James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton (7 October 1786 – 27 May 1814) was a British nobleman and politician.

Birth and education

The eldest son of

John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, James Hamilton was born at Petersham Lodge, Surrey, on 7 October 1786, and baptized on 4 November at Petersham. From the age of 5 Hamilton was tutored by his father's

domestic chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

William Howley William Howley (12 February 1766 – 11 February 1848) was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848. Early life, education, and interests Howley was born in 1766 at Ropley, Hampshire, w ...

, who was later to become

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, and

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. Later, he was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, where he was a lieutenant, and then captain of volunteers in 1803. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 24 October 1805.

Political career

Lord Abercorn intended to put Hamilton up as a candidate for

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

as soon as he could obtain sufficient interest there, or else for

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

. The death of Abercorn's personal agent, James Hamilton, in 1806, damaged his personal interest in Donegal, and Viscount Hamilton was obliged to retire before the contest. Instead, he was put in (while underage) for Dungannon by Abercorn's political ally,

Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland (20 April 1729 – 5 November 1818), known as The Lord Welles between 1781 and 1791, was an Irish politician. Background Thomas Knox was the son of Thomas Knox and Hester Echlin. He died on 5 November 1818 age ...

, at a by-election in January 1807. At the 1807 general election, in May, Abercorn declined a compromise with Earl Conyngham to put Hamilton in at Donegal, and he was instead returned, still underage, for

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

, by his half-cousin

Lord Eliot Earl of St Germans, in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that is held by the Eliot family. The title takes its name from the village of St Germans, Cornwall, and the family seat is Port Eliot. The earldom ...

Private life

On 25 November 1809, in London, he married Harriet Douglas, granddaughter of

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, KT, PRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish astronomer and representative peer who was president of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death. He also became ...

, by whom he had three children: *

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ir ...

(1811–1885) * Harriet Hamilton (1812–1884), married Admiral William Alexander Baillie-Hamilton and had issue * Lord Claud Hamilton (1813–1884) He evidently suffered from chronic illness, as his father described him as "long dying" in declining an offer from Lord Eliot to return him for Liskeard again in 1812, although he was a founding member of

Grillion's Grillion's is a London dining club founded in 1812. It was founded by the British diplomat Stratford Canning as a meeting place free from the violence of political controversy. The club had no premises but met at Grillion's Hotel on Albemarle Stre ...

that year. He died in his house in

Upper Brook Street Brook Street is an axial street in the exclusive central London district of Mayfair. Most of it is leasehold, paying ground rent to and seeking lease renewals from the reversioner, that since before 1800, has been the Grosvenor Estate. Named a ...

on 27 May 1814. His eldest son, James, would succeed his grandfather as Marquess of Abercorn four years later. His widow Harriet would in 1815 marry her brother-in-law, the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, with whom she had another 5 children.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

thePeerage.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, James Hamilton, Viscount 1786 births 1814 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British courtesy viscounts Heirs apparent who never acceded Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tyrone constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies