Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington

The Earl of Haddington.

Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington KT FRCPE (c. 1680 – 29 November 1735) was a Scottish politician and nobleman.

Life

The son of Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington and Margaret Leslie, 8th Countess of Rothes, he was christened on 5 September 1680 at Tyninghame House, East Lothian. His elder brother John Hamilton-Leslie, 9th Earl of Rothes succeeded to the Earldom of Rothes in 1700.

He took up residence at the family estate of Tyninghame following his marriage. He found the estate, which had been leased, in poor condition, and set about renovating and replanting. He is largely responsible for the layout of the parks which survives today, including avenues, plantations, and the 400 acres (160 ha) Binning Wood. A noted agricultural improver, the Earl wrote a book, A Treatise on the Manner of Raising Forest Trees, published in 1761. An obelisk was erected in the parks in 1856 to commemorate his works.^[1]

Haddington was a supporter of the Acts of Union 1707, and further joined with John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll's forces when they met the Jacobites under John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. Haddington was wounded and had his horse shot from beneath him.^[2]

Installed as Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire in 1716, he was created a Knight of the Thistle in 1717 and sat as a Scottish representative peer from 1716 until 1734.^[2]

Lord Haddington died on 29 November 1735 at Newhailes House, Inveresk, and was succeeded by his grandson, Thomas Hamilton, 7th Earl of Haddington.

Marriage and issue

Lord Haddington was wed in 1696 to his first cousin Helen Hope, daughter to John Hope of that ilk and Lady Margaret Hamilton, both being grandchildren of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington. They had issue:

• Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning (1697-1732) predeceased his father.
• Hon. John Hamilton (d.1772)
• Lady Margaret Hamilton (d.1768)
• Lady Christian Hamilton (d.1770) married Sir James Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet mother to David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes

References

Notes

Sources

• Anderson, J., Historical and genealogical memoirs of the House of Hamilton; with genealogical memoirs of the several branches of the family, Edinburgh 1825.
• Balfour Paul, Sir J., Scots Peerage IX vols. Edinburgh 1904.
•  Henderson, Thomas Finlayson (1890). "Hamilton, Thomas (1680-1735)". In Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography 24. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 

External links

• A Short Treatise on Forest-trees, Aquaticks, Ever-greens, Fences and Grass-seeds, Rt. Hon. the Earl of Haddington. Edinburgh 1765