Lord Basil Hamilton ( bp 16 December 1671 – 27 August 1701) was a Scottish aristocrat who drowned trying to save his servant.

Early life

Hamilton was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

on 16 December 1671 at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. His was the sixth son of

William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, KG, PC (24 December 1634 – 18 April 1694), also known as Lord William Douglas and the Earl of Selkirk, was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of The 1st Marquess of Douglas by ...

and Anne Hamilton, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Duchess of Hamilton. Among his siblings were Lt. Gen.

James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton Lieutenant General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon (11 April 1658 – 15 November 1712) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Hamilton was a major investor in the failed Darien Scheme, which cost many of ...

, Lady Catherine Hamilton (wife of

John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl, KT, PC (24 February 166014 November 1724) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and soldier. He served in numerous positions during his life, and fought in the Glorious Revolution for William III and Mary II. ...

Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk ( Hamilton) PC (3 February 1663 – 13 March 1739) was a Scottish aristocrat and courtier. Early life Hamilton was born 3 February 1663. He was the third, but second surviving, son of William Hamilton, Duke o ...

John Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Selkirk Earl of Ruglen was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Along with the subsidiary titles Viscount of Riccartoun and Lord Hillhouse, it was created on the 14th of April, 1697, for Lord John Douglas-Hamilton, fourth (third surviving) son of William ...

George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, KT (9 February 1666 – 29 January 1737), styled Lord George Hamilton from 1666 to 1696, was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the ran ...

, Lady Susan Hamilton (wife of

John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundonald John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundonald ( – 16 May 1690), ''styled'' Lord Cochrane from 1679 to 1686, was a Scottish aristocrat. Early life He was the eldest son of William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane (d. 1679) and the former Lady Katherine Kennedy. A ...

and John Hay, 3rd Marquess of Tweeddale), Lady Margaret Hamilton (wife of

James Maule, 4th Earl of Panmure James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

), and

Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Archibald Hamilton of Riccarton and Pardovan (1673 – 5 April 1754) was a British people, British officer of the Royal Navy, and Whig (UK), Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons between 1708 and ...

Career

Upon his marriage to Mary

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

, he presided over the

Baldoon Baldoon Castle was a 16th-century castle about south west of Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, south of the river Bladnoch.Coventry, Martin (2001). ''The Castles of Scotland''. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. p. 65 History The Dunbars of W ...

estate, south west of

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. I ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, south of the

river Bladnoch The Bladnoch is a river in Wigtownshire in the Machars of Galloway in southwest Scotland. One of the earliest descriptions of it is given by Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw and Sir David Dunbar in an appendix to Andrew Symson's work "A Large Descript ...

.Coventry, Martin (2001). ''The Castles of Scotland''. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. p. 65 On 27 August 1701, while traveling with his brother and some friends, they found the Minnick Water at Larg in

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

in high flood. Lord Basil's servant "entered the water to try the ford, and was carried away by the torrent, and Lord Basil, in attempting to save him, was drowned."

Personal life

Hamilton was married to Mary Dunbar, a daughter of David Dunbar the Younger of Baldoon and, his second wife, Lady Eleanora Montgomerie (fourth daughter of

Hugh Montgomerie, 7th Earl of Eglinton Hugh Montgomerie, 7th Earl of Eglinton (1613–1669) was a Scottish landowner. Early life He was the son of Alexander Montgomerie, 6th Earl of Eglinton and Anne Livingstone. He spent much of his childhood at Seton Palace with his grandmother, Mar ...

). David's first wife was Janet Dalrymple (a daughter of Sir James Dalyrmple of Stair), who is well known as "the heroine of

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' ...

's story of ''

The Bride of Lammermoor ''The Bride of Lammermoor'' is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, one of the Waverley novels. The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland, shortly before the Act of Union of 1707 (in the first editio ...

''. Mary was the granddaughter and heiress of Sir David Dunbar, 1st Baronet, of

. Together, they were the parents of four children: * Catherine Hamilton (–1779), who married

Thomas Cochrane, 6th Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane, 6th Earl of Dundonald (1702 - 28 May 1737) was a Scottish aristocrat. Early life Cochrane was born in 1702. He was the second but only surviving son of William Cochrane of Kilmaronock, MP for Wigtown Burghs, and the former Lady ...

. * Eleanor Hamilton (–1783), who married John Murray of Philiphaugh. * William Hamilton (d. ), who died unmarried. *

Basil Hamilton Basil Hamilton (8 September 1696 – 14 November 1742) was a Scottish Jacobite. Early life He was the second son of Lord Basil Hamilton and Mary Dunbar, granddaughter and heiress of Sir David Dunbar, 1st Baronet, of Baldoon. His elder brother ...

(1696–1742), who married Isabella Mackenzie, granddaughter of

Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie Captain Kenneth Mackenzie, 2nd of Suddie was a Scottish soldier who was killed at the Battle of Mulroy in 1688 whilst commanding Government troops against rebel Scottish clans. Lineage He was the son of Alexander Mackenzie, 1st of Suddie and his ...

Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth, KT, PC (S) ( bapt. 8 December 1661 – January 1701) was a Scottish peer and Jacobite supporter, known as Lord Mackenzie of Kintail from birth until 1678. Life Mackenzie was the eldest son of Kenne ...

. After Lord Basil's death on 27 August 1701, he was succeeded in his estates by his eldest son William. As William died unmarried before November 1703, the Baldoon estate passed to his second son,

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

, who was returned as MP for

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

in 1741. Lady Mary Hamilton was one of the Jacobites required to forfeit estates in 1715. She died at

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

at age eighty-six in 1760 and was buried at Holyrood on 22 May 1760.

Descendants

Through his second son

, he was posthumously a grandfather of Dunbar Hamilton, who inherited the earldom of Selkirk in 1744.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Lord Basil 1671 births 1701 deaths Younger sons of dukes Deaths by drowning