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2024 Week 4: Witness to history #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

My 10 x great grandfather on my maternal side, Hans Hamilton, was a minister of the Presbyterian church in the small Ayrshire village of Dunlop in Scotland. One of his sons, James, my 9 x great grand uncle, born in 1559, was not only a witness to history, but played a major part in it, the consequences of which have lasted for centuries. 

Portrait of Sir James Hamilton (1559-1643) courtesy of National Trust Castle Ward

James seems to have been educated at the University of St Andrews, gaining both a B.A and an M.A in 1584 and 1585 respectively. His scholarliness and wit brought him to the attention of King James VI of Scotland, who, in 1587, sent him on secret mission to Ireland to get information on what Queen Elizabeth I of England was attempting to do there. In 1600 King James sent him to London to act as his agent, in connection with his negotiations for succession to the English throne. While there he bore witness to and wrote about the 'Essex Rebellion' brought about by Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex. The latter had been sent by Elizabeth to defeat a rebellion in Ireland, but had instead made peace with the rebels angering the Queen. This resulted in Essex being banned from court and financially ruined. He therefore decided to raise the people of London in rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I, but he failed and was executed for treason.

When Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, it was James Hamilton who carried news of her death back to King James in Scotland. In 1622 he was given the title of Viscount Claneboye.

That's quite a bit of history to be involved in, but James Hamilton was not done yet.

After King James acceded to the English throne (King James VI of Scotland, but King James I of England) James Hamilton was given a knighthood. 

When the British aggressively took Irish lands, James Hamilton was given the territories of Upper Claneboye and the Upper Ardes. He was later granted more lands and eventually he was described as 'one of the most wealthy and powerful landowners' in northern Ireland. He then went on to bring Scots over to populate his estates - pious ministers, farmers, artisans and merchants - who became known as the 'Ulster Scots'. At the time the native population were Irish speaking and Catholics. These new settlers were English speaking and Protestants, The aim was to 'control, anglicise and civilise Gaelic Ireland'. This was further expanded by the plantation of 1610 four years later.

Map showing lands granted to James Hamilton in Down

This, of course, had consequences. Many towns were established and there was great cultural and economic shift, away from the previous rural existence of the native population. However, it also led to centuries of ethnic and sectarian conflict.

James Hamilton himself died in Bangor in 1643 and is buried there.

The history which he witnessed and played a major role in sadly still lives on today.




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  1. Anna MatthewsJanuary 21, 2024 at 4:46 PM

    Very interesting post. Something to keep in mind when I finally get around to researching my ancestors who claimed Irish ancestry on the Canadian census but were almost surely descended from Ulster-Scotts.

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