Hansfield Garvin Hamilton Jr.

Hansfield "Hance" Garvin Hamilton Jr. (ca. 1721 - February 2 1772) was a Pennsylvania colonist and soldier active during the French and Indian War. In 1749, he was elected the first sheriff of York County, and was later a judge. He was known for his leadership during a period when Pennsylvania settlers were threatened by attacks from French-allied Native American war parties, and was commander of Fort Lyttleton. He was eventually promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Birth and early life

Hamilton was born in Londonderry, Ireland, probably before 1721. In August 1729 his father, Hansfield Garvin Hamilton Sr., led 140 families to emigrate from Ireland to New Castle, Delaware, at the invitation of William Penn's sons, Thomas Penn and Richard Penn Sr.. They settled in what was then Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, near present-day Gettysburg. This community later came to be known as Hamiltonban Township, Pennsylvania.Early History of Hamiltonban Township (1730 – 1860)
/ref> Hance Hamilton Jr. arrived in North America in 1732, accompanied by his older brother James. He moved to the Marsh Creek settlement in 1739. In May 1742, his name was listed on a road-building crew that built a 30-mile road from Walnut Bottom across Yellow Breeches Creek to Nathan Hussey's Ferry near Goldsboro, Pennsylvania.

Legal career

In 1749, Hamilton ran for sheriff of York County against Richard McAllister, who was supported by the Dutch immigrant community. There was a riot as Irish voters attempted to prevent Dutch and German voters from reaching the ballot-box. McAllister was declared the winner, but Hamilton contested the results in court,''The Scotch-Irish in America: Proceedings and Addresses of the Scotch-Irish Congress, 1st-10th, 1889-1901.'' Scotch-Irish Society of America. Harrisburg: Bigham & Smith, 1897.
/ref> and was commissioned as sheriff by Governor James Hamilton. In September 1749, he was commissioned as a judge and Justice of the Peace, and this commission was renewed in 1751. He was re-elected Sheriff in 1752, and recommissioned by Governor Robert Hunter Morris in 1755.Carter, William C., Glossbrenner, Adam John. ''History of York County, from Its Erection to the Present Time.'' York: A. J. Glossbrenner, 1834
/ref> Following his military service from 1755 to 1759, he was reappointed, on April 23 1761, as Justice of the Peace and Judge of the York County Court of Common Pleas.Samuel Bates, et al. ''History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania: Containing History of the Counties; Their Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc.; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of Pennsylvania, Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter,'' Chicago: Warner, Beers, 1886
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Military career

Following Braddock's defeat in July 1755, Hamilton raised a company of militia.Prowell, George R. ''History of York County Pennsylvania,'' Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1907
/ref> He was among the first to respond to the Great Cove massacre in November, 1755, arriving at McDowell's Mill with 200 men to rescue survivors and to round up scattered livestock.William H. Koontz, ed. ''History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men,'' Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1884
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In January 1756 he was commissioned captain of Provincial troops.''Pennsylvania Archives: Officers and Soldiers in the Service of the Province of Pennsylvania, 1744-1765,'' Vol. I, 5th series; 1992 reproduction
/ref>''History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania,'' Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1886
/ref> In February 1756, he was placed in command of Fort Lyttleton,Thomas Lynch Montgomery, ed. ''Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania,'' vol 1, Harrisburg, PA: W.S. Ray, State Printer, 1916
/ref> arriving on April 1, soon after Lenape warriors captured and burned Fort McCord, taking 27 settlers prisoner. On April 2, three companies of militia under the joint command of Captain Hamilton, together with Captain Chambers and Captain Culbertson, went in pursuit of the warriors and encountered Lenape reinforcements led by Shingas.Archibald Loudoun, ''A Selection of Some of the Most Interesting Narratives, of Outrages, Committed by the Indians, in Their Wars with the White People,'' A. Loudoun Press, Carlisle, 1811; pp. 181-186
/ref> In a two-hour engagement at the Battle of Sideling Hill, both sides suffered heavy casualties. Captain Culbertson was killed, and his surviving troops retreated to Fort Lyttleton.B. F. M. MacPherson, "Some History on Col. Hance Hamilton, part 1 of 2," in ''The Gettysburg Times,'' Saturday, February 22, 1958, Page 6
/ref> Hamilton was the first to report on the battle and on those killed.Sipe, Chester Hale. ''The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania: An Account of the Indian Events, in Pennsylvania, of the French and Indian War, Pontiac's War, Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War and the Indian Uprising from 1789 to 1795; Tragedies of the Pennsylvania Frontier Based Primarily on the Penna. Archives and Colonial Records.'' Telegraph Press, 1931.
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In September 1756, Hamilton was a company commander in Armstrong's Kittanning Expedition. After returning to Fort Lyttleton following the raid, Hamilton sent "a company of Cherokee Indians in kings pay" back along the trail to see if the Lenape were in pursuit, and to look for surviving colonial troops who had fallen behind. They found Captain Hugh Mercer, injured and exhausted, who had decided to "lay down, giving up all hopes of ever getting home." Mercer was carried to Fort Lyttleton, where he recovered.Robert Robison, "Colonel J. Armstrong's Attack on the Kittaning", in ''A Selection of some of the most interesting narratives of outrages committed by the Indians in their wars with the white people'', Archibald Loudon, ed. Carlisle: A. Loudon Press, 1811
/ref>William Albert Hunter, "Victory at Kittanning", ''Pennsylvania History'', vol. 23, no. 3, July 1956; pp 376-407
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In October 1757, Hamilton was involved in an effort to persuade soldiers, whose term of enlistment was ending, not to leave military service. This effort was successful, and he received a monetary reward of £59, 3s, 8d.Hunter, William Albert. ''Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758,'' (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018
/ref> On December 6 1757, Hamilton was promoted to major, and on May 31 1758, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel, First Battalion, Pennsylvania Regiment of foot.

In September and October 1758, Hamilton was arrested three times. The full details of these incidents are unknown, as only part of the correspondence has survived, but it appears that on September 13, Hamilton struck an artificer sergeant during a dispute. Hamilton apologized to Colonel Henry Bouquet, and no action was taken.Sylvester K. Stevens and Donald H. Kent, eds. ''The Papers of Col. Henry Bouquet,'' prepared by Frontier Forts and Trails Survey, Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration; Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1941
/ref> On September 29, Hamilton was again arrested, although the reasons for this are unknown. In October, Hamilton used insulting language in a dispute with Bouquet himself, apparently while intoxicated, and took a sword from another officer. Bouquet ordered a court-martial, but canceled the order after Hamilton apologized, writing on October 19: "I was wrong, & hope from Colonel Bouquet's Honor, that this Acknowledgment may engage him to consider all the Incidents of that night as the effects of too Liberal a Glass...even next morning I remembered very little of what passed the night before."

Hamilton resigned from military service in March, 1759.

Later life and family

Little is known of Hamilton's life following his military service. In 1761 he was appointed Justice of the Peace and Judge of the York County Court of Common Pleas by Governor James Hamilton. Records show that he was a trustee for the Upper Marsh Creek Church in Cumberland Township in May 1765, when he and other trustees applied for a warrant for one hundred acres to be used by the church.

Hance Hamilton had seven sons: George, William, James, John, Hance Garvin Jr., and Thomas. He had four daughters: May, Mary, Harriet, and Sarah.

Death and burial

He signed his will on January 27 1772 and died four days later on February 2, in Menallen Township, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, at the age of 51. His six slaves were sold at public auction in 1773.Yeager, Kevin Lee, "The Power of Ethnicity: the Preservation of Scots-Irish Culture in the Eighteenth Century American Backcountry," 2000. LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses, 7401
/ref> His remains were first interred in Black's Graveyard, on Upper Marsh Creek, and were moved in 1848 to Evergreen Cemetery, in Gettysburg.B. F. M. MacPherson, "Some History on Col. Hance Hamilton, part 2 of 2," in ''The Gettysburg Times,'' Saturday, March 8, 1958, Page 6
/ref> His original headstone was cracked and nearly illegible, so a new one was made, with a possibly incorrect birthdate.

Notes

References

{{Portal, Biography

1721 births
1772 deaths
History of Pennsylvania
People of Pennsylvania in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
Pennsylvania sheriffs
Colonial American justices of the peace
York County, Pennsylvania
Adams County, Pennsylvania
American frontier
Scotch-Irish American history
American slave owners
Pre-statehood history of Pennsylvania
Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Adams County, Pennsylvania)