CHAPTER II
THE HAMILTONS OF PRIESTFIELD IN
SCOTLAND WHO SETTLED IN IRELAND
From the above statement it will be seen
that Thomas Hamilton the second of Priestfield died in 1547 leaving his
eldest son and other sons whose names have not been ascertained (but see
above). The descendants of the
eldest son are to be found in the family of the Earl of Haddington, and from
documents in the Public Record Office, Dublin, it appears that some other
members of the family of Priestfield settled in Ireland taking part in the
Plantation of Ulster under James I. It
may be assumed that they were descendants of one of the sons of Thomas Hamilton
whose names have not been ascertained (but possibly Oliver Hamilton).
From the descendants now referred to it
appears that William Hamilton "of Priestfield in the Realm of
Scotland" settled in the County of Tyrone under the 1st Earl of
Abercorn (a distant cousin, sharing a great X8 grand-father – Walter
FitzGilbert), and being a person of Scottish nation or descent, was in 1616
granted freedom from the yoke of Scottish servitude and given all the rights
and privileges of an English subject.
This appears by the Patent Roll of the 17th August in the 14th
year of James I, and could only have been necessary by reason of his being born
in Scotland before James succeeded to the Throne of England.
The lands of Ballyfatton in Tyrone where
William Hamilton had settled were granted to him for ever at a rent of £18 6s
yearly by Claud Lord Strabane, (son of the Earl of Abercorn and thus a
kinsman) on 3rd June Charles I (1634) – (see claim lodged by
William Hamilton 4th of Ballyfatton in 1701 with Trustees of Estates
forfeited in 1690).
William Hamilton is described as "of
Priestfield" in the will of his brother Hugh, dated 20th May
1637; and also in the Chancery Bill, dated 8th Dec 1672, in which
John Hamilton of Termegan, Co. Tyrone, was plaintiff and William Hamilton
the second of Ballyfatton was defendant.
John Hamilton, the son of William who settled at Ballyfatton, is
described as "of Priestfield in Scotland" in an Equity Exchequer Bill,
dated 14th May 1681, filed by his widow Elizabeth Hamilton,
otherwise Fleming, against her grandson John Hamilton.
Two sons of John Hamilton, who is
described as of "Priestfield" in the bill dated 14th May
1681, namely William Hamilton of Callidon, Co. Tyrone, and his brother Capt.
John William Hamilton are also described as "of Priestfield", the
former in the will of Rev. Hugh Cunningham, dated 27th August 1660,
and latter in a Chancery Bill dated 8th June 1686, brought by Robert
Hamilton of Carrowbeg, Co. Tyrone, and Janet his wife against Margaret Hamilton
and others. Thus it will be seen that several members of the family who settled
in Ireland were regarded for a long period as still belonging to the
Priestfield family.
William Hamilton, who settled in
Ballyfatton in 1616, made his will, dated 13th May 1637, and
deposited it in the Castle of Strabane, where it was burnt, probably when
Strabane was invested by Sir Phelim O'Neill in 1641. He was taken prisoner by the Irish Rebels and carried off to Doe
Castle, a stronghold (which still exists) of the MacSwiney's near Creeslough in
Donegal with Robert Hamilton of Carrowbeg – son of his brother Hugh and husband
of his grand-daughter. He suffered
great privations, and died in the year 1642 while a prisoner in the hands of
the rebels. His will, although the
original document had been destroyed, was proved at Londonderry Assizes on 22nd
June 1652, by his younger son William Hamilton, who acquired the lands of
Ballyfatton by purchase from William Hamilton (his nephew), a grandson of the
first owner of Ballyfatton. No entry of
the will is to be found in the Consistorial Court of Derry. These particulars relative to his death and
will are derived from the "Answer", dated 23rd May 1677,
by Robert Hamilton and Janet his wife to a Chancery Bill filed on the 6th
November 1676, by William Hamilton, who proved the will, and from the
"depositions" of witnesses taken in connection with those legal
proceedings.
The above statement of the sufferings and
death of William Hamilton at the hands of the rebels is almost the only
reference to the Rebellion of 1641 in any documents relating to this family;
and, it is hard to reconcile the continued existence of the family in
apparently undiminished numbers after that great trouble had passed away with
the usual accounts of the great numbers stated to been massacred by the rebels.
Another incident occurred which connected
the Ballyfatton family with the Rebellion. James Hamilton Lord Strabane, who
had joined Sir Phelim O'Neill, the leader of the rebels, and whose estates were
in consequence forfeited, died at Ballyfatton on the 16th June 1655,
being "a Roman Catholic and papist recusant."[1] Sir Phelim O'Neill's estates were also
forfeited, and comprised to a large extent the lands which were granted to
Capt. William Hamilton, as will appear hereafter.
William Hamilton of Priestfield,
who was the first owner of Ballyfatton, married Janet Moore by whom he had two
sons John, and William, of whom later (Chap V). John Hamilton his eldest son is described as
"of Priestfield" – (See Exchequer Bill dated 14th May
1681, Elizabeth Hamilton alias Fleming against John Hamilton and others). He married Elizabeth, da. of Sir Hugh
Conyngham (?) and who married secondly Hugh Fleming. Their children were:-
(1)
Capt. John Hamilton "of Priestfield" who was killed at Lisnagarvey,
Co Armagh, on 6th December 1649, and to whom admn. was granted 10th
July 1660 – to William Hamilton his brother;
(2)
Capt. William Hamilton of whom below;
(3)
Janet[2],
who married her cousin Robert Hamilton of Carrowbeg, and three other daughters;
(4)
Isabella;
(5)
Katherine;
(6)
Margaret.
Capt. William Hamilton[3]
married Margaret, da. of Lieut-Col. James Galbraith (M.P. for Strabane 1639 –
see Galbraith of Glanabogan, Burke's L.G.) and was owner of the Callidon
Estates. He died 22nd Jan
1672 and his will was proved 28 June 1673. The children of Capt. William
Hamilton and Margaret Galbraith were:-
(1)
John Hamilton, of whom below;
(2)
William, whose will was proved 28 April 1686;
(3)
Elizabeth, who married John Leslie, Dean of Dromore;
(4)
Agnes, will proved 1740;
(5)
Magdalen, will proved 1743;
(6)
George, will proved 1699 ;
(7)
Hans, admn 1709 (?);
(8)
James, will proved 1688;
(9)
Hugh;
(10)
Henry.
John Hamilton, the eldest son of Capt.
William and Margaret his wife was M.P. for Strabane in 1692; he also owned the
Callidon Estates; he married Lucy, da.
of Anthony Dopping, Bishop of Meath – (See Dopping-Hepenstall; cf. Derrycassan,
Burke's L.G.). His will was proved 4th Mar 1713. He had two
children, William Hamilton, who died without issue in 1723, and Margaret, his
heiress, who married on 30th June 1738, John Boyle 5th
Earl of Cork and Orrery (Chap IV).
In the list of those attainted by James
II in his Parliament held in Dublin in 1689 the names of the following members
of the family appear: John Hamilton of Callidon, William Hamilton of
"Ballyfattane", George Hamilton of Callidon, Robert Hamilton of
Carrowbegg, and Margaret Hamilton of Callidon, widow -(The Earl of Belmore's
Parliamentary Memoirs of Fermanagh and Tyrone, pp 365-6).
[1] Ulster Inquisitions, Tyrone I, Tempore Interregni, Strabane, 1 August 1658)
[2] But, Burke's L.G. of Ireland shows the Janet who married Robert Hamilton of Carrowbeg as being the daughter of William 2nd of Ballyfatton. C.F.B.H.
[3] Records show that in 1642 a Captain William Hamilton was one of those who aided in the defence of Drogheda against the uprisers.