Historical and genealogical memoirs of the House of Hamilton

356
HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL MEMOIRS
preston after sharing the exile of her brother
. r
P . 20S. Edin. an d eldest sister, was married, 23d Feb. j
Par. nc S . 1688 to gj r Thomas Young of Rose-
Conf. Test. ' a
Edin. 7 May bank; and died 1719.
1719.
Mag. Sig. Liii. Sir Thomas Hamilton died about the
w * ,sl - year 1672.
Prsfet.Par. Reo. XIII. SirWilliam I. (first Baronet,)
was born in 1647. He was vested, by
his father, in the fee of the family estates,
( 1 668 ;) after whose demise he obtained
Mag Sig. Lib- new charters of his different lands and
baronies, as " eldest lawful son of Sir
Thomas Hamilton of Preston, Knight,"
Ibid-Dejure (7th August 1675.) Knighted previous
4c a MS 0n Aclv. t0 his Other's death, he was, on the 5th
Lil iac. v. 7. November 1673, created a Baronet of
28. Pan. Reg.
Sas. Hadd. 13. Nova Scotia, with remainder to his
xlv. ff. 83. 70. . . , . ,
; , lieirs-male in general.
In his principles Sir William re-
sembled his predecessors, being a pres-
Robert's print- byterian and a whig ; but he was wholly
cd and MS. , ., ., , ,._.
Lettei?.Shields' a dverse to the civil and religious extra-
Faithf. Com. va g anc i es f hjg brother Robert. From
policy, or constraint, he even accom-
panied Monmouth when marching to
quell the insurrection headed by that
enthusiast; and the influence which, in
Spratt's True the rebel camp, Sir William was believed
Conspiracy ''^ possess over the Duke, contributed
informations) not a little to paralyse the exertions of
that party among the insurgents, who
were not, like their commander, disin-
clined to all conditional submission. His
undisguised opposition, however, to the
arbitrary measures of the court, and his
ibid. p. 97. connexion of friendship and of blood
i. 176. 183 &c.' w ^h those whose designs against the
government were no longer secret, hav-
ing exposed him to the hostility of the
ruling faction ; he was the more easily
induced to hazard his own life, and to
embark the fortunes of the family, in the
project of liberating his country from
the despotism under which it suffered.
With this view, after securing a pro-
vision for his wife and daughters, hers. Sig. an. 168 1.
confidentially sold to his brother-in-law, q^ ° Re „ g
Sir James Oswald, (reserving- the right B - xlv - f - S3 -
_ v ° Scots Worthiea.
of redemption to himself and heirs,) Ins
baronies of Preston and Fingalton, his
lands of Ross, Brunthill, Brumhilton,
Priestgill, &c. (1681;) and soon after,
passing into Holland, he joined the Eng-
lish and Scottish malcontents assembled
at the Hague. Engaging in the designs
of Monmouth and Argyle, he accom- Renwick .
■ ill i • i rs Letters, j
panied the latter in his descent on Scot- 103. 131
land, in 1685; and, after the failure bfS^V
Rob. Hanld-
that ill-starred enterprise, was so for- ton ' sMS
Letters,
tun ate as to remain for a season con-
cealed among his friends, and ultimately
to escape a second time into Holland.
There, he became a distinguished fa-Crawf. Rem.
• i i t-i • o *~v . on Ragman's
vourite with the Prince of Orange, in r h, ap ud
whose army he held a high command in pa^jj'i'/ :
the expedition to England of 1688. He
did not however live to witness the suc-
cess, or to reap the fruits of that glori-
ous enterprise : but died at Exeter, of a
sudden illness, while the troops were on ibid.
the march to London, (November.)
In 1 670 Sir William married Rachel, s. Sig.an. 168!.
daughter of the celebrated Sir Thomas p ar . Rec
Nicolson of Cokburnspath, Lord Advo-B^; 1 ^
cate, and of Rachel Burnet, afterwards 213 - 345 - Ad '
Lib.
third wife of his father. By her he left
three daughters :
1. Rachel, born March 1671, whoPrest. Pur.Re*
died unmarried before 1697. ii.T 109!
2. Anne, born 6th September 1672; ibid. Edin,
Par Rec
married, 1st October 1697, to her cousin Baiilie's Life «rf