James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton

James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton and 4th Earl of Arran KG PC (1589 – 2 March 1625), styled Lord Aven from 1599 to 1604, was a Scottish politician.[1] He was the son of John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton and Margaret Lyon.

Arms of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton

The Marquess of Hamilton
Born	1589
Died	2 March 1625 Whitehall, London
Resting place	Hamilton
Title	2nd Marquess of Hamilton 4th Earl of Arran
Successor	James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton
Spouse(s)	Lady Ann Cunningham
Children	Anne Montgomerie, Countess of Eglinton Margaret Lindsay, Countess of Crawford Mary Douglas, Countess of Queensberry James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton
Parent(s)	John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton Margaret Lyon, Countess of Cassilis

He inherited his father's titles and estates in 1604. King James granted him the property and lands of Arbroath Abbey, or "Aberbrothwick", and on 5 May 1608 created him Lord Aberbrothwick.[2] In the following year, Aberbrothwick inherited the earldom of Arran from his insane and childless uncle James Hamilton. He moved to England with King James VI, and invested into the Somers Isles Company, an offshoot of the Virginia company, buying the shares of Lucy Harrington, Countess of Bedford. The Parish of Hamilton in the Somers Isles (alias Bermuda) is named for him. He was created Earl of Cambridge and Baron of Innerdale in the peerage of England on 16 June 1619. In 1621 he served as Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, the King's representative in the Parliament of Scotland.

In 1603, he married Lady Ann Cunningham, a daughter of James Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn and they had five children:

• Lady Anne Hamilton, married Hugh Montgomerie, 7th Earl of Eglinton and had issue
• Lady Margaret Hamilton, married John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of Lindsay and had issue
• Lady Mary Hamilton (died 1633), married James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Queensberry, no issue
• James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649)
• William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton (1616–1651)

He also had an illegitimate daughter, Margaret (who married John Hamilton, 1st Lord Belhaven and Stenton and had issue) by Anne Stewart, a daughter of Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre.

Hamilton died on 2 March 1625 at Whitehall, London, from a fever and was buried in the family mausoleum at Hamilton, on 2 September of that year.

References

1. James Hamiton, National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved July 2009
2. Cokayne 1910, p. 2.

Biography

• Cokayne, George E. (1910). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. I, Ab-Adam to Basing. London: St. Catherine Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)