James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye (c. 1560 – 24 January 1644) was a

Scot The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

who became owner of large tracts of land in County Down, Ireland, and founded a successful

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Scots settlement there several years before the Plantation of Ulster. Hamilton was able to acquire the lands as a result of his connections with King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, for whom he had been an agent in negotiations for James to succeed Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

Early life and academic career

Hamilton was the eldest of six sons of Hans Hamilton (1535/6–1608) and Jonet (or Janet), daughter of James Denham, laird of West Shield,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. His father Hans was the first Protestant minister of Dunlop in

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...

, Scotland. He was probably the James Hamilton who studied at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

and received a BA in 1584 and an MA in 1585. He acquired a reputation as "one of the greatest scholars and hopeful wits in his time" and became a teacher in

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 ...

. In about 1587 he left Scotland by ship and due to storms unexpectedly arrived in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland. He decided to stay and took up the position of master at the Free School in Ship Street. He employed fellow Scot

James Fullerton James Herd Fullerton (April 9, 1909 – March 3, 1991) was an American ice hockey coach and referee. In 1992 he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Early years Fullerton learned to play hockey at Beverly High School (class ...

as usher. One of their pupils was eight-year-old

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...

, later Archbishop of Armagh. When

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

was founded in 1592, the first provost Adam Loftus noted that Hamilton had "a noble spirit ... and learned head" and he and Fullerton became the first two Fellows of the College. Young Ussher followed them to Trinity. Hamilton and Fullerton were

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 ...

s, unlike Loftus who was episcopalian. Hamilton became bursar of Trinity in 1598.

Agent for King James VI of Scotland

Hamilton and Fullerton were also agents and informants for King James VI of Scotland. They provided James with information about Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

's activities in Ireland and sought Irish support for James's succession to the English throne on Elizabeth's death. Eventually they resigned their College positions to take up appointments at the royal court. Hamilton was in London intermittently from August 1600 as agent for James VI in connection with negotiations for James to succeed Elizabeth. Hamilton was accredited by James VI to reside in London, by his letters to Elizabeth and Robert Cecil on 4 August 1600. James said that Hamilton would be a "remaining agent" the equivalent of George Nicolson in Edinburgh. He eventually carried the official news of Elizabeth's death to Scotland.

Settlement in County Down

In 1601, Gaelic chieftain Conn O'Neill of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

sent his men to attack English soldiers after a quarrel and was consequently imprisoned. O'Neill's wife made a deal with Scots aristocrat Hugh Montgomery to give him half of O'Neill's lands if Montgomery could get a royal pardon for O'Neill. Montgomery obtained the pardon but in August 1604 Hamilton discovered the plan for the land. James Fullerton, now Sir James and an advisor to King James, convinced the king that the lands were too large to be split in two and should be divided into three, with one-third going to his associate Hamilton; the king agreed. Hamilton's main grant, made formally in November 1605, was the lordship of Upper (South)

Clandeboye Clandeboye or Clannaboy (from Irish ''Clann Aodha Buí'', "family of Hugh the Blond") was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising what is now south County Antrim, north County Down, and the barony of Loughinsholin, Northern Ireland. The entity ...

and the Great Ardes in County Down. The Nine Years' War in Ireland had ended in 1603, and Hamilton and Montgomery both recruited tenants from the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...

to migrate to Ulster to farm their newly acquired lands for low rents. They persuaded members of their extended families to come and, in May 1606, the first group of farmers, artisans, merchants and chaplains arrived to form the Ulster Scots settlement, four years before the Plantation of Ulster in 1610. The settlement was a success and Hamilton was knighted by the king at Royston on 14 November 1609. In 1610 Hamilton bought Dufferin from the White family. By 1611, a new town of eighty houses had been established at Bangor, where Hamilton lived. His brother John acquired lands in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

and founded

Markethill Markethill () is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is beside Gosford Forest Park. It had a population of 1,647 people in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Governme ...

Hamiltonsbawn Hamiltonsbawn or Hamilton's Bawn is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, five miles (8 km) east of Armagh. It lies within the Parish of Mullabrack and the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area. It had a population o ...

and

Newtownhamilton Newtownhamilton is a small town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies predominantly within Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants. ...

. Hamilton was elected a member of parliament for County Down in 1613. He repaired the

Bangor Abbey Bangor Abbey was established by Saint Comgall in 558 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland and was famous for its learning and austere rule. It is not to be confused with the slightly older abbey in Wales on the site of Bangor Cathedral. Hist ...

church in 1617. He was made the first Viscount Claneboye on 4 May 1622, in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. He was also a privy councillor. In about 1625 he moved from Bangor to

Killyleagh Castle Killyleagh Castle is a castle in the village of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It dominates the small village and is believed to be amongst one of the oldest inhabited castles in the country, with parts dating back to 1180. It follows ...

. Montgomery died in 1636 and in 1637 Hamilton built the Custom House and Tower House at his port of Bangor, to try to replace Montgomery's port at

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and ...

as Ulster's main port. In 1641, when in his eighties, he returned to his Scottish home town of Dunlop and built a mausoleum for his parents in the churchyard where his father had been minister. He erected a school attached to the mausoleum which he named Clandeboye School. Both buildings still stand. In the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

, the native Irish population rose against English settlers, and later also Scottish settlers, and killed thousands of them. The king gave colonels' commissions to Hamilton and other Scots in November to raise troops in Ulster to combat the rising. Hamilton raised a regiment of 1,000 men. He wrote for red and white taffeta to make flags for his captains.William Mure
''Selections from the Family Papers preserved at Caldwell'', 1 (Glasgow, 1854), p. 94
/ref> The regiments raised by Hamilton and Hugh Montgomery's son,

Hugh Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery Hugh Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery of the Great Ards, (1597–1642) was an Irish aristocrat who supported the Royalist cause in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Biography Montgomery was born in 1597 son of Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgo ...

, saved their areas of County Down from the degree of damage done in other parts of Ulster. Hamilton died, aged about eighty-four, on 24 January 1644 and was buried in the church at Bangor.

Family and succession

Hamilton's first wife was Alice Penicook (sometimes referred to, apparently incorrectly, as Penelope Cooke), and she was with him until at least 1602. His second wife was Ursula Brabazon (died 1625), sixth daughter of Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee and Mary Smythe, and sister of the 1st

Earl of Meath Earl of Meath is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created in 1627 and held by the head of the Brabazon family. This family descends from Sir Edward Brabazon, who represented County Wicklow in the Irish House of Commons and served as High Sher ...

. He divorced Ursula in about 1615 to marry Jane Phillips (died 1661), the mother of his son. She was the daughter of Sir John Phillips of

Picton Castle Picton Castle ( cy, Castell Pictwn) is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by a Flemish knight, it later came into the ha ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

. Hamilton was succeeded as Viscount Claneboye by his only son

James 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 (disambiguati ...

, who was also created

Earl of Clanbrassil Earl of Clanbrassil was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for members of the Hamilton family. Clanbrassil was the name of an old Gaelic territory (''Clann Bhreasail'') in what is now the barony of Oneilland ...

in 1647. His grandson, Henry Hamilton, 3rd Viscount Claneboye, died in 1675 with no sons and the title became extinct. The name Claneboye was revived in a title in 1800 when his great-great-grandniece Dorcas Blackwood was made 1st Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye.Debrett, John (1820).
Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland
'. 13th ed. pp. 1259–62.

References and notes

External links