James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton
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Lt. General Sir James Douglas-Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, 1st Duke of Brandon and 1st Baron of Dutton, KG, KT, (11 November 1658 – 15 November 1712) was a Scottish nobleman, the Premier Peer of Scotland and Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. He was a Master of the Great Wardrobe, Master-General of the Ordnance, Ambassador, Member of Parliament for Lancashire and Colonel-in-Chief of his regiment.
The eldest son of William Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Selkirk (created Duke of Hamilton for his lifetime in 1660) and his wife Anne, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton in her own right, was born at Hamilton Palace, in Lanarkshire. He was styled until 1698 as Earl of Arran and succeeded his mother, who resigned the dukedom to him in 1698.
Hamilton was in the first cohort of James VII's royal Order of the Thistle (1687) so it is perhaps unsurprising that, considering next year's political upheaval that removed his king, and following, with accession of Queen Anne he was regarded as leader of the Scottish national party, perhaps due to very close personal links with the other royal line. He was an opponent of the union with England, but his lack of decision rendered his political conduct ineffective. As an attempt to woo him, he was created additionally Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1711.
On 15 November in the following year he fought a celebrated duel with Charles Mohun, Lord Mohun in the Hyde Park, London, narrated in Thackeray’s Esmond, in which both the principals were killed. Their seconds, George Macartney, Esq and Colonel John Hamilton, were found guilty of manslaughter.
[edit] Marriage and issue
In 1686 Hamilton married Lady Anne Spencer, a daughter of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland. They had two daughters, although neither survived childhood. Anne died shortly after the birth of the second daughter in 1690.
Hamilton married secondly Elizabeth Gerard, daughter of Digby Gerard, Baron Gerard in 1698, and had seven children:
- Lady Elizabeth Hamilton (1699-1702)
- Lady Catherine Hamilton (c.1700-1712)
- Lady Charlotte Hamilton (c.1701-1777)
- Lady Susan Hamilton (c.1702-1753)
- James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1702-1743)
- Lord William Hamilton (c.1703-1734)
- Lord Anne Hamilton (1709-1748)
In addition Hamilton had an illegitmate son, Lt. Col. Sir James Abercrombie, 1st Baronet, born prior to 1680, who died at Dunkirk in 1724. He had a second illegitimate son, Charles Hamilton, by Barbara Fitzroy, as well as two daughters named Ruthven.
[edit] Sources
Duke Hamilton is Dead!: a story of aristocratic life and death in Stuart Britain. Victor Stater. Hill and Wang, New York 1999 ISBN 0809040336
[edit] External links
| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Derby |
Vice-Admiral of Lancashire 1712 |
Succeeded by Vacant |
| Military Offices | ||
| Preceded by (Regiment raised) |
Colonel of the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers 1685–1688 |
Succeeded by Charles Hamilton |
| Preceded by The Duke of Berwick |
Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Horse 1688 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Oxford |
| Preceded by The Earl Rivers |
Master-General of the Ordnance 1712 |
Succeeded by Vacant |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Manchester |
British Ambassador to France 1712 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Shrewsbury |
| Preceded by Anne Hamilton |
Duke of Hamilton 1698–1712 |
Succeeded by James Douglas-Hamilton |
| Preceded by New Creation |
Duke of Brandon 1711–1712 |
|
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