HAMILTON, JAMES [SSNE 2585]
Text source
Sir James Hamilton of Priestfield was the son of Thomas, 1st Earl of Haddington and his 2nd wife Margaret, the daughter of James Foulis of Colinton. He was knighted before September 1623. Sir James was married to Anna, the eldest daugher of Sir Patrick Hepburn of Waughton. He accompanied the Duke of Buckingham on his expedition to La Rochelle from 1627-28. In April 1629 he was authorised by the Scottish Privy Council to enlist a company of men for service in Sweden. By June these men had absconded and Hamilton was allowed to recruit masterless men. He appears to have been serving in John Meldrum's regiment [SSNE 572] and is noted by Monro as a full colonel in 1632. When Colonel John Hepburn [SSNE 2660] left Swedish service that year after a disagreement with King Gustav II Adolf, Sir James left with him and returned to Scotland. In 1647 Sir James sold or mortgaged his lands of Priestfield to his uncle Sir Alexander Hamilton, and then left Scotland. He was still alive in July 1663, but had died by January 1666 as his son, Sir James, was then served heir to Priestfield.
Sources: Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 2nd Series, III, p.142, 15 April 1629 & p. 152, 2 June 1629; Swedish Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1629/11,14,16,18-20; 1630/22-25,28-30; R. Monro, His Expedition with a worthy Scots Regiment called Mac-Keyes (London, 1637), II, The List of the Scottish Officers in Chiefe, list 1.
Service record
- STUART KINGDOMS, FRANCE, LA ROCHELLE, BUCKINGHAM'S ARMY
- Departed 1628-10-31, as OFFICER
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, JOHN MELDROM'S SCOTTISH INFANTRY
- Departed 1630-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY