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His Grace
The Duke of Hamilton
KT
His Grace The Duke of Hamilton KT
	The Duke of Hamilton
Personal details
Born	10 July 1724
Died	17 January 1758 (aged 33); Great Tew, Oxfordshire
Nationality	Scottish
Spouse	Elizabeth Gunning
Children	Lady Elizabeth Hamilton; James Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton; Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton;
Parents	James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton; Lady Anne Cochrane;

James George Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton and 3rd Duke of Brandon, KT (10 July 1724 – 17 January 1758) was a Scottish peer.

Early years and education

Hamilton was the son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his first wife, the former Lady Anne Cochrane, and was styled as Marquess of Clydesdale from his birth until his father's death. He was educated at Winchester College from 1734 to 1740. He matriculated at St Mary Hall, Oxford on 23 February 1741, knighted into the Order of the Thistle in or around 1742, and created a DCL on 14 April 1743.^[1]

On 14 February (St. Valentine's Day) 1752, Hamilton met the society beauty Elizabeth Gunning at Bedford House in London. According to Horace Walpole, the duke wished to marry her that night and he called for a local parson to perform the ceremony. However, without a licence, calling of banns and a ring, the parson refused and they were eventually married that night in Mayfair Chapel (which did not require a licence) in a clandestine marriage, with a ring from a bed curtain.^[2] The couple had three children:

Lady Elizabeth Hamilton (26 January 1753 – 14 March 1797), married Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby
James Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton (18 February 1755 – 7 July 1769)
Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton (24 July 1756 – 2 August 1799)

On 2 March 1743, he succeeded to his father's title of Duke of Hamilton.

Death

He died on 17 January 1758, aged 33, at Great Tew, Oxfordshire from a cold caught whilst out hunting. He was buried in February 1758 at the family mausoleum at Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.

Holyrood Palace and Abbey

The Duke was hereditary keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, but all but his apartments in the building had been reduced to a state of dereliction by the time of his death. He was responsible for commissioning the reroofing of Holyrood Abbey with stone slabs. The excessive weight of the new roof caused it to collapse in 1768, taking more of the building with it.^[3]

Freemasonry

The 6th Duke of Hamilton held the position of Right Worshipful Master of the local Masonic Lodge, Hamilton Kilwinning No.7 for three consecutive years from 1753 to 1755.

Ancestry

Ancestors of James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton

16. William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas

8. William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton

17. Lady Mary Gordon

4. James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton

18. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton

9. Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton

19. Lady Mary Feilding

2. James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton

20. Charles Gerard, 4th Baron Gerard

10. Digby Gerard, 5th Baron Gerard

21. Jane Digby

5. The Hon. Elizabeth Gerard

22. Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield

11. Lady Elizabeth Gerard

23. Jeanne de Civelle

1. James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton

24. William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane

12. John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundonald

25. Lady Katherine Kennedy

6. John Cochrane, 4th Earl of Dundonald

26. William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton (= 8.)

13. Lady Susannah Hamilton

27. Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton (= 9.)

3. Lady Anne Cochrane

28. John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl

14. Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore

29. Lady Amelia Stanley

7. Lady Anne Murray

30. Richard Watts

15. Catherine Watts

31. Catherine Werden

References

^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Hamilton, James (3)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
^ Horace Walpole Correspondence vol 20 page 303
^ Freeman, F.W. (1984), Robert Fergusson and the Scots Humanist Compromise, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 205 & 206, ISBN 0852244746

External links

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by James Hamilton	Duke of Hamilton 1743–1758	Succeeded by James Hamilton
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by James Hamilton	Duke of Brandon 1743–1758	Succeeded by James Hamilton