Duke of Abercorn
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The title Duke of Abercorn was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. This article also covers the Earls and Marquesses of Abercorn, all named after Abercorn, West Lothian, in Scotland. 'Abercorn' is pronounced 'Avercorn'.
In acknowledgement of his loyalty, James VI of Scotland (James I of England), conferred on Hon. Claud Hamilton, third son of the second Earl of Arran, the title Lord Paisley. His son James Hamilton was created Lord Abercorn on 5 April 1603, then on 10 July 1606 he was made Earl of Abercorn and Lord of Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell and Kilpatrick, all in the Peerage of Scotland.
His successor, the 2nd Earl of Abercorn, was additionally created Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane, in the Peerage of Ireland, on 8 May 1617. He resigned this dignity to his younger brother in 1633; the brother's heirs inherited the Earldom and other titles in 1680, in the person of Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn. He was attainted in Ireland in 1691, and the Barony of Strabane forfeited, but his brother Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Hamilton obtained a reversal of the attainder and recovered in 1692.
The 6th earl was additionally created Baron Mountcastle and Viscount Strabane, in the Peerage of Ireland, on 2 September 1701. The 7th earl became the first of the Earls of Abercorn to be invested a Privy Counsellor, having been appointed to both the English and Irish Privy Councils. The 8th earl was created Viscount Hamilton, of Hamilton in the Peerage of Great Britain on 24 August 1786. He was succeeded by his nephew who was created Marquess of Abercorn in the Peerage of Great Britain on 15 October 1790, after having sat in the House of Commons as MP for East Looe and for St Germans. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1805.
The 2nd Marquess, who had been given the Garter in 1844, served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1866 to 1868 (and again from 1874 to 1876); and on 10 August 1868, during his first term, he was created Marquess of Hamilton, of Strabane and Duke of Abercorn (in the Peerage of Ireland). His successor, the 2nd Duke, continued the family tradition by being awarded the Garter in 1892; the 3rd Duke served as MP for Derry and as Governor of Northern Ireland, along with being created a Knight of St Patrick and given the Garter. Currently, the holder of the Dukedom of Abercorn is James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn.
The many subsidiary titles of the Duke of Abercorn are: Marquess of Abercorn (1790), Marquess of Hamilton (1868), Earl of Abercorn (1606) (Peerage of Scotland), Viscount Strabane (1701), Viscount Hamilton (1786), Lord Paisley (1587), Lord Abercorn (1603), Lord Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell and Kilpatrick (1606), Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane in the County of Tyrone (1617), and Baron Mountcastle (1701). He is also an Irish Baronet, styled "of Dunalong in the County of Tyrone, and of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary" (1660 — the 6th earl was the 2nd baronet). The courtesy title of the Heir Apparent is Marquess of Hamilton, and that of his Heir Apparent Viscount Strabane. In France, the Dukes of Abercorn also use the title Duc de Châtellerault, a title granted (by Henry I of France) to the Hamiltons in order to get them to agree to the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the French Dauphin, later Francis II of France.
The family seat is Baronscourt, near Strabane, County Tyrone.
Contents |
[edit] Lords Paisley (1587)
- Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley (1543–1621)
[edit] Earls of Abercorn (1606)
- James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn (1575–1618) (previously created Lord Abercorn in 1603)
- James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn (c. 1604–c. 1670) (succeeded as 2nd Lord Paisley in 1621)
- George Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Abercorn (c. 1636–c. 1680)
- Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn (c. 1659–c. 1691)
- Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Abercorn (d. 1701)
- James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn (c. 1661–1734)
- James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn (1685–1744)
- James Hamilton, 8th Earl of Abercorn (1712–1789)
- John Hamilton, 9th Earl of Abercorn (created Marquess of Abercorn in 1790) (1756–1818)
[edit] Marquesses of Abercorn (1790)
- John James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn (1756–1818)
- James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn (created Duke of Abercorn in 1868) (1811–1885)
[edit] Dukes of Abercorn (1868)
- James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn (1811–1885)
- James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn (1838–1913)
- James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn (1869–1953)
- James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn (1904–1979)
- James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn (b. 1934)
Heir Apparent: James Harold Charles Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton (b. 1969)
Lord Hamilton's heir-apparent: James Alfred Nicholas Hamilton, Viscount Strabane (b. 2005)
