Robert Ray Hamilton (March 18, 1851 – August 23, 1890) was an American politician from New York.

Early life

He was the son of Gen.

Schuyler Hamilton Schuyler Hamilton (July 22, 1822 – March 18, 1903) was an American soldier, farmer, engineer, and a grandson of Alexander Hamilton. Early life Hamilton was born on July 22, 1822 in New York City. He was the fifth of 14 children born to John Ch ...

(1822–1903); grandson of John Church Hamilton (1792–1882); and great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton (1755/7–1804) and

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton Elizabeth Hamilton (née Schuyler ; August 9, 1757 – November 9, 1854), also called Eliza or Betsey, was an American socialite and philanthropist. Married to American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, she was a defender of his works and co- ...

. Robert Ray Hamilton graduated from Columbia College and

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. He was admitted to the bar, and practiced law in New York City.

Career

He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 11th D.) in

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The ...

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl ...

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

and

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...

. Hamilton bought a half interest in a ranch owned by John Sargent in

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where he intended to live permanently. In May 1890, he left New York City for his ranch, to go hunting.

Personal life

In August 1889, it became known that he was married to Evangeline L. Mann (née Steele), a "notorious woman" who had ensnared him by claiming that he was the father of her child Beatrice. Evangeline Mann assaulted her maid, and was sentenced to two years in prison. In October 1889, Hamilton sued for divorce. He stated that the marriage had been performed on January 7, 1889, and told the truth about Beatrice which had been in fact some foundling used for the scheme to get money out of Hamilton (who had an income of about $40,000 a year inherited from his maternal grandfather Robert Ray). It was later proved in court that Eva had been married already to one Joshua L. Mann before she ever knew Hamilton, and Mann sued for divorce in 1893. In September 1890, he was found dead in the Snake River, near the Southern end of

Yellowstone Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, apparently having drowned and having been in the water for several days, making identification somewhat difficult. An investigation accused John I. Sergent of murdering Hamilton, but Sergent was found to be legally insane and was never prosecuted for the crime.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/12/28/102500493.pdf

References

Sources

''The New York Red Book''
compiled by Edgar L. Murlin (published by James B. Lyon, Albany NY, 1897; pg. 501 and 505ff)
''Fourth Annual Record of Assemblymen and Senators from the City of New York in the State Legislature''
published by the City Reform Club (1889; pg. 46–50)
"Very Costly Infatuation"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...