Alexander Hamilton (priest)
Alexander Hamilton (September 9, 1847 – June 3, 1928) was an American Episcopal priest and great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.[1] He was the rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Weston, Connecticut, by 1893; St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Woodbury, Connecticut, by 1915; and Christ Church in Westport, Connecticut, until he retired in 1920. Hamilton was the chaplain for the Society of the Cincinnati and the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the Revolution.[2][3][4] He was also a member of the Advisory Council for the Daughters of the Cincinnati.[5]
Alexander Hamilton | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg.webp) Hamilton in 1913 | |
| Born | Alexander Hamilton September 9, 1847 |
| Died | June 3, 1928 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater | St. Stephen's College General Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | Chaplain |
| Spouse(s) | Adele Walton Livermore
(m. 1872; died 1907) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | Alexander Hamilton Elizabeth Smith Nicoll |
| Relatives | See Hamilton family |
Early life
Hamilton was born at Setauket, New York, on Long Island on September 9, 1847, to General Alexander Hamilton (1815–1907) and Elizabeth Smith Nicoll (1819–1873).[6] His siblings were Henry Nicoll Hamilton (1849–1914), James Bowdoin Hamilton (1852–1853), and Marie Elizabeth Hamilton (1855–1897). He and his family moved to the Ramapo Valley in 1858, then to New York City in 1861.[6] He served during the American Civil War under the command of his father, who was then a colonel in the New York Militia.
He attended St. Stephen's College and then attended the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan. He received his ordination in 1870 at the Church of the Transfiguration as a deacon.[7]
Career
He was ordained as a priest in 1890 by Bishop Henry Codman Potter, seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.[7] By 1893, he was the rector of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Weston, Connecticut.[8] That same year his father was judged to be insane.[9]
In 1894, he resigned from Emmanuel Episcopal Church. As reported by The New York Times, after a previous disagreement, John Watson Gulick attempted to visit Hamilton's daughter, Anne, whom he had dated before. He was met with coldness from the Hamilton family and a short time later Hamilton's daughter was engaged to another man by the name of Gilbert Kellogg. Soon after the engagement, six of Gullick's relatives who were also members of the church, demanded Hamilton's resignation. In his resignation statement he said: "when there are two members of this church who wish me to resign, my resignation is ready ... I stand before you a condemned man."[10]
After his resignation Hamilton became pastor at Christ Episcopal Church in Trumbull, Connecticut. Following Hamilton's resignation, it was reported that his father, General Alexander Hamilton, had invited him to move to his place of residence.[10]
He retired as rector of Christ Church in Westport, Connecticut, in 1920.
Memberships
He was chaplain of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was a member and chaplain for the Society of Colonial Wars; chaplain of the Military Order of Foreign Wars; chaplain of the Veteran Corps, War of 1812; general chaplain Society of War of 1812; member of Sons of the Revolution; chaplain Sons of Veterans, Lafayette Camp, No. 140, New York; member of the Union Society of Civil War; member of St. Nicholas Society; member of the Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America; member of Military Order of Foreign Wars; member of St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Connecticut, Free and Accepted Masons, also member of numerous historical societies.[1][11]
Personal life
On July 12, 1872, he married Adele Walton Livermore (1849–1907), the daughter of William W. Livermore, a banker, in New York City. She was the grand-niece of William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.[6] They had five children.[6]
- Anne Adele Walton Hamilton (1873–1898)
- Alma Elizabeth Hamilton (b. 1877)
- Charlotte Maria Hamilton (1882–1907)
- Esther Livermore Hamilton (1884–1884)
- Alexander Schuyler Hamilton III (1886–1914)
Hamilton died in Westport, Connecticut, on June 3, 1928.[1][7][12]
See also
References
- "Alexander Hamilton (1847-1928)". The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. 21. James T. White & Co.
- "About us". Connecticut Society of the Sons of the Revolution. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
It was incorporated under the laws of the State of Connecticut on September 7, 1893. Officers elected on that date were: Colonel Dwight Morris, President; the Honorable Daniel Nash Morris, Vice President; Cyrus Sherwood Bradley, Secretary: Colonel Henry Walter Wessels, Treasurer; Nathan Gillette Pond, Registrar; and the Reverend Alexander Hamilton, Chaplain.
- Minor Myers (2004). Liberty without anarchy: a history of the Society of the Cincinnati. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 0-8139-2311-5.
John Schuyler, treasurer general of the Cincinnati, offered advice, the Reverend Alexander Hamilton agreed to be chaplain, and by 1897 there were ...
- The Speech Teacher. 1958. p. 38.
The Reverend Alexander Hamilton, Pastor of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Norwalk, Connecticut, and Chaplain to the National Railway Society, ...
- "Eagle Presides At The Lawton Dinner. Daughters of the Cincinnati Also Drink from George Washington's Camp Cups". The New York Times. May 11, 1912. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
The members of the advisory council present were the Reverend Alexander Hamilton, Charles Elliott Warren, Philip Livingston, Dr. William Chester, Sylvanus A. Reed, and Mr. Washington ...
- "Rev. Alexander Hamilton". Illustrated Popular Biography of Connecticut. Lockwood and Brainard Company. 1891. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
... He was born at Setanket, Long Island, where he spent his youth until eleven years of age, when, his father owning large estates in Northern New Jersey in the Ramapo Valley, he removed there in 1858 – remaining till the close of 1861, when his family became residents of New York city. He was educated at the public school and by tutors; took a special course in the General Theological Seminary of New York; and in 1870 was ordained by Bishop Potter. Having a special aptitude for missionary work, he became engaged in such effort successively at Armonck, Newcastle, and Pleasantville, and at Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York. ...
- "Rev. A. Hamilton Dies At Age Of 81. Descendant of First Secretary of the Treasury. A Native of Setauket, L.I. As A Boy Was In Civil War. Served Parishes Near This City. Rector Emeritus of Westport Church at His Death". The New York Times. June 4, 1928. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
The Rev. Alexander Hamilton, 81 years old, retired Protestant Episcopal clergyman, died here at his home in Union Park yesterday after an illness of more than a year. He had been rector emeritus of Christ Church, Westport, since 1920.
- "General Hamilton Speaks Out. He Will Account for Himself at Any Time Before a Proper Tribunal" (PDF). The New York Times. August 16, 1893. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
Gen. Alexander Hamilton, when seen to-night at the home of his son, the Rev. Alexander Hamilton, rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Lyons Plains, town of Weston, six miles from here, was willing to express himself freely and fully in regard to the stories told in the press about him.
- "Is Gen. Hamilton Insane. A Legal Inquiry Caused By His Second Wife. Alleged To Be Under The Influence of a Mrs. Freeman In This City. He Is A Grandson of the Famous Alexander Hamilton, an Uncle Of Robert Ray, And Was Distinguished, In The Civil War. Said To Have Threatened Repeatedly To Take His Wife's Life" (PDF). The New York Times. August 11, 1893. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- "The Rev. A. Hamilton's Resignation. Due To Choirist Gulick's Machinations and Courtship" (PDF). The New York Times. August 13, 1894. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
'When there are two members of this church who wish me to resign, my resignation is ready,' said the Rev. Alexander Hamilton, rector of Emanuel Church, Lyons Plains, on Sunday, Jan. 14. 'After twenty-five years preaching I stand before you a condemned man.'
- Cuyler Reynolds (1914). "Reverend Alexander Hamilton". Genealogical and family history of southern New York. p. 1385.
Rev. Alexander Hamilton, D.D., born at Setauket, Long Island, New York, September 9, 1847, resides at Woodbury, Connecticut, where he is the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. This is the same parish in which Dr. Samuel Seabury was elected the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in America. Having completed the course at the Theological Seminary, he was ordained in 1870. He is chaplain of the New York Society of the Cincinnati; member and chaplain Society of Colonial Wars; chaplain of the Society of Foreign Wars; chaplain of Veteran Corps, War of 1812; general chaplain Society of War of 1812; member of Sons of the Revolution; chaplain Sons of Veterans, Lafayette Camp, No. 140, New York; member of the Union Society of Civil War; member of St. Nicholas Society; member of the Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America; member of St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Connecticut, Free and Accepted Masons, also member of numerous historical societies.
- "Hamilton Scion Dies". Associated Press in The Miami News. June 4, 1928. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
A great grandson of Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary patriot and first secretary of the treasury of the United States died at his home ...