Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 2.djvu/109

 BELHAVEN 93 BELHAVEN AND STENTON BARONY [S.] I. John Hamilton, of BroomhIIl, and afterwards of y. Beil, s. and h. of Sir James H., ist Bart. [S. i625],(^) '^'' of Broomhill, by Margaret, ist da. of John Hamilton, of Udston, was, for his loyalty to the King, cr. 15 Dec. 1647, LORD BELHAVEN AND STENTON, co. Haddington [S.], with a spec, rem., failing heirs male of his body, to his heirs male whatsoever. He accom- panied the force into England to attempt the rescue of the King in 1648, escaping from the rout at Preston. App. P.C. [S.] 1 1 July, sworn 23 July 1663. Having no male issue, he surrendered his Peerage and received a new grant thereof, 10 Feb. 1675, *° himself for life, with rem. to John Hamilton (husband of one of his granddaughters) and the heirs male of his body, whom failing to the nearest heirs male whatsoever of the said (last mentioned) John. He m. Margaret, illegit. da. of James (Hamilton), 2nd Marquess of Hamilton [S.], by Anne, widow of John (Abernethy), 8th Lord Saltoun, da. of Walter (Stewart), ist Lord Blantyre-C") She was living 24 Oct. 1666. He d. s.p.m.s.,(^) ij, and was l>ur. 20 June 1679, in Holyrood Abbey church. Funeral entry in Lyon office. ('^) ing the Earl of Nithsdale's commission. There is a lie. from the Bp. of London, 2 Feb. 1635/6, for his da. Susan Douglas, aged 18, spr., to marry at St. Andrew's, Holborn, " Robert Douglas, Esq.," aged 43, widower. (*) This Sir James was great grandson of John H. of Broomhill, who was one of the numerous bastards of James, ist Lord Hamilton [S.], and, consequently, an illegit. br. of James, ist Earl of Arran [S.]. The said John H. was, however, legitimated under the Great Seal [S.] 20 Jan. 15 12/3. C') " Sir John Hamilton, Lord Belhaven, who had married the base daughter of James, Marquess of Hamilton, begotten on Stewart, daughter to the Lord Blantyre, and widow of the Lord Saltoun, miserably perished in the sinking sands of the Solway, 3 July 1652." (Balfour's Annals, vol. iv). The fact that this precise and detailed statement of death by a contemporary Lyon King of Arms, backed up, as it is, by Letters of Administration, should be demonstrably untrue, is enough to discredit the evidence on which most of the statements in this and similar works rest. See an article by Vicary Gibbs in The Genealogist, N.S.,vol. xx, p. 77, shewing the reason for his pretended death and his re-appearance [in life] Jan. 1659. V.G. if) His "one boy, a very hopeful youth and pretty scholar," d. about 1 66 1. V.G. {^) This refers to the death of the first Lord Belhaven and Stenton, in spite of an admon. dat. 11 Nov. 1656, of the goods of '■'■'John Hamilton, Lord Belhaven," of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Midx., granted to the curator of Elizabeth Hamilton, da. of deed., during her minority; Lady Margaret the relict renouncing. Notwithstanding the cognizance thereof of the said Margaret (his wife) " the admon. appears to have been granted on an erroneous impression that he was dead. The patent of 1675 (the regrant of the Peerage) is printed in full in the claim of the ninth Lord, and the terms of it show clearly that the first Lord was then alive. He is therein spoken of as formerly Sir John Hamilton of Beill; as being without living heirs male of his body; the contract of his granddaughter and her husband John Hamilton is alluded to; and, finally, the titles are regranted to this first named John, for life, then to John Hamilton (afterwards 2nd Lord), husband of the granddaughter, ^c." (ex