CHAPTER IX
THE REV. GUSTAVUS HAMILTON AND HIS
DESCENDANTS
Gustavus
Hamilton, son of
Patrick Hamilton of Killeter (Chap VIII) was b. 1695 at Killeter, Co. Tyrone;
educated at Omagh; entered Trinity College, Dublin, 5 July 1710, aged 15;
Tutor, John Elwood – (see Matriculation Entry T.C.D.); Scholar 1713; M.A. 1722.
In Holy Orders; Curate of Enniskillen, dio. of Clogher 1720-28 (or 1730); Vicar
of Errigle Trough, same dio. 4 June 1730; a faculty granted to hold also
Rectories and Vicarages of Gallow, &c., dio. of Meath 1741-2. He m. (at
Enniskillen) Jane Cathcart 13 Jan 1721-2.
Their children were:-
(1)
Anna Catherina, bap. At Enniskillen 5 Jan 1723, of whom later (Chap XX)
(2)
Jane, bap. 20 April 1727
(3)
Nicholas, bap. 4 June 1725; buried 29 June 1726
(4)
Malcolm, bap. 29 June 1726; buried 3 may 1727
(5)
Lettice, bap. 4 August 1727; living in Dublin in 1770;
(6)
Nicholas, of whom later (Chap XII)
(7)
George, ob. 1741;
(8)
Gustavus, of whom later;
(9)
Elizabeth, of whom Mrs Harmsworth (p. 65) has a miniature painted by Gustavus
her brother.
There seems to have been a tradition in
the family that the Rev.
Gustavus
Hamilton was descended from Gustavus Hamilton, Governor of Inniskillen in
1688-9, but no evidence of this fact has been found.
Traditions of this kind sometimes rest
upon very slight foundations, and the foundation in this instance may have been
that Jane Cathcart, the wife of the Rev. Gustavus Hamilton, was descended from
the Hamiltons of Monea, near Inniskillen, to which family the Governor
belonged. The only fact known
definitely about the relations of Jane Cathcart is that Anna Cathcart, the
widow of Alan or Allen Cathcart was her aunt.[1]
Jane was probably the da. of Malcolm
Cathcart and Jane Forster his wife, who was baptized in St. Audoen's Dublin, on
7th Nov 1697. Alan Cathcart
does not however, appear to have belonged to the family of that name who were
related to the Monea Hamiltons.[2]
It is remarkable that four of the
children of Rev. Gustavus and Jane bore Christian names which are found in the
Monea family – namely Anna Catherina, the name of the Governor's mother;
Malcolm, which occurs several times; Nicholas, which appears as the female form
– Nichola; and Gustavus. Anna Cathcart
in her will mentions another niece of hers whose name was Anna Catherina, and
her own name – Anna – was also a name in the Monea family. Anna Hamilton, a sister of Lewis or Ludovic
Hamilton, the father of the Governor Gustavus, married Gabriel Cathcart, and
there were numerous descendants of that marriage named Cathcart living at the
end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. Anna Cathcart's maiden name may have been Cathcart,
and the descent may have been through a brother of hers. There is nothing to show why the name
Gustavus was given to the Rev. Gustavus Hamilton. He was undoubtedly the son of
Patrick of Killeter,[3]
and no connection with any family in which Gustavus was a family name has been
traced.
He had, as stated above, been Curate of
Enniskillen from about 1720 to 1730 when he became Vicar of Errigle Trough in
the Diocese of Clogher in Ulster. In
1741 he was presented by the Crown to the Rectories of Gallow, &c., in the
Diocese and the County of Meath; but to enable him to hold this benefice with
Errigle Trough it was necessary that he should obtain a faculty or dispensation
from the Primate. On his presenting a
petition to the Primate (Boulter), a request was sent to the Bishop of Clogher
to certify the value of the Vicarage of Errigle Trough, and to inform His Grace
how the cure of that Vicarage could be most conveniently served. The Bishop (Stearne) certified that Errigle
Trough was of the yearly value of £100; that the petitioner was a very worthy
clergyman and both deserved, and considering his very numerous family needed
(the two livings); "and as to the distance (between the two livings) I can
say very little, all I can say is that I wish it was smaller." A similar request was sent to the Bishop of
Meath (Price), and he certified that Gallow, &c., was of a yearly value of
£150; but as to the distance from Errigle Trough "I am pretty much a stranger. Mr. Hamilton is a gentleman of a very worthy
character, and has a very numerous family, and therefore , if your Grace thinks
fit, may be a proper object of the favour." The dispensation was
accordingly granted by the Primate, who does not seem to have noticed that both
Bishops avoided answering the somewhat important question whether both livings
could be conveniently served together – a matter of some doubt, because Errigle
Trough is in the most northerly part of Managhan and includes part of Tyrone,
and Gallow being in the most southerly part of Meath near the borders of
Kildare, is separated from it by about 50 miles.
The Rev. Gustavus Hamilton was possessed
of lands in the County of Monaghan known as Kellyslavan with a mill and
watercourse. He held them under lease, dated 4th October 1734, from
James Hamilton for his own life and those of his eldest and second sons,
Nicholas and George, at the yearly rent of £28 with a covenant for perpetual
renewal on payment of half a year's rent as a renewal fine. George died in 1741 and the Rev. Gustavus in
1755, leaving Nicholas his eldest son and heir at law, who neglected to
claim a renewal until 1763. On 5th
May 1774, a decree was made by the Court of Exchequer in Ireland declaring him
entitled to a new lease of the lands.
From this decree an appeal was taken to the House of Lords, with the
result that it was reversed and Nicholas lost the lands.[4]
Family tradition magnified the loss of
these lands – which do not appear to have been of any great value – into the
loss of a considerable landed estate.
The Rev. Gustavus died on the 28th
August 1755, and was buried in the graveyard of St. Mary's, Twickenham in a
grave which in 1781 received the remains the remains of his nephew, Sir Patrick
Hamilton. The inscription on their
tombstone – which is not now legible – has been preserved in the "History
and Antiquities of Twickenham," by Edward Ironside (Vol. X, Bibliotheca Topographia Britannica)
"Here lieth the remains of the Rev. Mr. Gustavus Hamilton, who died August
28th August 1755, aged 59 years. Also the remains of Sir Patrick
Hamilton, Knt., and Alderman of the City of Dublin, who died August 22, 1780,
aged 64 years." It may be assumed
they both died at the house in Montpelier Row, Twickenham, of Charles Hamilton,
the brother of the former and the uncle of the latter – (See Chap XI).
Gustavus Hamilton, son of the Rev.
Gustavus Hamilton was a well-known miniature painter in Dublin. He was probably born at Errigle Trough in
the Diocese of Clogher, where his father had a living, in 1739. He died of decay at Cork Hill, Dublin, aged
36 years, and was buried at St. Werburgh's, Dublin, 18 Dec 1775. He was a member of the Society of Artists in
Dublin, and exhibited a case of miniatures at their first exhibition in 1765. In 1769 he lived at No. 1 Dame Street; and
in 1770 he was one of the members of the Society who entered into a deed in
reference to their Exhibition Room in William Street (now the Court of
Conscience) – (vide Gilbert's History of Dublin). John Keefe, in his "Recollections," published in 1826,
mentions "Three youths of considerable merit – James Riley, Gustavus
Hamilton, the son of a clergyman, and my brother Daniel." They lived in the house of a Mr. Dickson in
Capel Street. "These lads who
painted birds and flowers so admirably turned out distinguished painters in
miniature." Hamilton was
encouraged and patronized by ladies of the first rank there." Examples of his works are still to be had in
Dublin. There is a very good miniature
by him in the National Gallery, Dublin.
The portrait of him which is reproduced in this book is from a portrait
in pastel, painted by himself. That
portrait with a signed fruit piece in oils had been in the possession of
William Maffett (ob. April 1865 – see Chap XX), a grand-nephew of the painter, and both pictures were purchased
at the auction of Mrs Marcella Maffett's effects in August 1918, by
C.B.Harmsworth, Esq. – (see Chap XX & XXI).
[1] Vide will of Anna Cathcart, proved 5th Dec 1735.
[2] Vide "Monea Castle and the Hamiltons" "Ulster Journal of Archaeology" (1894-5), Vol. I, note to p.269; also Pedigree of the Monea Hamiltons in Vol. IV. P. 140
[3] This appears from his Matriculation Entry in Trin. Coll. Dublin, % Jul 1710.
[4] Vide Ridgeway's Reports of cases in the High Court of Parliament, Vol. I. P. 180, Joseph Kane, appct.; the Rev. Nicholas Hamilton. Clerk, respondent.