Sidney (Vaughan) Hamilton (1590 - 1661)

Born 18 May 1590 in Llwydiarth, Montgomeryshire, Wales

Wife of Frederick Hamilton — married 20 May 1620 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 29 Mar 1661 at age 70 in Scotland or Derry, Ulster, Ireland [uncertain]

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Biography

Sidney Vaughan, b. 1590, was of the old Anglo-Welsh aristocracy on both sides of her family. Her father was Sir John Vaughan, b. ca. 1564 in Sutton on Derwent, Yorkshire. His family used English Surname conventions as the family had intermarried with English aristocracy since the 14th Century, primarily in Hertfordshire. Sidney's mother was Lady Dorothy Herbert, b. 1565 in Montgomery Castle, Wales, to Sir Richard Herbert, descended from the Princes of Powys, and Magdalene Newport. They were of Anglo-Welsh aristocracy from Shropshire and Montgomeryshire. They too had used English naming conventions for over 200 years. ^[1]

Sidney's parents married ca. 1582 in Wales but most likely they primarily lived in Sutton on Derwent, Yorkshire, until 1599-1600 when John Vaughan, an officer in the British Army, was sent to Northern Ireland, in charge of a company of 100 men that invaded Ulster via the estuary Lough Foyle, near Derry. The entire mission was under the command of Sir Henry Docwra, husband of John Vaughan's niece but only six years his junior. John was named Military Governor of Derry in 1611 by King James I, who knighted him in 1616, largely for his successful pacification of the area. Sir Henry was named Treasurer at War in Ireland the same year.^[2]

On May 20, 1620, at age 29, Sidney Vaughan married Sir Frederick Hamilton, youngest son of Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley, of Renfrewshire, Scotland. They married in Hamilton, Lanark, Scotland. Sir Frederick was a professional military officer, serving in both the British and Swedish armies during his 25 year career. In March 1620, he was given lands in County Leitrim, Connaught Province, Ireland, as part of King James I's "Irish Plantations" plan to pacify rebellious parts of Ireland by planting loyal English and Scottish subjects there.^[3]

Over the next 20 years, Sir. Fredrick Hamilton diligently expanded his Irish domain to nearly 18,000 acres. In the 1630s, he built an imposing granite castle that he named "ManorHamilton" in Dromahaire, Co. Leitrim. His family divided their time between Leitrim and Londonderry, where he had other lands, in Ireland, and Hamilton family fiefs in Scotland. Although ManorHamilton was never taken, after 1641 with the Irish Rebellion, it was permanently besieged by angry Irish forces.^[4]

The Hamiltons lived either in Londonderry or Scotland. Siding with the Parliamentary forces against King Charles I, Sir Frederick Hamilton saw action in Ireland, Scotland and northern England. In 1647 he was in Edinburgh, Scotland, when he took ill and died. One biographer says that although he was a very "proud gentleman," he died in relative poverty, having received very little financial compensation for his service to the Parliamentary cause. No doubt the English Parliament distrusted Scottish-born officers almost as much as the Irish rebels they fought.^[5]

Sir Fredrick and Lady Sidney Hamilton had the following children: ^[6]

1. Christiana Hamilton, b. ca. 1625; m. 1649 to Gen. Sir George Munro; d. ca. 1701 in Coleraine, County Derry, Ireland.
2. Frederick Hamilton b: 1627 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland; he died fighting in Ireland in ca. 1646, unmarried.
3. James Hamilton b: 1630 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, , Scotland; m. 1647, Hon Catherine Hamilton (1st cousin); d. 27 December 1652 at ManorHamilton, Dromahaire, County Leitrim, Ireland.
4. Gustavus Hamilton b: 6 Jan 1642 in ManorHamilton, Dromahaire, Leitrim, Connaught, Ireland; became a Lt. General in the British Army; m. ca. 1688 Elizabeth Brooke; 1717 was named 2d Viscount Boyne; d. 16 September 1723 at Strackallan, County Meath, Ireland.

"The Peerage" research does not include 2 other children sometimes ascribed to Frederick and Sidney Hamilton. They are: James II Hamilton, b. ca. 1638; and Margaret Hamilton, b. ca. 1640.

Lady Sidney (Vaughan) Hamilton survived her husband and continued to live in Scotland until her death on March 29, 1661.

Sources

1. ↑ "Hohelohe, Bethune Research," by Kirk Larsen
2. ↑ " Docwra's Derry: A Narration of Events in North-west Ulster 1600-1604," by Henry Docwra. A Google book online
3. ↑ Frederick Hamilton, Soldier
4. ↑ ManorHamilton History - Manorhamilton Castle web site
5. ↑ Frederick Hamilton, Soldier
6. ↑ Sidney Vaughan Hamilton

• Frederick Hamilton Soldier
• ManorHamilton History on Manorhamilton web site
• "The genealogical 'Poole
• Sidney Vaughan Hamilton
• "Notes on the Vaughan Family of Wales,"
• "The True Blood of the Vikings," A Study of the family of Sir John Vaughan of Porthnamael, Breconshire, Wales, 1525-1595. Online: Stamboom Young Genealogical Research
• "Ordnance survey of the county of Londonderry," by Great Britain. Ordnance Survey, Thomas Colby, Sir Thomas Aiskew Larcom (Gart.), A Google book, pg. 79.

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Vaughan-326 created through the import of Nixon Family Tree 100211.ged on Oct 2, 2011 by Susan Shirey.