Susan Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton (14 May 1786 – 27 May 1859), formerly Susan(na) Euphemia Beckford, was the wife of

Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, 7th Duke of Brandon (3 October 1767 – 18 August 1852), styled as the Earl of Angus until 1799 and Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale from 1799–1819, was a Scottish politician and art collector. L ...

, and the mother of the 11th Duke. Susan was born at Château La Tour,in Vevay,Switzerland. She was the daughter of

William Thomas Beckford William Thomas Beckford (29 September 1760 – 2 May 1844) was an English novelist, art critic, planter and politician. He was reputed at one stage to be England's richest commoner. He was the son of William Beckford (politician), William Beckf ...

and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Gordon. Beckford was an art collector who made his home at

Brodick Castle Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The cas ...

on the Isle of Arran. He was the son of a Lord Mayor of London, William Beckford (whose wife, Maria Hamilton, was a descendant of

James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran ( – 22 January 1575), was a Scottish nobleman and Regent of Scotland during the minority of Mary, Queen of Scots from 1543 to 1554. At first pro- English and Protestant, he conv ...

, as was her future grandson-in-law). Lady Margaret was the daughter of

Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne (c. 1726 – 28 December 1794). The eldest son of John Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aboyne and Grace Lockhart, he succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Aboyne on 7 April 1732. On his death in 1794 he was succeeded in his ...

. Susan Beckford married the future duke, then a former MP and styled Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale,G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume VI, page 273. on 26 April 1810 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. They had two children: *

William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton William Alexander Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon (19 February 1811 – 8 July 1863) styled Earl of Angus and Arran before 1819 and Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale between 1819 and 1852, was a Scottish noblem ...

, who married

Princess Marie Amelie of Baden Princess Marie Amelie of Baden (Marie Amelie Elisabeth Caroline; 11 October 1817 – 17 October 1888) was the youngest daughter of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais. In 1843, she married the Scottish nobleman William H ...

and had children; *

Lady Susan Hamilton Lady Susan Harriet Catherine Hamilton (9 June 181428 November 1889) was a Scottish aristocrat. The daughter of Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, and Susan Euphemia Beckford, she at once was a star of high society. An angelic child of g ...

, who married twice: she had children by her first husband,

Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (22 May 181118 October 1864), styled Earl of Lincoln before 1851, was a British politician and aristocrat. He sat in Parliament for South Nottinghamshire (1832–46) and fo ...

, but none by her second, Jean Alexis Op de Beeck. Her daughter, also named Susan, caused the duke and duchess some concern by eloping with Horatio Walpole, by whom she had an illegitimate child, born in 1849. She lived abroad with Walpole for a time but returned to Britain for a time in 1853. The dowager duchess was a patron of the arts whose acquaintances included

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

. She inherited many of her father's works of art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Susan Hamilton, Duchess of 1786 births 1859 deaths 18th-century British women 19th-century British women

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...

British duchesses by marriage British patrons of the arts

19th-century British philanthropists 19th-century British women philanthropists