James Hamilton FLS (27 November 1814 – 24 November 1867) was a Scottish minister and a prolific author of religious tracts.

Life

Born in Paisley, Scotland, seven miles west-southwest of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Hamilton was the eldest son of William Hamilton, a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

minister of

Strathblane Strathblane ( gd, Strath Bhlàthain, ) is a village and parish in the registration county of Stirlingshire, situated in the southwestern part of the Stirling council area, in central Scotland. It lies at the foothills of the Campsie Fells and th ...

and religious author of local renown.Robert Chambers, Thomas Thomson, ''A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, Volume 3'' (1875), p. 214-216. James Hamilton was therefore destined from an early age to enter the ministry, and to that end he studied at the universities of

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He enjoyed courses on the natural sciences, particularly chemistry and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, and contemplated a career in one of those fields. Although Hamilton enjoyed poetry, he once read a novel by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

and had the following reaction: He became assistant to

Robert Smith Candlish Robert Smith Candlish (23 March 1806 – 19 October 1873) was a Scottish minister who was a leading figure in the Disruption of 1843. He served for many years in both St. George's Church and St George's Free Church on Charlotte Square in Edin ...

at St. George's Church in Edinburgh, in 1838, and upon finishing his college studies, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1839 and "commenced his clerical life as assistant minister in the small secluded parish of Abernyte, in Perthshire". In January 1841, he was formally ordained as a minister, at Roxburgh Church in south Edinburgh, and in July of that year became pastor of the National Scotch Church, Regent Square, London, where he would remain until his death. In 1849 he became editor of the ''Presbyterian Messenger'', and in 1864 editor of ''Evangelical Christendom'', the organ of the Evangelical Alliance. He was an incessant literary worker and the author of some of the most widely circulated books of his day. His best known works were: ''Life in Earnest'' (London, 1845), of which 64,000 copies had been sold before 1852; ''The Mount of Olives'' (1846); ''The Royal Preacher'' (1851), a homiletical commentary on Ecclesiastes; and ''Our Christian Classics'' (4 vols., 1857–59). Following his death, his collected works were published in London (6 vols., 1869–73); and his Select Works appeared in New York (4 vols., 1875). In addition to his religious writings, Hamilton continued to have an interest in botany throughout his life, publishing several articles in journals on the subject.Ray Desmond, ''Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists'' (1994), p. 311.

Family

In 1847 he married Anne Hovenden Moore (d.1886) daughter of John Moore of Calcutta. Their children included: *Anne Hamilton (1849-1910) married Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet. *James Hamilton (1850-1911) *Mary Isabella Hamilton (1853-1887) married Alexander Lawrence *Christina Jean Hamilton (1856-1885) *Herbert William Hamilton (b.1861) *Ada Frances Hamilton (1864-1902)

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, James 1814 births 1867 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from Paisley, Renfrewshire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland