James Hamilton, 3rd Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane (1633–1655) fought against the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland together with his stepfather Phelim O'Neill. In the Siege of Charlemont of 1650, they defended the fort against Coote, but had eventually to surrender. In 1655 Lord Strabane accidentally drowned in the River Mourne near Strabane, aged about 22 and was succeeded by his brother George.
James Hamilton | |
|---|---|
| Baron Hamilton of Strabane | |
| Tenure | 1638–1655 |
| Predecessor | Claud, 2nd Baron H. of Strabane |
| Successor | George, 4th Baron H. of Strabane |
| Born | 1633 |
| Died | 16 June 1655 |
| Spouse(s) | unmarried |
| Father | Claud, 2nd Baron H. of Strabane |
| Mother | Jean Gordon |
Birth and origins
editJames was born in 1633[1] probably at Strabane Castle, as the eldest son of Claude Hamilton and his wife Jean Gordon. His father was the 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane, a member of the Strabane cadet branch of the Abercorns. James's mother was the fourth daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly. His parents had married in 1632.[2] James had one brother and two sister, which are listed in his father's article.
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Baron Strabane
editHamilton succeeded his father in 1638 at the age of about five.[4] His mother ran the family estate for the yond Lord Strabane, as he was now, and they continued to live in the Castle of Strabane.
Irish wars
editIn 1641, when Strabane was about eight years old, the Irish Rebellion broke out. The rebel leader Phelim O'Neill captured and burnt Strabane Castle and took him, his mother, and his siblings captive.[5] Phelim brought them to his castle in Kinard but released them after a few days and sent them to "Sir George Hamilton".[6] This could have been Sir George of Donalong or his great-uncle Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw and Roscrea.
In 1649, when he was about 16, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Strabane Castle was attacked again, this time by Robert Monro and his Covenanter army. The castle was relieved by Phelim O'Neill, its previous attacker.[7] Phelim married his mother in November.[8] Phelim became his stepfather and his half-brother Gordon O'Neill was born.
In 1649 Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland with the Parliamentarian forces. On 21 June 1650 the Confederate Ulster Army lost the Battle of Scarrifholis.[9] His stepfather fought in the battle and then fled and escaped capture. In July 1650, aged about 17, Strabane joined his stepfather in his fight against the Parliamentarians.[10] Together with Phelim O'Neill he defended Charlemont Fort in the Siege of Charlemont against Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath. The fort surrendered to Coote on terms on the 6th[11] or on the 14th of August 1650.[12] The garrison was allowed to march to a port to go overseas into foreign service.
Lord Strabane, however, did not want to leave the country. He therefore escaped and hid in the woods and bogs of the Munterlony mountains where he was captured soon after.[13] He then sought Coote's protection; but in December, he returned to his old cause and took up arms again with Phelim O'Neill. His lands, comprising among others what is today called the Baronscourt Estate, were confiscated.[14] In 1652 Phelim O'Neill was captured. He was tried and convicted for treason in October and executed.[15]
Death and timeline
editStrabane drowned in the River Mourne at Ballyfatten near Strabane in 1655, aged about 22.[16][17] He had never married and was succeeded by his younger brother George as the 4th Baron of Strabane.
| Timeline | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | Date | Event |
| 0 | 1633 | Born,[1] probably at Strabane Castle. |
| 4–5 | 1638, 14 Jun | Father died.[4] |
| 7–8 | 1641 | Strabane Castle burned by Phelim O'Neill.[5] |
| 12–13 | 1646, 5 Jun | Battle of Benburb[18] |
| 15–16 | 1649, 30 Jan | King Charles I beheaded.[19] |
| 15–16 | 1649 | Strabane Castle attacked by Robert Monro but relieved by Phelim.[7] |
| 15–16 | 1649, Nov | Mother married Phelim O'Neill.[8] |
| 16–17 | 1650, 21 Jun | Stepfather fought at Scarrifholis where the Confederate Ulster Army was defeated by Coote. |
| 16–17 | 1650, Jul | Defended Charlemont Fort with his stepfather against Coote. |
| 16–17 | 1650, Aug | He and Phelim surrendered Charlemont Fort to Coote on terms.[11] |
| 19–20 | 1653, 10 Mar | Stepfather executed.[15] |
| 21–22 | 1655, 16 Jun | Died by accidental drowning in the River Mourne[16] |
Notes and references
editNotes
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 50, line 26. "James, titled Lord Strabane, born in 1633 ..."
- ^ Paul 1904, p. 50, line 8. "He [George Hamilton] married, 28 November 1632, Lady Jean Gordon, fourth daughter of George, first Marquess of Huntly, by Lady Henrietta Stuart, daughter of Esme, first Duke of Lennox;"
- ^ Cokayne 1910, p. 4. "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
- ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 50. "Dying 14 June 1638, he was buried in the church of Leckpatrick, County Tyrone."
- ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 50, line 12. "[Jean] who was taken prisoner by Sir Phelim O'Neile, in the rebellion of 1641, when he burned and destroyed the castle of Strabane, but whom she afterwards married ..."
- ^ Graham 1841, p. 277. "He carried the unfortunate lady to his castle at Kinnaird, where he kept her two or three days, and then sent her to Sir George Hamilton ..."
- ^ a b Webb 1878, p. 417, line 51. "He had just before relieved her castle of Strabane, attacked by Monro."
- ^ a b Webb 1878, p. 417, line 48. "In November 1649 he [Felim] married Lady Jane Gordon a daughter of the Marquis of Huntly and the widow of Lord Strabane."
- ^ Bagwell 1909, p. 230, in the margin. "Battle of Scariffhollis [sic], June 21"
- ^ Cokayne 1892, p. 153, line 6. "He joined his stepfather in July 1650 against the Parl. Forces."
- ^ a b Hill 1877, p. 528, Note 223, line 17. "... held the fort of Charlemont; and the said fort and garrison being afterwords, that is to say the 6th of Aug. 1650, taken by the army and forces of the commonwealth of England ..."
- ^ Bagwell 1909, p. 236. "Surrender of Charlemont, August 14 (in the margin)"
- ^ Hill 1877, p. 528, Note 223, line 21. "... the said James Hamilton lord baron of Strabane, with other rebels unknown, in his company, then fled to the woods and bogs of the Mountereling (Munterlony) in the county of Tirrone, and was the said day taken prisoner ..."
- ^ Hill 1877, p. 529, Note 223. "... all the aforesaid lands [now the Baronscourt estate] by reason of the said James Hamilton, his acting and assisting in the said rebellion are forfeated ..."
- ^ a b Webb 1878, p. 417. "He was tried and convicted in October, and was executed with all the barbarities then inflicted on persons adjudged guilty of high treason."
- ^ a b Cokayne 1892, p. 153, line 7. "He died s.p. 16 June 1655 (a recusant) being drowned while bathing in the River Maine at Ballyfatty near Strabane."
- ^ Paul 1904, p. 50, line 28. "... and died, without issue, a Roman Catholic recusant at Ballyfatten, near Strabane, 16 June 1655, being drowned bathing in the River Mourne ..."
- ^ Duffy 2002, p. 114. "When the latter [O'Neill] scored a surprise victory at Benburn, on 5 June 1646, over the Ulster Scots led by General Robert Munro, it seemed that the confederates were in sight of victory ..."
- ^ Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 17. "Charles I. ... exec. 30 Jan. 1649 ..."
Sources
edit- Bagwell, Richard (1909). Ireland under the Stuarts and under the Interregnum. Vol. II. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. OCLC 458582656. – 1642 to 1660 (for Scarrisholis and Charlemont)
- Cokayne, George Edward (1892). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. IV (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180828941. – G to K (for Hamilton of Strabane)
- Cokayne, George Edward (1910). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. I (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Ab-Adam to Basing (for Abercorn)
- Duffy, Seán (2002). The Illustrated History of Ireland. New York: Contemporary Books. ISBN 0-8092-2437-2.
- Fryde, Edmund Boleslaw; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)
- Graham, Rev. John (1841). Ireland Preserved; or the Siege of Londonderry and the Battle of Aughrim with Lyrical Poetry and Biographical Notes (2nd ed.). Dublin: Hardy and Walker. OCLC 00992682. – Short biographies in the biographical notes
- Hill, Rev. George (1877). An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster at the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century, 1608–1620. Dublin: McCaw Stevenson and Orr. OCLC 32638560.
- Paul, Sir James Balfour (1904). The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland. Vol. I. Edinburgh: David Douglas. OCLC 505064285. – Abercorn to Balmerino (for Abercorn)
- Webb, Alfred (1878). "O'Neill, Sir Felim". Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. pp. 416–418. OCLC 122693688.