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Hamilton Family Register The Hamilton Family of Truro and Upper Stewiacke, Colchester County, Nova Scotia Prepared by H. Douglas Goff 7748 Wellington Rd. 22 Guelph, ON N1H 6J2 email goff.doug at gmail.com www.gofffamilyhistory.ca (A great grandson of Margaret Rebecca (Hamilton) Deyarmond, daughter of Hants and Mary (Hamilton) Hamilton) Updated Dec. 23, 2020 Index, page 79 First Generation -------------------------------------------------- 1. Robert Hamilton1. Born on 8 Nov 1734 in Armagh, Ireland. Robert died in Truro, Colchester Co., NS, in Dec 1814; he was 80. Robert, with his wife, 5 children, younger brother Hants and at least one nephew (probably William Hamilton and his wife Margory who settled in Onslow, NS), emigrated to Halifax Nova Scotia in March of the year 1771 on "The Hope". From Halifax they went to Truro in the fall of the same year. There he secured a grant of land about three miles up the Salmon River from Truro. It was known as Wilson's Mountain and was near Tucker's Mills, now know as Murray's Siding. Robert’s father was William Hamilton, who had sons John, whose daughter went to Niva Scotia, Robert, Hants, (who accompanied his brother Robert to Nova Scotia), and seven other sons and two daughters. One of the unnamed sons had a son, William, who emigrated to Nova Scotia with his uncles Robert and Hants. He may be the William Hamilton who settled in Onslow, NS. The ancestry of Robert was found in "A History of the House of Hamilton", by Lt. Col. George Hamilton, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England, 1933. The Nova Scotia link was reported to Hamilton by Mrs. Innes and Mrs. Rupert H. Cobbold of Montreal, descendants of Pierce Stevens Hamilton (son of Robert, of William, Brookfield, Nova Scotia), barrister and journalist of Halifax and an early advocate of the Confederation of Canada, born 1826, died in Halifax about 1896, through his son Percy St. Clair Hamilton, writer and journalist in Nova Scotia and later in Montreal, born 1862, removed to Montreal in 1899 and died there in 1926. They claim that a manuscript pedigree was in the treasured possession of the family for several generations, showing the ancestor of 1 For Robert Hamilton’s ancestry, please see http://www.gofffamilyhistory.ca/HamiltonColchesterNovaScotia.pdf Page 1 Hamilton Family Register this branch to be John Hamilton, son of Gavin Hamilton of Bally-gally, Ireland, third son of Rev. Hans Hamilton, vicar of Dunlop, of the Raploch, Scotland family. The manuscript then suggests that Rev. Archibald of Armagh and William were sons of John (son of Gavin), and Robert, the immigrant, was a son of William. However, the pedigree of the Hamiltons of Ballygally shows that Gavin had three sons, Archibald, Rev. James, and Richard (no John) and that Rev. James had 15 children of whom only one son, Rev. Archibald of Armagh, lived to maturity. Lt. Col. Hamilton suggests by way of an explanation that John in the Nova Scotia pedigree may be an error for Rev. James and that William was another survivor of Rev. James 15 children. However, the genealogy suggests this cannot be so. Rev. James was born in 1601, and his grandson Robert, the immigrant, was born in 1734. This surely is not correct! More plausible is that John, father of William and grandfather of Robert, the immigrant, was another son of Rev. James (not the same person) and hence grandson of Gavin. This suggests that Rev. Archibald of Armagh, brother of William, was a nephew of Rev. Archibald of Armagh (in 1673), son of Rev. James, i.e., that there were two Rev. Archibald Hamilton's, not one. Despite the missing generation, we can still assume from the old Nova Scotia manuscript pedigree that Robert, the immigrant, descends from Gavin of Ballygally. A family letter has been found, as follows: Feb 23, 1790, Ireland. "Dear Brothers, This comes to let you know that I am in good health, and my family at present, thanks to God. I hope that this will find you and families the same. I will acquaint you that your sister Jane is dead, and her daughter, Nancy. Also your brother David. Your brother Archibald is in good health. You may let Esther know that her sister Simpson is dead, and her mother. I had an account since you wrote, that you were all well. The rest of the _?_ and John Rowan are still in good health. I hope that you will write as soon as this comes to your hand, and please to tell us of the affairs of that country, and how you would advise my sons as they are thinking of going to it if you would send them any encouragement. Please let me know how John Hamilton's daughter is (Note: this would be Mrs. Bulmer of Brookfield, NS). The Fergusons are all well and they will write you. I have written you several times, but received no answer these two years. I have nothing more to inform you of, only that there has been some disturbances of these three years past between the Protestants and the Papists. Every means has been taken to settle them my gentle means, but cannot say that this has come to an end yet. My wife and family all join with me in sending our best wishes. Farewell, I am, Dear brother, your affectionate brother. (sgd) William Hamilton. This letter was from Robert's brother William in Ireland. There is no envelope, merely the letter folded over and addressed to William or Hants Hamilton, Halifax. It had been re-addressed to Cornwallis. A large figure 8 indicated that the postage collected was 8 pence. In 1757 when Robert was 22, he married Agnes (Nancy) Ferguson. Born on 5 Mar 1739 in Armagh, Ireland. Agnes (Nancy) died in Upper Stewiacke, Col. Co., NS, in 1835; she was 95. She died at the home of her youngest son Hants. They had the following children: 2 i. William (28 Dec 1758-20 Jan 1838) 3 ii. Mary (21 Jan 1761-20 Aug 1847) iii. Margaret. Born on 4 Oct 1763. She was never married. 4 iv. Robert (16 Feb 1765-Dec 1815) 5 v. John (31 Jul 1768-31 Jul 1835) vi. Archibald. Born on 19 Mar 1771 in At Sea Enroute To Canada. Archibald died in Young. He was never married. Archibald died unmarried. 6 vii. George (5 Jan 1774-13 Sep 1842) viii. Agnes (Died as Child). Born on 26 Apr 1776 in Truro, Colchester Co., NS. Agnes died in 1780; she was 3. Page 2 Hamilton Family Register 7 ix. Hants (1 Jan 1780-1856) Second Generation -------------------------------------------------- Family of Robert Hamilton (1) & Agnes (Nancy) Ferguson 2. William Hamilton (Robert1). Born on 28 Dec 1758 in Sagahn, Vicars Cairn, Co. Armagh, Ireland. William died in Brookfield, Nova Scotia, on 20 Jan 1838; he was 79. Residence: Brookfield, NS. Excerpts- from Longworth’s Book below pertaining to William Hamilton of Brookfield chapter 4- Brookfield. “It was first settled in the year 1784, 'by William Hamilton and Daniel Moore -Hamilton was born in County Armagh, Ireland, on December 28th, 1758. He emigrated to this province in 1770. His father, brothers Robert and John, and his sister, accompanied him. They came out in the Schooner "Hopewell". Captain Neil McGowan……. Hamilton's log cabin was eight miles from any other except Moore's, and was close to a spring, where his horse drank whenever he chose. To the cabin there was annexed a kind of rough shed as a shelter for the horse. One cold winter's evening, a half-frozen Irishman put up at this forest abode for a night's lodging. During the first part of the night, he kept Hamilton awake by complaining of his feet being frozen, and expressed a wish that the devil had them. About this time, the horse puts its head through the rude window of the hut, and made a loud snort. The Irishman, greatly alarmed, exclaimed, "What is that?" Hamilton adroitly replied, "The devil after your feet!" The result proved, as may be imagined, that Hamilton was allowed to sleep in quietness, the remainder of the night. Until Hamilton got a wife to bake his bread and mend his clothes, he was under obligations to Mrs. Moore for her help. She went to his cabin every Monday morning and baked a loaf which supplied him for a week. After kneading the dough, she formed it into a beautiful large cake of an oval form, two or three inches thick, swept clean a hot part of the hearth, and there laid it. She then spread over it, a thin layer of fine cold ashes,and over that a thick layer of hot ashes, mixed with live burning coals. When the bread had lain long enough, with a shovel the ashes were removed, and it was taken off the hearth. After a little agitation to shake off the ashes, it was wiped with a cloth, much cleaner that those who bake in brick ovens, or cooking stoves could expect. On the 29th January 1789, Hamilton married Louisa Thompson, daughter of Aaron Thompson of North River Onslow. On one occasion Mrs. Hamilton was six months in Brookfield without seeing the face of another woman, save her own, and that reflected by a pool of pure spring water…. When any settler left his hut for any length of time, he invariably set a trap in the fireplace and was sure to find a martin in it on his return…….. Brookfield, in common with some other parts of the province, was visited by a tremendous freshet on the 8th day of September 1792.

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