James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn (c. 1604 – c. 1670) 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.

James was born about 1604,^[2][b] probably in Paisley, Scotland. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton and his wife Marion Boyd.^[3] His father was an undertaker in the plantation of Ulster^[4] and would be created 1st Earl of Abercorn by James VI and I in 1606. His paternal grandfather was Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord of Paisley.

James's mother was the eldest daughter of Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock in Scotland.^[5][6] The Boyds were an old Scottish family, which would in 1661 be granted the title of Earl of Kilmarnock.^[7] He had four brothers and four sisters,^[8] which are listed in his father's article.

His father had been a Protestant, but his mother, Marion Boyd, was a recusant, who brought him, like all his siblings, up as a Catholic. On 10 April 1606 his father was created Earl of Abercorn and Lord Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell and Kilpatrick.^[9]

On 8 May 1617, when he was only about 12 years old, he was created 1st Baron Hamilton of Strabane, in the peerage of Ireland, with remainder to the heirs male of the body of his father.^[2] The purpose of the creation was to give the Abercorns, who were Scottish earls but big landowners in Ireland, a seat in the Irish House of Lords. The title Baron Hamilton of Strabane refers to the town of Strabane in County Tyrone, Ulster, where his father, the 1st Earl of Abercorn, had built a castle during the Plantation of Ulster.^[10]

In 1618 Lord Strabane, as he was now, succeeded his father as the 2nd Earl of Abercorn. His father had predeceased (d.v.p.) his grandfather, Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley, and had thus never become Lord Paisley.^[11]

In 1621 his grandfather, Lord Paisley, died.^[12] He succeeded therefore his grandfather as Lord Paisley and inherited the Scottish estates of the family, notably Abercorn and Paisley, as well as Kilpatrick on the northern bank of the Clyde. Since his father had entailed his Irish lands on his younger brothers, he resigned the title of Baron Hamilton of Strabane on 11 November 1633. Charles I, King of England and Scotland then regranted it to his brother Claud.^[13]

Sometime in early 1620, Lord Abercorn, as he was now, went to the continent on "his travels" as the Grand Tour was called in his time. He spent several years travelling the continent and visited Catholic countries, France and Italy, which encouraged him in his Catholicism. He returned to Paisley in April 1627.^[14]

In 1627 he married Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Lennox.^[c][d] He was 22, she was about 34, more than ten years older. She had been married to Lord Esmé Stewart and had had 11 children from him. Her first husband had died in 1624, being the 3rd Duke of Lennox. In November 1632 she obtained a royal license permitting her to retain her precedence as a dowager duchess.^[18]

James and Katherine had three sons, but the first two predeceased their father:

1. James (c. 1635 – before 1670), held the courtesy title of Lord Paisley as heir apparent but predeceased his father without producing a male heir^[19]
2. William (died before 1670), became a colonel but predeceased his father unmarried in the German wars^[20]
3. George (c. 1636 – before 1683), succeeded his father as the 3rd Earl of Abercorn^[21]

Abercorn's problems with the Church of Scotland (the Kirk) began with the process engaged by the Paisley Presbytery against his mother and some of her servants. In June 1626 she fled to James Law, the Archbishop of Glasgow for protection. The Bishop obtained a letter from the King, written by William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling that directed the church not to trouble her as long as she kept quiet.^[22] However, in April 1627 Abercorn returned from his travels on the continent and provoked the church by declaring himself openly a Catholic.^[15] On 20 January 1628 his mother, the Dowager Countess, was excommunicated by the Paisley Synod of the Church of Scotland.^[23] He escaped excommunication only by being absent at the royal court in London.^[24] His wife similarly was excommunicated on 3 February.^[16]

On 26 August 1632 his mother died in Edinburgh.^[25] On 21 August 1637 his wife died at Paisley and was buried "without ceremony" on 17 September.^[26] Like his mother she was a recusant. As Catholic, she was buried without religious ceremony. Her title as Baroness Clifton passed to James, her eldest son from her first marriage. At that time his father was deep in debt owing more than 400,000 merks (about £20,000 Sterling) to his creditors.^[27][e]

In 1649 Abercorn himself was excommunicated by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and ordered to leave Scotland.^[30]

On 11 September 1651, the male line of the dukes of Hamilton failed when William Hamilton, the 2nd Duke died from wounds received at the Battle of Worcester fighting for Charles II against Cromwell. As the Duke had no sons, he was succeeded by his niece Anne Hamilton according to the succession rule of his title (see family tree). It was found however that Abercorn was the heir male, which was thought of no consequence at the time.^[31] This status of the Abercorns being heir male later led to a dispute between the houses of Abercorn and Hamilton over the title of Duke of Châtellerault, when this title, which had belonged to James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, was revived by Napoleon III of France in 1864 in favour of the Duke of Hamilton.^[32]

On 22 June 1652 Abercorn sold Paisley to the Earl of Angus for £13,333 6s 8d Scots (about £1100 Sterling).^[33][f] Angus sold it a year later for £160,000^[34] to Lord Cochrane,^[35] who would later become the 1st Earl of DunDonald. The 8th Earl of Abercorn would eventually buy Paisley back in 1764.^[36]

Lord Abercorn died about 1670^[37] and was succeeded by his son George as the 3rd Earl of Abercorn. George, however, died unmarried in Padua. The earldom passed to the descendants of Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane.^[21]