Lord Anne Hamilton

Lord Anne Hamilton (12 October 1709 – 25 December 1748) was a Scottish nobleman. He is said to have married the richest woman in the UK and they had a child.

Lord Anne Hamilton
Born(1709-10-12)12 October 1709
London, England
Died25 December 1748(1748-12-25) (aged 39)
France
Resting placeSt James's Church, Piccadilly
OccupationAristocrat
Known formarrying Britain's richest woman
Spouse(s)Anna Charlotta Maria Powell
ChildrenJames Hamilton
Charles Powell Hamilton
Gerard Anne Edwardes
Parent(s)James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton
Elizabeth Gerard

Early life

Hamilton was born at St. James's Square, London, the third son of Lieutenant-General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, and his wife the Honourable Elizabeth Gerard, daughter of Digby Gerard, 5th Baron Gerard. His unusual Christian name is explained by the fact that he was named for his godmother, Queen Anne. As well as the Queen, Hamilton's other godparents were John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland.[1] Hamilton was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards as an ensign on 4 April 1731 and resigned in May 1733.[2]

Personal life and death
"Edwards Hamilton family on a Terrace", 1734 by William Hogarth

Lord Anne Hamilton reputedly married Mary Edwards, in or before 1731, in a clandestine marriage said to have been in the chapel of the Fleet Prison. It was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine but the chapel records do not include details and Mary Edwards denied it and never changed her name.[3] She was the daughter and heiress of Francis Edwards of Welham Grove, Leicestershire. She was one of the greatest heiresses of her day with a fortune of between £50,000 and £60,000.[3] Lord Anne assumed Mary Edwards’ name and arms as Lord Anne Edwards Hamilton. Their portraits were painted by Hogarth with their son Gerard Anne Edwards.[4] Also, Mary Edwards commissioned William Hogarth to paint Taste in High Life in 1742. The couple had one child, a son:

Sometime after 1734, because she felt that Lord Anne was becoming spendthrift with her money, Mary Edwards left him and took the extraordinary step of repudiating her marriage. She declared herself a single woman and took steps to create evidence that no marriage had ever taken place.[5] Resultantly, their child, Gerard Anne Edwards, was rendered illegitimate.

After this unprecedented development, Hamilton married Anna Charlotta Maria Powell, daughter of Charles Powell, in October 1742. They had two sons:

Hamilton died in France at the age of 39, and was buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly the following July.[6] Upon the death of the 12th Duke of Hamilton in 1895, without male issue, it was Lord Anne's descendant, Alfred Douglas-Hamilton who succeeded to the dukedom of Hamilton.

References
  1. Anderson, p 172
  2. Mackinnon, Daniel (1833). Origin and Services of the Coldstream Guards. II. London: Richard Bentley. pp. 478–479.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. "Edwards, Mary (1705?–1743), art patron | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/66538. Retrieved 21 March 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. Centre, Paul Mellon. "Focus on New Photography: The Edwards Hamilton Family on a Terrace by William Hogarth". www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. Sir James Balfour Paul, (1907) The Scots Peerage, Edinburgh: David Douglas, Vol IX “Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton” p 387
  6. Balfour Paul, vol. iv, p. 385

Further reading
  • Anderson, John, Historical and genealogical memoirs of the House of Hamilton; with genealogical memoirs of the several branches of the family. Edinburgh 1825
  • Balfour Paul, Sir James. The Scots Peerage IX vols. Edinburgh 1907
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