the Incidental History of the State, from 1609 to 1872'', Philadelphia, J.K. Simon (1873)

Life

James Hamilton was born in

in 1710. He was educated in Philadelphia and England before becoming a practicing lawyer in 1731. On 28 December 1733, his father resigned as

prothonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

of the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

, Hamilton was appointed to the office. In May 1734 James's father Andrew Hamilton sold him the town site of

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

for 5 shillings. Later that month, on 21 May, the younger Hamilton secured a patent from the Penn family for his grant on the Lancaster land. After the death of his father on 4 August 1741, James Hamilton inherited his 150-acre estate known as Bush Hill north of the city. He assisted his brother-in-law

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

in the administration of lands purchased by his father to be used for the state house and surrounding public space.Browning, Charles H. (1916). "The State House Yard, and Who Owned It First after William Penn", ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 40''(1), p. 90 Hamilton was a member of the

provincial assembly Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

from 1735 to 1740. He served as

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

for one year from October 1745. During his tenure as Mayor, Hamilton kept a record of servants and apprentices bound before him, which historians have used to gauge the nature and extent of indentured servitude in Philadelphia—and Pennsylvania more generally because Philadelphia was the entry-point for indentured servants coming into the colony from Europe. Hamilton became a member of the provincial council in 1746. He was commissioned by the sons of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

as lieutenant-governor, as which he served until 1754, then again from 1759 to 1763, then briefly also in 1771 and 1773. On 13 September 1761, Hamilton and William Allen conveyed Lot no. 1 and the other pieces of property obtained by Andrew Hamilton and Allen to Isaac Norris II and the other trustees in charge of purchasing property for the Philadelphia state house. The conveyance of this land completed the area of the Yard: property that contained the state house and the public spaces surrounding it. During the period that the federal capital was located in Philadelphia, Hamilton was on an extended stay in England. He rented Bush Hill to the government for the vice-president to use as his residence.

Deputy Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania

Hamilton was visiting London in 1748 when he received the commission of Deputy Governor for the province from the Penns. Upon his return to Philadelphia, he was faced with some unrest from the Native American population. Their territory north of the Blue Mountains (west of the Susquehanna River) was being encroached upon by settlers illegally. Hamilton authorized Richard Peters and

Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a f ...

to assist in removing these squatters after the provision in the Land Purchase of 1749, which authorized their removal by force if necessary.''Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: May 24, 1781-Sept. 3, 1790'', Volume II, Bioren Publishing, Philadelphia (1810) Other issues faced by Hamilton were: *Encroachment of the French Military into forts in the land of the Pennsylvania Charter at Presque Isle, Venango, La Boeuf and Du Quesne. *Organizing and funding a defense (against the French) in opposition to the pacifist Quaker element in the Assembly *Friction between the Assembly and Proprietors on taxing Proprietary land holdings *Assembly discontent over the Proprietors' refusal to hear appeals from them about the Deputy Governor's decisions *Failure to disclose to the Assembly, the Proprietors' directive concerning the financial interest of pecuniary bills which Hamilton would approve *

Albany Congress The Albany Congress (June 19 – July 11, 1754), also known as the Albany Convention of 1754, was a meeting of representatives sent by the legislatures of seven of the 13 British colonies in British America: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, ...

attended by John Penn and

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, who proposed a colonial union for defense against the French and Indians Hamilton resigned due to his deteriorating relations with the Assembly in the attempt to follow the Proprietors' instructions. Hamilton's second turn as Deputy Governor followed the recall of William Denny. The

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

was coming to its conclusion. However, Pennsylvania was now facing

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...

. Delaware and Shawnee raided deep into frontier Pennsylvania, taking captives and killing settlers. An uprising led by a vigilante group that came to be known as the

Paxton Boys The Paxton Boys were Pennsylvania's most aggressive colonists according to historian Kevin Kenny. While not many specifics are known about the individuals in the group their overall profile is clear. Paxton Boys Lived in hill country northwest of ...

erupted in the colony. Hamilton was replaced by John Penn, William Penn's grandson.

President of the Provincial Council

Hamilton (in effect) assumed the role of chief executive from 4 May to 16 October 1771, when John Penn left Philadelphia to return to England when his father died. The council was prohibited to approve any act of the Assembly so the role was strictly ceremonial or administrative until October when Richard Penn, Jr., (John's brother) was appointed Deputy Governor of the province. Hamilton acted as Acting Governor from 19 July to 30 August 1773.

Death and legacy

James Hamilton died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on 14 August 1783. He was active in founding several institutions in Philadelphia, serving as president of the board of trustees of the College of Philadelphia (now the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

) and as the head of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. As he did not have a surviving son, his nephew William Hamilton inherited his estate of Bush Hill. During the

Yellow fever epidemic of 1793 During the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 5,000 or more people were listed in the official register of deaths between August 1 and November 9. The vast majority of them died of yellow fever, making the epidemic in the city of 50,000 ...

, outbuildings at the Bush Hill estate were adapted for use as a fever hospital for several months.

References

External links

Biography at Temple University
at the