Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley (9 June 1546 – 3 May 1621) was a Scottish nobleman who fought at the Battle of Langside in 1568 for Mary, Queen of Scots. He is the ancestor of the earls, marquesses and dukes of Abercorn.
His uncle John Hamilton, an illegitimate son of his grandfather, the 1st Earl of Arran, was commendatory abbot of Paisley Abbey around the time of his birth. In 1553 this uncle succeeded David Beaton as Archbishop of St Andrews and agreed to pass the position as commendator to his nephew Claud, who was then about seven years old.[6]
Scottish politics and the Battle of Langside
In March 1560, when he was 14, Hamilton was sent as a hostage to England to guarantee the Treaty of Berwick.[7]
He and his family were Catholics and supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. On 2 May 1568, he helped her escape from Lochleven Castle and on 13 May fought for her at Langside where the Queen's men were defeated by Moray, the regent.[8][9] He had commanded the vanguard of her army during the battle.[10] His estates having been forfeited because of condemnation, Hamilton was concerned in the murder of the Regent Moray in 1570, and also in that of the next Regent, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, in the following year; but in 1573 he recovered his estates.[11]
In 1562 his eldest brother, James, was declared insane.[25] His father died at Hamilton on 22 January 1575.[26] His brother James as the eldest inherited the title and estate but because of his insanity, John, the second brother, had to stand in for him.[27]
In 1580 he is received into the Catholic church by Frater James Tyrie.[29]
In April 1583 Claud was in exile in England at Widdrington Castle in Northumberland. He wrote to Queen Elizabeth and Frances Walsingham for aid for his expenses living in this "sober house" especially as his wife was soon to visit.[30]
In 1587 he was created a Scottish Lord of Parliament as Lord Paisley, when the abbey was erected as a barony.[32] With this the Hamilton family gained a second seat in Parliament, the first being held by his elder brother John for his eldest brother James, during his insanity. This seat in the Scottish Parliament was occupied after his death by his grandson James, the 2nd Earl of Abercorn and Lord Paysley became a subsidiary title of the earls, later marquesses and dukes of Abercorn, which was held by the heir apparent.
Illness, death, and timeline
In 1589 some of his letters were seized and Lord Paisley, as he was now, suffered a short imprisonment, after which he practically disappeared from public life.[11] He suffered from mental illness in his later years. In November 1590 he broke down in tears after reading the Bible and it was thought he would not recover 'in regard of the infirmity haunting and falling on many descended of that house'.[33] His eldest brother James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran, had been suffering from a mental illness since 1562. In 1598 he allowed James, his eldest son, styled the Master of Paisley, to act on his behalf with regard to all the affairs concerning the town.[34] His wife died in March 1616.[35] His son predeceased him in 1618. He died in 1621 and was buried in Paisley Abbey.[36][37] He was succeeded by his grandson, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn.
^This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne.[5] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.
^His son Claud Hamilton of Shawfield must not be confused with Sir Claud Hamilton, the commander of Fort Toome.[19]
Citations
^ abHolmes 2004, p. 776, line 3 of the entry. "... was born probably in 1546, the fifth and youngest son of James Hamilton, second Earl of Arran and first Duke of Châtelherault ..."
^Chisholm 1911a, p. 878, line nine. "... the first authentic ancestor is one Walter FitzGilbert. He first appears in 1294–1295 ..."
^Paul 1907, p. 341, line 12. "At a later but uncertain date he received the barony of Cadzow from King Robert ..."
^Cokayne 1910, p. 221, line 31. "He m. [married], shortly before 23 Sep. 1532, Margaret 1st da. [daughter] of James (Douglas), Earl of Morton [S. [Scotland]], by Catherine illeg. da. of James IV."
^Cokayne 1910, p. 4. "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
^ abHolmes 2004, p. 776, line 6 of the entry. "He was made commendator of Paisley as a child when in 1553 his uncle James Hamilton resigned the position in order to become archbishop of St Andrews."
^ abBain 1898, p. 344. "1. The Duke of Chatelherault's 4th son, Lord Claude, aged 14 years: in Canterbury."
^ abHenderson 1890, p. 141. "He took a leading part in the plot for the deliverance of the Queen Mary from Lochleven and her re-establishment on the throne."
^Sadler 2010, p. 108. "Displaying an admirable eye for ground, Moray dispatched his horse to secure the hamlet [i.e. Langside] ..."
^Paul 1904, pp. 37–38. "... at the battle of Langside on 13 May following [he] commanded the vanguard of her army."
^Paul 1904, p. 39, line 24. "... having married, 1 August 1574 (contract dated 15 and 16 June 1574), Margaret daughter of George, fifth Lord Seton by Isabel daughter of Sir William Hamilton of Sanquhar ..."
^ abPaul 1911, p. 290, line 19. "Margaret, married at Niddry Castle, on 1 August 1574 (contract 15 and 16 June 1574), to Lord Claud Hamilton, fourth and youngest son of James, second Earl of Arran ..."
^Boyd 1907, p. 120, linen 13. "Whereas of late a young gentlemen named John Seytoun, upon earnest desire to visit your highness' Court, repaired thither with my licence and recommendation to my Lord the Earl Leicester ..."
^Cokayne 1910, p. 2, line 8"On 5 Apr. 1603 he was cr. [created] Lord Abercorn, co. Linlithgow [S. [Scotland]], to him and his heirs whatsoever."
^Paul 1904, p. 40, line 4. "Sir John Hamilton, married Johanna, daughter of Levimus Everard, Councillor of State to the King of Spain, in the Province of Mechlin ..."
^Paul 1904, p. 40, line 17. "Claud Hamilton of Shawfield, co. Linlithgow, a Gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber, appointed 11 February 1613 a member of the Privy Council in Ireland, was granted as an undertaker the small proportions of Killeny and Teadane or Eden containing together 2000 acres of the barony of Strabane ..."
^Paul 1904, p. 43, line 4. "Margaret, married first to Sir John Stewart of Metven, natural son of Ludovic, second Duke of Lennox; and secondly, to Sir John Seton of Gargunnock."
^Burke 1869, p. 3, left column, line 40. "Claud (Sir), commander of Fort of Toome, co. Antrim; m. [married] the dau. [daughter] and h. [heir] of sir Robert Hamilton, of manor Elieston, co. Tyrone, and d. [died] 1629, leaving a son and heir."
^Paul 1904, p. 43, line 10. "Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw in the county of Tyrone and Roscrea in the county of Tipperary, was granted the middle proportion of Largie alias Cloghogenal and the small proportion of Derrywoone but the grant was never enrolled. In 1611 he was resident at Derrywoone ..."
^Lodge 1789, p. 110. "Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw, and Roscrea, in the county of Tipperary, Knt. married first Isabella of the family of Civico of Bruges in Flanders, by whom he had one daughter Margaret, who became the first wife of Sir Archibald Acheson of Gosford ..."
^Paul 1904, p. 43, line 27. "He married also, probably as his second wife, Mary Butler, sixth daughter of Walter, eleventh Earl of Ormonde, and had an only surviving child. James, who died unmarried, his will being proved 2 February 1658-9 and execution granted to George Lord Strabane, the sole executor."
^Paul 1904, p. 43. "Sir Frederick Hamilton, a gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber, was in early life in the service of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden ..."
^Paul 1904, p. 45, line 41. "Margaret, who was married (contract 11 July 1601), as his first wife, when she was only 12 years old, to William, first Marquess of Douglas, and died 11 September 1623, aged 38."
^ abPaul 1907, p. 369, line 5. "... in April 1562, he showed signs of a disordered intellect, and was soon after pronounced insane."
^ abHenderson 1890, p. 176, left column. "On the death of his father in 1575, he came into nominal possession of his estates, which were, however, administrated by his second brother, John ..."
^Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 2 (London, 1791), p. 214.
^ abForbes-Leith 1889, p. 359, bottom. "Lord Claude Hamilton had been received into the Church by Fr. James Tyrie in 1580."
^William Boyd, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1581-1583, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1914), pp. 401-402.
^Paul 1904, p. 39. "The Abbey of Paisley was erected into a temporal barony, and he was made a peer of Parliament under the title of Lord Paisley 24 July 1587."
^Boyd 1936, p. 422. "The Lord Claude Hamilton the other daie at the reading of a chapter of the Bible at his table entred sodainelie into abundance of teares, with remorse and confession of his sinnes. And soone after his senses ..."
^Metcalfe 1909, p. 194. "On October 2, 1598, a Letter of Factory and Commission signed by him ... was read to the town council ... It empowers the Master of Paisley to act as his father's factor ..."
^ abPaul 1904, p. 39, line 28. "... and by her [Margaret] who died in March 1616, had issue ..."
^ abHolmes 2004, p. 778, right column. "Lord Claud lived in retirement for over twenty years, dying in 1621, and was buried in Paisley Abbey"
^Henderson 1890, p. 144. "Paisley died in 1622, and was buried in the abbey of Paisley."