George Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Strabane

Last updated

George Hamilton
Baron Hamilton of Strabane
Tenure1655–1668
Predecessor James, 3rd Baron H. of Strabane
Successor Claud, 4th Earl of Abercorn
Died14 April 1668
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Fagan
Issue
Detail 		Claud, Charles, & others
Father Claud, 2nd Baron H. of Strabane
MotherJean Gordon

George Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Strabane (died 1668) was the younger son of Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane. He succeeded to the title in 1655 when his brother drowned while bathing in the River Mourne. After the Restoration, he obtained the return of the family lands around Strabane, which had been confiscated by the Parliamentarians in 1650.

Contents

Birth and origins

George was born in 1636 or 1637, [1] probably at Strabane Castle. He was the younger son of Claude Hamilton and his wife Jean Gordon. His father was the 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane and a member of the Strabane cadet branch of the Abercorns. The lords of Strabane owned much land around Strabane and Baronscourt in County Tyrone.

Family tree
George Hamilton with wife, parents, and other selected relatives. [lower-alpha 1]
James
1st Earl
1575–1618		Marion
Boyd
d. 1632
Recusant
James
2nd Earl
d. 1670		 Claud
2nd Baron
d. 1638		Jean
Gordon		 Phelim
O'Neill
d. 1653		 George
1st Baronet
Donalong
d. 1679
George
3rd Earl
c. 1636 –
bef. 1683		 James
3rd Baron
1633–1655		George
4th Baron
1636/7 –
1668		Elizabeth
Fagan		 James
c. 1630–1673
Claud
4th Earl
1659–1691		 Charles
5th Earl
d. 1701		 James
6th Earl
c. 1661–1734
James
7th Earl
1686–1744
Legend
XXXSubject of
the article		XXX Earls of
Abercorn 		XXX Barons H.
of Strabane 		XXX O'Neills

George's mother was the fourth daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly in Scotland. His parents were both Catholic. They married in 1632. [3] He was one of four siblings, who are listed in his father's article.

Father's death

In 1638, while George was still an infant, his father died and was buried in the church of Leckpatrick near Strabane. [4] His older brother James succeeded as the 3rd Baron Hamilton of Strabane as a young child. His mother ran the family estate and they continued to live in the Castle of Strabane.

Irish wars

In 1641, when George was about four years old, the Irish Rebellion broke out. The rebel leader Phelim O'Neill captured and burned Strabane Castle and took him, together with his mother and siblings, as prisoners to Kinard, his usual place of residence. [5] Phelim released his prisoners after some days and sent them to Sir George Hamilton, one of George's uncles. [6]

In 1649, when George was about 12, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Strabane Castle was attacked again, this time by Robert Monro and his Covenanter army. The castle was relieved by Phelim O'Neill, its previous attacker. [7] Phelim married George's mother in November. [8] Phelim became his stepfather and his half-brother Gordon O'Neill was born in due course.

In 1649 Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland with the Parliamentarian forces. In July 1650, in the Siege of Charlemont, his brother and his stepfather defended Charlemont Fort with remnants of the Confederate Ulster army against a Parliamentarian army under Charles Coote. Having resisted several attacks, the fort finally surrendered to Coote on terms in August and the garrison was allowed to march away. In July 1650, the family's lands were confiscated by the Parliamentarians. [9] In 1652 Phelim O'Neill was captured. He was tried and convicted for treason in October and executed. [10]

Brother's succession

In June 1655 his brother, James, drowned in the River Mourne at Ballyfathen, aged about 22. [11] [12] His brother had never married and George succeeded him as the 4th Baron Hamilton of Strabane. He is usually called Lord Strabane rather than Lord Hamilton to avoid confusion with the Lords Hamilton of the senior, Scottish, branch of the family.[ citation needed ]

Marriage and children

George married in or before 1659 Elizabeth Fagan, daughter of Christopher Fagan of Feltrim, County Dublin, and of Anne, daughter of Sir Nicholas White of Leixlip Castle. [13] Christopher Fagan had lost his estates during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland but would get them back in 1663 as an "innocent papist" in the terms of the Act of Settlement 1662. [14] Elizabeth would eventually turn out to be a rich heiress, the only surviving child after the deaths of her two brothers. [15]

George and Elizabeth had two sons: [16]

  1. Claud (1659–1691), succeeded him as the 4th Earl of Abercorn [16]
  2. Charles (died 1701), became the 5th Earl of Abercorn [16]

—and two daughters:

  1. Anne (died 1680), married John Browne of the Neale, County Mayo [17] [18]
  2. Mary (born 1668 or 1669), born after her father's death, and would marry as his second wife Garrett Dillon, Recorder of Dublin [19]

Restoration

After the Restoration (1660), Lord Strabane, as he was now, obtained the return of most of the family lands, which had been confiscated in 1650 by the Parliamentarians. Although his brother James had fought with Phelim O'Neill's Confederates rather than with the royalists, his brother had fought against the Parliamentarians, not against the royalists and, Lord Strabane, being born about 1636, was too young to have been involved in the atrocities of 1641. His brother's lands were therefore restored to him as an "innocent papist" on 16 May 1663. [20]

Death, succession, and timeline

He died on 14 April 1668 at Kenure House, Rush, Dublin, and was buried at nearby St. Mechlin's Church. [21] [22] He was succeeded by his eldest son Claud as 5th Baron Hamilton of Strabane, who in about 1680 became the 4th Earl of Abercorn.

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
AgeDateEvent
01636 or 1637Born, [1] probably at Strabane Castle.
11638, 14 JunFather died. [4]
41641His home, Strabane Castle, burned by Phelim O'Neill. [5]
121649, 30 Jan King Charles I beheaded. [23]
121649His home, Strabane Castle, attacked by Robert Monro relieved by Phelim. [7]
121649, NovMother married Phelim O'Neill. [8]
131650Estates were confiscated by the Parliamentarians. [9]
161653, 10 MarStepfather executed. [10]
181655, 16 JunSucceeded his drowned brother [11] as the 4th Lord Strabane.
221659, in or beforeMarried Elizabeth Fagan. [15]
231660, 29 MayRestoration of King Charles II [24]
231663, 16 MayObtained return of the estates at Strabane. [20]
311668, 14 AprDied at Kenure House, Rush, Dublin. [21]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne. [2] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Citations

  1. 1 2 Cokayne 1953, p. 320a. "George (Hamilton), Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane [I.], only br. [brother] and h. [heir], was b. [born] between 14 Feb. 1835/6 and 1 Dec. 1637."
  2. ↑ Cokayne 1910, p.  4. "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
  3. ↑ Paul 1904, p.  50, line 8. "He married, 28 November 1632, Lady Jean Gordon, fourth daughter of George, first Marquess of Huntly, by Lady Henrietta Stuart, daughter of Esme, first Duke of Lennox;"
  4. 1 2 Paul 1904, p.  50, line 7. "Dying 14 June 1638, he [Claude Hamilton] was buried in the church of Leckpatrick, County Tyrone."
  5. 1 2 Paul 1904, p.  50, line 12. "[Jean] who was taken prisoner by Sir Phelim O'Neile, in the rebellion of 1641, when he burned and destroyed the castle of Strabane, but whom she afterwards married ..."
  6. ↑ Graham 1841, p.  277. "He [Phelim] carried the unfortunate lady to his castle at Kinnaird, where he kept her two or three days, and then sent her to Sir George Hamilton ..."
  7. 1 2 Webb 1878, p.  417, line 51. "He [Phelim] had just before relieved her castle of Strabane, attacked by Monro."
  8. 1 2 Webb 1878, p.  417, line 48. "In November 1649 he [Phelim] married Lady Jane Gordon a daughter of the Marquis of Huntly and the widow of Lord Strabane."
  9. 1 2 Cokayne 1896, p.  260, line 3. "He [James] incurred forfeiture of his lands by joining the Irish under Sir Phelim O'Neill ... 20 July 1650, at Charlemont ..."
  10. 1 2 Webb 1878, p.  417. "He was tried and convicted in October, and was executed with all the barbarities then inflicted on persons adjudged guilty of high treason."
  11. 1 2 Cokayne 1896, p.  260, line 5. "He died s.p. 16 June 1655 (a recusant) being drowned while bathing in the River Maine at Ballyfatty near Strabane."
  12. ↑ Paul 1904, p.  50, line 28. "... and died, without issue, a Roman Catholic recusant at Ballyfatten, near Strabane, 16 June 1655, being drowned bathing in the River Mourne ..."
  13. ↑ Paul 1904, p.  51, line 8. "He married Elizabeth, daughter, and ultimately sole heiress, of Christopher Fagan of Feltrim in the county of Dublin, by Anne, daughter of Sir Nicholas White of Leixlip, in the county of Klidare ..."
  14. ↑ Lodge 1789, p.  115, note. "In the court of claims for executing the act of settlement, the said Christopher Fagan claimed his estate and by the decree of that court 20 March 1663 was adjudged an inncocent papist ..."
  15. 1 2 Cokayne 1896, p.  260, line 10. "He m. in or before 1659 Elizabeth, only da. and on the death of her two brothers (Richard and Peter) h. of Cristopher FAGAN, of Feltrim, co. Dublin."
  16. 1 2 3 Lodge 1789, p.  116, line 17. "His [George Hamilton] issue were two sons and two daughters, Claude and Charles successive earls of Abercorn;"
  17. ↑ Lodge 1789, p.  116, line 18. "Anne, married to John, son of George Browne of the Neale in the co. of Mayo, Esq. and died 14 Aug. 1680."
  18. ↑ Burke & Burke 1915, p.  54, right column, line 24. "1. Anne, m. (art. dated 27-8 May, 1680) Sir John Browne, 3rd Bart, of the Neale, ancestor of Lord Kilinaine. She d.s.p. (died childless) 14 Aug. 1680."
  19. ↑ Paul 1904, p.  51, line 19. "Mary, born after her father's death, married to Gerald Dillon, Recorder of Dublin ..."
  20. 1 2 Cokayne 1953, p. 320b. "His brother's forfeited lands were restored to him as an 'innocent papist', 16 May 1663."
  21. 1 2 Paul 1904, p.  50. "George, 4th Lord Strabane, who, dying 14 April 1668 at his house at Kenure, County Dublin, was buried in St. Mechlin's Church, near Rush in that county ...
  22. ↑ Brewer 1829, p.  258. "In the immediate vicinity of Rush is the ruined Church of St. Mechlin, in which is a large tomb, adorned with the coat-armour of the deceased, and bearing an inscription to the memory of George, fourth baron of Strabane, who died on the 14th of April 1668."
  23. ↑ Fryde et al. 1986, p.  44, line 17. "Charles I. ... exec. 30 Jan. 1649 ..."
  24. ↑ Fryde et al. 1986, p.  44, line 39. "Charles II. ... acc. 29 May 1660 ..."

Sources

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Baron Hamilton of Strabane
1655–1668		Succeeded by

Related Research Articles

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of AbercornPC (S) (1575–1618) was a Scottish diplomat for James VI and an undertaker in the Plantation of Ulster, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Abercorn</span> Title in the Peerage of Ireland

The title Duke of Abercorn is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and the Duke also bears four titles in Peerage of Scotland and two in the Peerage of Great Britain, and is one of only three peers who have titles in those three peerages. The Duke of Abercorn also claims the French title of Duke of Châtellerault, created in 1548.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felim O'Neill of Kinard</span> Irish politician and soldier (1604–1653)

Sir Phelim Roe O'Neill of Kinard was an Irish politician and soldier who started the Irish rebellion in Ulster on 23 October 1641. He joined the Irish Catholic Confederation in 1642 and fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms under his cousin, Owen Roe O'Neill, in the Confederate Ulster Army. After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland O’Neill went into hiding but was captured, tried and executed in 1653.

Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane, in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created on 8 May 1617, for James Hamilton, Master of Abercorn, eldest son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, during the life of his father ; the barony had the special remainder to the heir-males of his father. He was about thirteen at the time. Both Abercorn and Paisley were in the peerage of Scotland. He inherited his father's several titles in 1618, his grandfather's title in 1621.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley</span> Scottish lord (1546–1621

Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley was a Scottish nobleman who fought at the Battle of Langside in 1568 for Mary, Queen of Scots. He is the ancestor of the earls, marquesses and dukes of Abercorn.

James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn was a Catholic Scottish nobleman. He, his wife, his mother, and most of his family were persecuted by the kirk as recusants. Implementing his father's will, he gave his Irish title of Baron Hamilton of Strabane to his younger brother Claud. His younger brothers inherited his father's Irish lands, while he received the Scottish ones, which he squandered away, being deep in debt in his later days.

George Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Abercorn died unmarried in Padua on a voyage to Rome. He was succeeded by Claud Hamilton, heir of Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane, second son of the 1st Earl of Abercorn.

Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane was the founder of the Strabane branch of the Hamiltons. He died relatively young at about 32 and his wife, Jean Gordon, married Sir Phelim O'Neill, one of the leaders of the 1641 rebellion, after his death.

James Hamilton, 3rd Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane (1633–1655) fought against the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland together with his stepfather Phelim O'Neill. In the Siege of Charlemont of 1650, they defended the fort against Coote, but had eventually to surrender. In 1655 Lord Strabane accidentally drowned in the River Mourne near Strabane, aged about 22 and was succeeded by his brother George.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn</span> Irish Jacobite soldier (1659–1691)

Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn PC (Ire) (1659–1691) was a Scottish and Irish peer who fought for the Jacobites in the Williamite War. He went with King James to Derry in 1689 and tried to negotiate the surrender of the town with Adam Murray. He raised a regiment of horse that he led in the defeats of Newtownbutler in 1689 and Aughrim in 1691. He was killed when the ship that should have brought him to France was intercepted by a Dutch privateer.

Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Abercorn succeeded his brother who had been attainted as a Jacobite and, having conformed to the established church, could get the attainder reversed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn</span> Scottish earl and Irish viscount (died 1734)

James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn, PC (Ire), was a Scottish and Irish peer and politician. Appointed a groom of the bedchamber to Charles II after the his father's death in battle, he took the Williamite side at the Glorious Revolution and in March 1689 supplied Derry with stores that enabled the town to sustain the Siege of Derry until it was relieved in August. Shortly after inheriting a Scottish and Irish peerage from a second cousin, he was created a viscount in Ireland for his services to the Williamite cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn</span> Irish and Scottish peer (1686–1744)

James Hamilton, 7th Earl of AbercornPC (Ire) (1686–1744), styled Lord Paisley from 1701 to 1734, was a Scottish and Irish nobleman and peer. An amateur scientist and musician, he published a book on magnetism in 1729 and a treatise on musical harmony in 1730, which was subsequently emended and re-issued by his teacher, Dr. Pepusch.

James Hamilton, Lord Paisley was the eldest son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn and Katherine Clifton, 2nd Baroness Clifton. Born a Catholic he became a Presbyterian before 1646. He predeceased his father and is therefore an example of an heir apparent who never succeeded.

Sir George Hamilton, 1st Baronet of Donalong and Nenagh, born in Scotland into a Catholic family, inherited land in Ireland and served his brother-in-law, the 1st Duke of Ormond, a Protestant, in diplomatic missions during the Confederate Wars and as receiver-general of the royalists. He also defended Nenagh Castle against Henry Ireton during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Hamilton was father of Antoine Hamilton, author of the Mémoires du Comte de Grammont, of Richard Hamilton, Jacobite general, and of Elizabeth, Countess de Gramont, "la belle Hamilton".

Colonel James Hamilton was the son of an Irish army officer and became a courtier to Charles II after the Restoration. He appears in the Mémoires du Comte de Grammont, written by his brother Anthony. The king appointed him ranger of Hyde Park and a groom of his bedchamber. In 1673 Hamilton lost a leg in a sea-fight with the Dutch and died from the wound a few days later. In 1701 his eldest son succeeded a cousin as 6th Earl of Abercorn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Hamilton (soldier)</span> Scottish soldier and landowner in Ireland (died 1647)

Sir Frederick Hamilton was a Scottish soldier who fought for Sweden in the Thirty Years' War in Germany and for the Covenanters in Ireland, Scotland, and northern England. He built Manorhamilton Castle, County Leitrim, Ireland. His son Gustavus became the 1st Viscount Boyne.

The Honourable Henry Hamilton (1692–1743) was an Irish politician who sat in two Irish parliaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Hamilton, Comte Hamilton</span> Irish soldier in French service (died 1676)

Sir George Hamilton, Comte d'Hamilton was an Irish soldier in English and French service as well as a courtier at Charles II's Whitehall.

Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw and Roscrea was an undertaker in the Plantation of Ulster. Born and bred in Scotland, by 1611 he had moved to Ireland with his Scottish wife to occupy his plantation grant. In 1630 he married his second wife and moved to Roscrea in southern Ireland, which his father-in-law, Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond, leased to him in lieu of dowry.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.