Robert Hamilton (September 14, 1753 – March 8, 1809) was a businessman, judge and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

Life

He was born in the manse at Bolton, East Lothian,

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 ...

in 1753, the son of Rev John Hamilton, the local minister, and his wife Jean Wight. His younger brother George Hamilton served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in 1805.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott He came to Canada as part of a contract with a

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

company operating west of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. In 1780, he formed a partnership with Richard Cartwright to supply goods to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

army at

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

which later expanded to include the transportation of goods across the province. Around 1784, he settled at

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...

. In 1791, with others, he won the contract for transporting military goods through the portage at Niagara. In 1788, he was named to the land board of the

Nassau District The Home District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and detached in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. It was abolished with the adoption of the county ...

and a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He opened a general store at Queenston and also acquired extensive land holding on the

Niagara peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

with his profits. In 1792, he became a member of the Legislative Council for the province. He was married twice: first to Catherine Robertson, the daughter of

John Askin John Askin (1739–1815) was an Irish fur trader, merchant, and colonial official. He was instrumental in the establishment of British rule in Upper Canada. Early years He was born in Aughnacloy, Ireland in 1739; his ancestors are believed to ...

and Monette a Native American enslaved woman, with whom he had five sons, and secondly to Mary Herkimer, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. He died at Queenston in 1809. His sons,

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(First Sheriff of Niagara, Postmaster of Upper Canada, Deputy Collector of Customs),

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

John 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 * Secon ...

, went on to become important political figures in the province.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Biography for Alexander Hamilton (1790-1839), the son
1753 births 1809 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople People from Niagara-on-the-Lake People from East Lothian Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Upper Canada judges Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) {{UpperCanada-politician-stub