George Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Abercorn

For other people named George Hamilton, see George Hamilton (disambiguation).

  • The Right Honourable
  • The Earl of Abercorn
Earl of Abercorn
Tenurec. 1670 – bef. 1683
PredecessorJames Hamilton
SuccessorClaud Hamilton
BornGeorge Hamilton
c. 1636
Diedbefore 1683
Padua, Veneto, Italy
FatherJames Hamilton
MotherKatherine Clifton

George Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Abercorn (c. 1636 – before 1683) 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.

Birth and origins

George was born about 1636, probably in Paisley, Scotland, as the third son of James Hamilton and his wife Katherine Clifton.[1] His father was the 2nd Earl of Abercorn.

George's mother was Dowager Duchess of Lennox from her previous marriage and Baroness Clifton of Leighton Bromswold in her own right. Both his parents were Catholic. They had married in 1627.[a][b]

He was the youngest of three brothers who are listed in his father's article. His two brothers predeceased his father without producing a male heir.

Family tree
George Hamilton with parents and other selected relatives. He never married.[c]
James
1st Earl
1575–1618		Marion
Boyd
d. 1632
Recusant
James
2nd Earl
d. 1670		Katherine
2nd
Baroness
Clifton
c. 1590 – 1637		Claud
2nd Baron
H. of
Strabane
d. 1638
James
Lord
Paisley
c. 1635 –
bef. 1670		George
3rd Earl
c. 1636 –
bef. 1683		James
3rd Baron
H. of
Strabane
1633–1655		George
4th Baron
H. of
Strabane
1636/7 – 1668
Claud
4th Earl
1659–1691		Charles
5th Earl
d. 1701
Legend
XXXSubject of
the article		XXXEarls of
Abercorn

Early life

On 17 September 1637 his mother died in Scotland when he was about a year old. She was buried without ceremony as she was Catholic.[6] At that time his father was deep in debt owing more than 400,000 merks (about £20,000 Sterling) to his creditors.[7][8][9][d]

In 1649 his father was excommunicated by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as a Catholic and ordered to leave the kingdom.[10] On 22 June 1652 he sold Paisley to the Earl of Angus for £13,333 6s 8d Scots (about £1100 Sterling).[11][e]

Father's succession

His two elder brothers grew up to reach adulthood but predeceased his father, making him the only surviving son and heir. He therefore succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Abercorn at his father's death in about 1670.[12][13]

Death, succession, and timeline

Lord Abercorn died in his forties, unmarried, about 1680, in Padua, Veneto, Italy, on his way to Rome,[14][15]

With his death, the senior line of the Abercorns failed. The title passed to the nearest cadet branch which was that of the barons Hamilton of Strabane, who descended from his uncle Claud. The representative of this line, Claud's grandson, Claud Hamilton, 5th Baron Hamilton of Strabane, therefore became the 4th Earl of Abercorn.[16][17]

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age Date Event
0 1636, about Born.[1]
0–1 1637, 17 Sep Mother died in Scotland.[6]
12–13 1649, 30 Jan King Charles I beheaded.[18]
15–16 1652, 22 Jun Father sold Paisley.[11]
23–24 1660, 29 May Restoration of King Charles II[19]
33–34 1670, about Succeeded his father as the 3rd Earl of Abercorn.[12]
43–44 1680, about Died in Padua.[14]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ The date is constrained by his return from his travels in April 1627[2] and his wife's excommunication on 3 February 1628.[3]
  2. ^ Cokayne (1910) places the marriage "about 1632.[4]
  3. ^ This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne.[5] Also see the list of siblings in the text.
  4. ^ The merk was worth 13s 4d or 2/3 of a £ Scots.[8] As there were 12 £ Scots to the £ Sterling,[9] the merk was worth about 1 English Shilling.
  5. ^ During the reign of James I, the £ Sterling was 12 £ Scots.[9]

Citations

  1. ^ a b Cokayne 1910, p. 5, line 8. "George (Hamilton), Earl of Abercorn, etc. [S.], 3rd, but 1st surv. s. and h., b. about 1636."
  2. ^ Metcalfe 1909, p. 236, line 16. "... but in April 1627, her son the Earl had returned and had openly declared himself a Catholic ..."
  3. ^ Metcalfe 1909, p. 236, line 33. "On February 3 the Countess was excommunicated."
  4. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 3, line 20. "He m. about 1632, Catherine, Dowager Duchess of Lennox da. and h. of Gervase (Clifton) Lord Clifton of Leighton Bromswold, by Catherine dau. and h. of Sir Henry Darcy of Leighton afsd."
  5. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 4. "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
  6. ^ a b Cokayne 1913, p. 310. "She d. in Scotland and was bur. 'without ceremonie', 17 Sep. 1637, aged about 45."
  7. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 3, line 26a. "He was then [about 1640] living, but 'more than 400,000 merks in debt'."
  8. ^ a b Meikle 2015, p. xi. "The Scots merk was worth 13s 4d."
  9. ^ a b c Meikle 2015, p. 60. "... after the union of the crowns in 1603 ... the Scots pound was set at a fixed rate of twelve to every English pound sterling."
  10. ^ Metcalfe 1909, p. 250, line 7. "At length, in 1649, the General Assembly, which, as we have seen, had long since taken the case out of the hands of the Presbytery, pronounced the sentence of excommunication and banishment against him."
  11. ^ a b Metcalfe 1909, p. 310, line 6. "On June 22, 1652, the Earl of Abercorn signed a disposition, by which, for the sum of £13,333 6s 8p. Scots, he sold to the Earl of Angus 'the Lordship and barony of Paisley, comprehending "
  12. ^ a b Cokayne 1910, p. 3, line 26b. "He [the 2nd Earl] d. about 1670."
  13. ^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 55, left, line 12 column. "His lordship was s. at his decease by his only surviving son, George, 3rd earl of Abercorn, d. unm. at Padua, before 1683, and was s. by his cousin ..."
  14. ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 49, line 34. "George, third Earl of Abercorn, succeeded his father but died unmarried in Padua, on his journey to Rome, whereby the male line failed in the eldest branch ..."
  15. ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 5, line 9. "He was living in 1670, but d. [died] unm. [unmarried] at Padua, in Italy, before 1683."
  16. ^ Cokayne 1892, p. 153, line 7. "Claud (Hamilton) Baron Hamilton of Strabane [I.], s. and h., bap. 13 Sep. 1659, at St. Audoen's, Dublin. By the death of his cousin about 1680, he became Earl of Abercorn etc, [S.]"
  17. ^ Debrett 1828, p. 63, line 9"... whose grandson, Claude, 5th baron of Strabane, in Ireland, succeeded as 4th earl of Abercorn, on the death of his cousin, George, 3rd earl;"
  18. ^ Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 17. "Charles I. ... exec. 30 Jan. 1649 ..."
  19. ^ Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 39. "Charles II. ... acc. 29 May 1660 ..."

Sources

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Earl of Abercorn
c. 1670 – bef. 1683 		Succeeded by