James Hamilton, 3rd Baron Hamilton of Strabane

James Hamilton, 3rd Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane (c. 1633 – 1655) fought for the Confederates against the Parliamentarians together with his stepfather Phelim O'Neill in the Irish Confederate War. Notably, they defended together Charlemont Fort in the Siege of Charlemont. He accidentally drowned in the River Mourne near Strabane, aged about 22.

James Hamilton
Baron Hamilton of Strabane
Reign	1638–1655
Predecessor	Claud, 2nd Baron H. of Strabane
Successor	George, 4th Baron H. of Strabane
Died	16 June 1655
Spouse(s)	unmarried
Father	Claud, 2nd Baron H. of Strabane
Mother	Jean Gordon

Birth and origins

James was born about 1633,[lower-alpha 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 married in 1632.[1]

Family tree

James Hamilton with parents and other selected relatives. He never married. James 1st Earl 1575–1618 Marion Boyd d. 1632 Recusant James 2nd Earl d. 1670 William 1st Bt. Westport d. 1680 George 1st Bt. Donalong d. 1679 Claud 2nd Baron d. 1638 Jean Gordon Phelim O'Neill d. 1653 George 3rd Earl c. 1636 – bef. 1683 James 3rd Baron 1633–1655 George 4th Baron 1636/7 – 1668 Gordon O'Neill James c. 1630– 1673 Claud 4th Earl 1659–1691 Charles 5th Earl d. 1701 James 6th Earl c. 1661 – 1734 Elizabeth Reading d. 1754 Legend XXX James Hamilton XXX Earls of Abercorn XXX Barons H. of Strabane XXX O'Neills This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne.[2] Also see the list of siblings in the text.

He appears below among his siblings as the third child:

1. Catherine, married in 1647 James Hamilton of Manorhamilton, brother of Gustavus Hamilton, 1st Viscount Boyne;[3][4]
2. Cecilia, married Richard Perkins of Lifford.[5]
3. James (c. 1633 – 1655); and
4. George (1636/7 – 1668), succeeded him as the 4th Baron Hamilton of Strabane;

Baron Strabane

His father died in 1638 when he was about five years old.[6] He thus succeeded as the 3rd Baron Hamilton of Strabane, or Lord Strabane, as a young child. His mother ran the family estate for him and they continued to live in the Castle of Strabane.

Irish wars

In 1641, when he 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 prisoners.[7] Phelim brought them to his castle in Kinard but then released them after some days and sent them to his uncle Sir George.[8]

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.[9] Phelim married his mother in November.[10] Phelim became his stepfather and his half-brother Gordon O'Neill was born.

In 1649 Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland with the Parliamentarian forces. In July 1650, aged about 17, Lord Strabane joined his stepfather in his fight against the Parliamentarians.[11] 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[12] or on the 14th of August 1650.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] In 1652 Phelim O'Neill was captured. He was tried and convicted for treason in October and executed. [16]

Death

Lord Strabane drowned in the River Mourne at Ballyfathen in 1655, aged about 22.[17][18] He had never married and was succeeded by his younger brother George as the 4th Baron of Strabane.

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1633, estimate	Born, probably at Strabane Castle.[lower-alpha 1]
5	1638, 14 Jun	Father died.[6]
8	1641	Strabane Castle burned by Phelim O'Neill.[7]
16	1649, 30 Jan	King Charles I beheaded.[19]
16	1649	Strabane Castle attacked by Robert Monro but relieved by Phelim.[9]
16	1649, Nov	Mother married Phelim O'Neill.[10]
17	1650, Jul	His stepfather fought at Scarrifholis where the Confederate Ulster Army was defeated by Coote.
17	1650, Jul	Defended Charlemont Fort with his stepfather against Coote.
17	1650, Aug	He and Phelim surrendered Charlemont Fort to Coote on terms.[12]
20	1653, 10 Mar	His stepfather was executed.[16]
22	1655, 16 Jun	Died by accidental drowning in the River Mourne.[17]

Notes and references

1. His parents married in 1632.[1]

1. 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;"
2. Cokayne 1910, p. 4: "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
3. Paul 1904, p. 50, line 18: "Catherine, married first, in 1647, to her cousin ..."
4. Burke 1869, p. 2, right column, line 65: "... two daus. Catherine, m. 1st to James Hamilton Esq. ..."
5. Paul 1904, p. 50, line 24: "Cecilia, married to Richard Perkins ..."
6. Paul 1904, p. 50: "Dying 14 June 1638, he was buried in the church of Leckpatrick, County Tyrone."
7. 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 ..."
8. 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 ..."
9. Webb 1878, p. 417, line 51: "He had just before relieved her castle of Strabane, attacked by Monro."
10. 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."
11. Cokayne 1892, p. 153, line 6: "He joined his stepfather in July 1650 against the Parl. Forces."
12. 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 ..."
13. Bagwell 1909, p. 236: "Surrender of Charlemont, August 14 (in the margin)"
14. 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 ..."
15. 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 ..."
16. 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."
17. 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."
18. 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 ..."
19. Burke 1949, p. cclxvii, line 9: "… after the decapitation of CHARLES I at Whitehall, 30 Jan. 1649 ..."

• Bagwell, Richard (1909), Ireland under the Stuarts and under the Interregnum, 2, London: Longmans, Green, and Co. – 1642 to 1660 (for Scarrisholis and Charlemont)
• Burke, Bernard (1869), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (31st ed.), London: Harrison
• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1892), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 4 (1st ed.), London: George Bell and Sons – 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, 1 (2nd ed.), London: St Catherine Press – Ab-Adam to Basing (for Abercorn)
• Graham, Rev. John (1841), Ireland Preserved; or The Siege of Londonderry and The Battle of Aughrim with Lyrical Poetry and Biographical Notes, Dublin: Hardy & Walker, p. 277
• 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
• Paul, James Balfour (1904), The Scots Peerage, 1, Edinburgh: David Douglas – Abercorn to Balmerino (for Abercorn)
• Webb, Alfred (1878), "O'Neill, Sir Felim", Compendium of Irish Biography, Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, pp. 416–418

External links

• Genealogy of James Hamilton, 3rd Lord Hamilton on The Peerage website