Laurentine Hamilton (1826 – April 9, 1882) was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister accused of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

, and founder of the

First Unitarian Church of Oakland The First Unitarian Church of Oakland is located in western Downtown Oakland, California. It is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association. History The building site was purchased in November 1888 from Jane K. Sather, a patron of the U ...

. Hamilton was born in

Catlin, New York Catlin is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 2,554 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Phineas Catlin, a surveyor and public official. Catlin is in the northwestern corner of the county, northwest of E ...

, near Seneca Lake. He graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

in Clinton, New York in 1850. He went on to attend Auburn Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1853. In 1854, Hamilton became an ordained minister of the Presbyterian church in

Ovid, New York Ovid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Seneca County, New York, Seneca County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,919 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovi ...

. In 1855 he was assigned the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

age of Columbia, California, a small mining camp established during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. He built the Presbyterian church that still stands there. In 1859, Hamilton came to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, to preach at the First Presbyterian Church of San Jose. He became

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of San Jose Schools, and in 1861 he travelled with William H. Brewer and Charles F. Hoffmann to the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

of a nearby mountain, as part of the initial California Geological Survey. That mountain, Mount Hamilton, is named after him. In 1864 Hamilton became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, his

sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

appearing in the ''

Oakland Daily Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the decline ...

''. He served on the Oakland

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

from 1866 to 1872. In 1869, Hamilton came under scrutiny for teaching the

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

of "a second probation after death" (stating one has a second,

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

chance of

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

). He was charged with heresy and forced to leave his pastorate and resign from his ordination in the Presbyterian church. Most of his parishioners joined him in forming the First Independent Presbyterian Church, later to become the Independent Church of Oakland. In 1879 the church joined the

American Unitarian Association The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Uni ...

and became the

. While preaching on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

, 1882, Hamilton spoke "We know not what matter is..." and then collapsed onto the ground, dead. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, CA.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Laurentine 1826 births 1882 deaths People from San Jose, California People from Oakland, California Religious workers from California School superintendents in California People from Chemung County, New York Auburn Theological Seminary alumni Hamilton College (New York) alumni Educators from New York (state) 19th-century American educators