The Clan Hamilton, or House of Hamilton, is a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

of the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 160–161.

History

Origins of the house

The Hamilton chiefs descend from Walter fitz Gilbert of Hambledon, who appears in a charter to the Monastery of Paisley in about 1294. His lands appear to have originally been in Renfrewshire, however, his support for

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

rewarded him with lands in Lanarkshire and the

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

s. These lands included Cadzow, which later became the town of

Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Hamilton (; ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and north of Carlisle. It is situated on t ...

Wars of Scottish Independence

Walter Fitz Gilbert was rewarded with lands for his support of king Robert the Bruce. Walter's son, David, fought at the Battle of Neville's Cross for David II of Scotland in 1346. David was captured and was not released until a substantial ransom was paid.

15th and 16th centuries

In 1474, James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, married Princess Mary, daughter of

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

Their son was James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. The family extended Brodick Castle on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

. The second Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, was heir to the throne of both James IV of Scotland and

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. He was made regent of Scotland while the queen was still a child and proposed to marry his son to her, in order to secure his claim to the throne. At this time, Friar Mark Hamilton wrote a family history. However, the royal marriage did not take place and Mary married an heir to the French throne instead. James Hamilton was created Duke of Châtellerault because he had figured prominently in the marriage negotiations with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1561, he was sent into exile for five years because he openly opposed Mary's marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, having had his hopes rekindled when Mary's marriage ended upon the death of the Dauphin of France. James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh was a Scottish supporter of

, who assassinated James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, in January 1570. The 4th Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton, became Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was made keeper of both of the strategic royal castles;

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

and

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

. He had been advanced to the rank of marquess in 1599. His brother was Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley, who had been created Lord Paisley in 1587 and later Lord Abercorn. This branch of the family also prospered and Abercorn was advanced to an earldom and later a dukedom in 1868.

17th century and civil war

The third Marquess, James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, was a staunch supporter of Charles I. Charles rewarded him with the dukedom in 1643, which made Hamilton the premier peer in Scotland. Hamilton led a royalist army into England but was defeated at the Battle of Preston (1648) by the Parliamentarians of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. Hamilton was later executed in 1649 at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, shortly before the king met the same fate. Hamilton's brother, William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton, was also a brave soldier but was killed at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The title passed to Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, daughter of the first Duke. She was a woman of great intellect but she inherited estates heavily burdened by debt. Matters were made worse with her kinsman Hamilton, Earl of Abercorn, challenged her right to succeed to the title. Anne married William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk (later Duke of Hamilton). Their son was James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, who was killed in a controversial duel in London in 1712.

Seat of the chief

Hamilton Palace in

, had been the family's seat from the 13th century. Built by Duchess Anne and her husband, William Douglas, 3rd Duke of Hamilton, it had the distinction of being one of the largest non-royal palaces in Europe, reaching its greatest extent under the 10th and 11th dukes in the mid nineteenth century. Excessive subsidence of the palace caused by the family's mines led to its condemnation and demolition in 1921. The 13th Duke then moved to Dungavel House, near Strathaven. This was where deputy-führer

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

aimed to reach during his doomed peace mission to see Douglas, 14th Duke of Hamilton, in 1941. In 1947, Dungavel was sold to the coal board, and then on to the government, which turned it into an open prison. Currently, it is the site of a controversial holding centre for asylum-seekers. The family moved to Lennoxlove House in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, which remains the residence of the current Duke.

Other properties

* Brodick Castle, Brodick,

* Cadzow Castle, Hamilton, Lanarkshire * Chelsea Place,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* Craignethan Castle, South Lanarkshire * Palace of Holyroodhouse,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

* Kinneil House, Bo'ness, West Lothian * Lochranza Castle,

Lochranza Lochranza () is a village located on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people. Geography Lochranza is the northernmost of Arran's villages and is located in the northwestern c ...

* Redhouse Tower,

Longniddry Longniddry (, )
is a coastal village in East Lothian ...

* Oldwoodhouselee Castle,

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Tartan

Swedish branch

Malcolm Hamilton Archbishop of Cashel, first son was Hugh Hamilton, 1st Viscount of Glenawly, a soldier in Swedish service, who in Sweden was created baron of Deserf. Captain John Hamilton of Monea was Malcolm's younger son. His sons, Malcolm and Hugo, went to Swedish service in 1655 and were in 1689 created barons of Hagaby. They stayed in Swedish service and Malcolm's son Gustaf David Hamilton was named the title of count in 1751, and in 1765 he gained the rank of field marshal.

Dutch branch

John Jack Hamilton was born on 13 August 1640 in Dromore,

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

, South Scotland. He joint the Scots Brigade and served as the palfrenier to the Governor of

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

, John Kirkpatrick. In 1679 he married Maria Wijgherganck. He is the progenitor of the Dutch branch of the Hamilton family.

German branch

(1642–1717) went after

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

to Germany, where he served for Philip William, Elector Palatine. The last of his descendants was Maximilian von Hamilton, Bishop of Olomouc (1714–1776).

Hamilton DNA Project

The Hamilton DNA Project, involving hundreds of participants including a close relative of the current Duke of Abercorn, has made significant contributions to understanding the genetic lineage of Clan Hamilton. The genetic research conducted by the Hamilton DNA Project has demonstrated that all Hamilton branches descending from Sir James Hamilton, 5th Laird of Cadzow, who is the progenitor of both the mentioned branches of the Dukes of Abercorn and the Dukes of Hamilton until 1895, belong to the Y-DNA Haplogroup I-Z63. This finding suggests a most recent common ancestor for these branches who lived about 750 years ago.

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. His Y-DNA Haplogroup was I1a.