Transcript

Of

Alexander Henry Abercromby Hamilton [Obituary]

Trans. Devon. Assoc. XLIII, (1911), pp. 40-41.

by

Maxwell Adams (Ed.)

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1911 Dartmouth meeting. Mr Hamilton is credited by OCLC World Catalogue, Identities, with 37 works in 72 publications, held in 598 Libraries. References linked to his most widely read works are available from Worldcat. Mr Hamilton’s family tree may be accessed in Wikitree. The obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

Mr. Hamilton, of Fairfield, Exeter, was the third son of Mr. Alexander Hamilton Hamilton, J.P., D.L., of The Retreat, Topsham, and Hullerhurst, Ayrshire. He was educated at Exmouth, Eton, and Christ Church College, Oxford, taking the degree of B.A. He married, in 1854, Sophia Anne Adelaide, daughter of Sir Robert Abercromby, of Forglen, Aberdeenshire, and had two sons - Rev. Robert Abercromby Hamilton, M.A., St. John's College, Oxford, until recently Vicar of Cranbourne, Berks; and Captain Douglas Abercromby Hamilton, captain, East Kent Regiment. Mr. Hamilton, in 1869, married, secondly, Flora Henrietta Maria, daughter of Mr. C. E. Macdonald, Madras Civil Service, and widow of Major G. J. Condy of the Indian Army, who predeceased him.
He was one of the oldest members of this Association, having joined in 1862, and was President in 1892 when the Association held its Annual Meeting in Plymouth.
Formerly he took a leading part in county affairs, and had been a Justice of the Peace for nearly half a century, being also a Deputy-lieutenant for Devon. From 1899 to 1901 he was also on the County Council, this being a continuation of his labours in earlier years, when Quarter Sessions was the chief county authority. For very many years he was Chairman of St. Thomas’ Board of Guardians, and in this capacity brought to bear a dignity and tact that were of the utmost service to the district. Education was with him a lifelong interest, his offices in this connection including a Governorship of Exeter School and a place on the Committee of the Diocesan Board of Education, the controlling body of St. Luke's Training College. He was a frequent contributor to Fraser's, Longman's, Household Words, Chambers's Journal, and other magazines, in addition to publishing pamphlets on English and Italian history. A series of valuable articles on the county records were republished by Sampson, Low and Co., in 1878, under the title of Quarter Sessions from Queen Elizabeth to Queen Anne. He also published The Note-book of Sir John Northcote, containing much interesting local information, in 1877. Ballads from Hebrew History was another of his works.
He died on 2 April, 1911, at the age of eighty-two, and was buried at Countess Weir.