| Notes |
- HAMILTON (WILLIAM SUTHERLAND) PAPERS Mss. 3167
1766-1942 LSU LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Page 4 of 9
BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE
William S. (Sutherland, also spelled Southerland) Hamilton was born in Edenton, North Carolina
in either 1787 or 1789. He was the son of John and Angel Hamilton, daughter of Jane Hamilton
(née Peck). They most likely married in 1785. John was a lawyer who practiced in Maryland and
then North Carolina. Angel died in North Carolina, most likely in January of 1790, after which
John moved to Louisiana. John eventually remarried Ann Hamilton. He died in July of 1822.
William was educated at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University. He served as an
officer (as a lieutenant and then a lieutenant colonel) in the United States Army (1808-1817). He
married Eliza C. Stewart, daughter of Duncan Stewart and Penelope Jones. In Louisiana,
William was a planter, slave owner, and politician. He cultivated cotton at Holly Grove
Plantation in West Feliciana Parish, most likely near Laurel Hill. His involvement in state and
local politics included membership on the first board of trustees for the College of Louisiana
(1825) in Jackson and a term in the Louisiana Legislature (1828-1830).
Before serving in the Louisiana Legislature, he unsuccessfully ran against Henry H. Gurley for
United States representative for Louisiana. In 1830, he made an unsuccessful bid for governor of
Louisiana as a Jacksonian Democrat, losing to Whig candidate Andre B. Roman. At some point
in the late 1850s, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, most
likely the Pennsylvania Asylum for the Insane. He died on December 24, 1862 in West
Philadelphia. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia
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Col. William Sutherland Hamilton was the owner of Tanglewild Plantation in West Feliciana, Louisiana, USA. Unverified online genealogies claim that Col. William Southerland Hamilton was the first cousin (or first cousin once removed) of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Fathers of American Confederation, sharing a common grandfather (or great-grandfather) in Alexander Hamilton of Grange in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Tanglewild Plantation was established in the early 1800s by members of the Hamilton family, whose descendants still retain ownership of the extensive property. The original home on the plantation burned and was replaced in the early 1900s. Private. US Hwy 61, nine miles north of St. Francisville, near Laurel Hill.
In 1798, at a time when Louisiana was under Spanish rule, a young officer of the newly established US Army was brought from North Carolina and commissioned by then president John Adams to help establish Fort Adams in southwest Mississippi. While serving his post, Col. Hamilton fell in love with the land and was given a Spanish land grant for a section of the Louisiana Territory just north of St. Francisville that was called Laurel Hill. After surveying his new wilderness home, Col. Hamilton aptly named his plantation Tanglewild and settled here with his new wife to raise a family.
In 1830 Col William S. Hamilton was residing at West Feliciana, Louisiana, USA with his wife and four young sons, along with an unidentified male in their 20s. Serving this household of seven were 63 black slaves of whom 13 were under the age of 10.
In 1860, Col. William S. Hamilton was residing at Ward 12, West Feliciana, Louisiana, USA. He had 18 slaves on his plantation.
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From FindAGrave:
"HAMILTON - On December 24., at West Philadelphia, aged 75, Colonel WILLIAM S. HAMILTON of Laurel Hill, West Feliciana, Louisiana"
From the website http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/h/Hamilton,W.S.html.
University of North Carolina Libraries collection:
Collection Title: W. S. Hamilton Papers, 1770-1888; 1924.
Papers of John Hamilton (1784-1822) and his son, W. S. Hamilton, pertaining to J. Hamilton's study of law in Scotland, his move to the United States, his life in Edenton and Elizabeth City, N.C., as a lawyer, state legislator, and active Baptist, and his move to Louisiana; and to W. S. Hamilton's study at Princeton College, his friendship and correspondence with Samuel Stanhope Smith, president of Princeton, his service as a United States Army officer, 1808-1817, chiefly in Louisiana under General Wade Hampton (1754-1835), and his controversy with his father and stepmother over property due him from his mother's estate. Volumes, 1785- 1802, are irregular diaries and brief memoranda books of J. Hamilton. Also available are military papers and orderly books of W. S. Hamilton and his later papers as a planter and legislator in Louisiana; correspondence with his sons, especially Douglas M. and William B. Hamilton, students in Louisiana and at the University of Virginia and soldiers in the Confederate Army in Virginia; and a Louisiana cotton plantation journal, 1861-1862.
Bio from http://www.lahistory.org/site25.php -
HAMILTON, William Sutherland, planter, politician. Born, Edenton, N. C., April 3, 1789; son of John and Angel Hamilton. Educated at Princeton. Aide-de-camp to Gen. Wade Hampton (q.v.), 1812-1816, with rank of lieutenant colonel. Married Eliza Stewart, daughter of Duncan Stewart and Penelope Jones of Wilkinson County, Miss. Planter, West Feliciana Parish, La. Member first board of trustees, College of Louisiana, Jackson, 1825; served in Louisiana legislature, 1828-1830; unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, 1830. Died prior to April 1867; interred Philadelphia, Pa. E.K.D. Sources: Hamilton Barrow Willis, St. Francisville, La.; House Journal; West Feliciana Parish Public Records.
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HAMILTON (WILLIAM SUTHERLAND) PAPERS Mss. 3167
1766-1942 LSU LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Page 5 of 9
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION
While the following descriptions are not exhaustive, they do describe the majority of items in the
collection. Most item descriptions include specific days and months, but some descriptions are
more general and only list the year(s).
Letter (typescript copy) from Alexander Hamilton, London, to his wife Elizabeth Hamilton,
Philadelphia, telling her of his personal affairs in Scotland and England, also reporting on family
members and acquaintances, July 19, 1766.
Letter from Elizabeth Belhaven, Edinburgh, Scotland, to her brother John Hamilton, Strawberry
Hill near Edenton, North Carolina, reporting on family members, also discusses advantages of
living in the United States, June 29, 1798.
Membership certificate from the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for John Hamilton,
stating that he is a member of the Masons of the states of North Carolina and Tennessee. Given
at Raleigh, North Carolina, December 18, 1805.
Letter from William S. Hamilton, a student at the College of New Jersey (Princeton University),
to his father John Hamilton, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, regarding William’s education and
expressing home sickness, regrets the separation between him and his father “from my infancy,”
August 23, 1806.
Handwritten dinner invitation on behalf of James Madison to Mr. Hamilton of North Carolina,
March 26, 1808.
Resolution by North Carolina Chowan Baptist Association, addressed to Thomas Jefferson,
former President of the United States, signed Outlaw Moderator, J. (probably John) Hamilton,
Clerk, May 6, 1809.
Letter from Nathaniel Mason, Washington, to Colonel John Hamilton, St. Francisville, West
Florida, regarding the promotion of his son William S. Hamilton and other young North
Carolinians. Foresees war with England (War of 1812), March 18, 1812.
Letters from John Little, Edenton, North Carolina, to William S. Hamilton, discussing financial
and political aspects of plantation economy, old and new sources of trade between the North and
South, prices for slaves and cotton, yellow fever, and the War of 1812, 1814-1821.
Letters from J. G. Swift and Anderson Arnold to Lieutenant Colonel William S. Hamilton, 3rd
United States Rifles, Washington City and Albany, discussing America’s military preparedness
with regard to England, France, and Russia, March 20, 30, 1814.
Two letters from Lieutenant William Alexander, 3rd Regiment Riflemen, Rutherfordton, North
Carolina, mentioning difficulties in recruitment for United States Army, June 13, 1814.
Letter from C. Edmunds, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to William S. Hamilton, informing him of dread
disease raging among soldiers in the United State Army, taking the best soldiers, and there is no
remedy available, March 22, 1815.
Petition for pardon by nine United States Army prisoners addressed to Lieutenant Colonel
William S. Hamilton, Commander of Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, July 1, 1815.
Letters between Eliza C. Hamilton and her husband William S. Hamilton, regarding their
relationship, also family and plantation matters, 1818-1828.
Letters from R. Davidson, New Orleans, to William S. Hamilton, describing in detail symptoms
and deaths caused by the epidemic (yellow fever), September 20; mentions that city is healthy
again and teases Hamilton about his impending marriage to Eliza C. Stewart, December 6, 1817.
Letter from Duncan Stewart, Wilkinson County, mentioning cornerstone laying of Woodville
Bank as a propitious event, March 9, 1818.
Letter from R. Post Johnson, New Orleans, to William S. Hamilton, near St. Francisville,
mentioning that he is sending, by way of Dr. Chinn, some garden seeds. Includes list of each
seed by name and detailed instructions on their agricultural use and care, January 20, 1822.
Several letters discussing the political and economic situation of Texas, 1840-1844.
Letter from Colonel John Darrington, Brazoria, Texas, to William S. Hamilton, near Laurel Hill,
St. Francisville, discussing imminent danger of an attack on Texas by Mexico, under General
Santa Anna. Texans ready to defend their freedom, receive aid from the United States, April 5,
1842.
Letter from Colonel John Darrington, New Orleans, to William S. Hamilton, Woodville,
mentioning that the United States should prevent England from taking Texas and presidential
possibilities of John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay, Dec. 1, 1843.
Letter from Catherine (Kitty) S. Hamilton to her father William S. Hamilton, mentioning illness
and death. Compares Dr. Warren Stone’s treatments to those of Dr. Brown, September 15, 1844.
Letter from Colonel John Darrington, Choctaw Bluff, to William S. Hamilton, Woodville,
mentioning that he is in favor of annexation of Texas by the United States. Invites Hamilton to
join him. There is good sugar land in Texas, October 9, 1844.
Letter from William S. Hamilton to Franklin H. Hamilton, Blue Ball, Butler County, Ohio,
admonishing him to spend the winter at home in Laurel Hill, West Feliciana Parish, November
25, 1847.
Letter from O. P. Irwin, Middletown, Ohio, to William S. Hamilton, Laurel Hill, describing the
circumstances of his acquaintance with Franklin H. Hamilton and Franklin’s stay at Dr. Oliver’s
farm, May 15, 1848.
Letter from Penelope S. Hamilton, New Orleans, to her father William S. Hamilton, mentioning
that she sent home some daguerreotypes of herself and brother John, October 15, 1852.
Letter from William B. Hamilton, New Orleans, to his brother at school in Jackson, Louisiana,
giving advice on study habits and education, warning about bad climate, and mentioning family
news, April 20, 1854.
Letter from Douglas M. Hamilton, Sharon Springs, to his father William S. Hamilton,
mentioning that he is traveling as “an invalid” on his way to White Sulphur Springs, North
Carolina. Compares medical and healing qualities of various springs (watering places or health
resorts), August 3, 1856.
Letter from Douglas M. Hamilton, Greenwood (possibly Mississippi), to William S. Hamilton,
describing Mr. Barrow’s successful sugar business, experiments with Chinese sugar seeds,
construction of sugar house, and use of machinery in making sugar. Advises on handling of corn
crop. Mentions advantages of raising sugar over cotton, January 29, 1857.
Handwritten poem titled “Those Dark Eyes,” March 15, 1873.
Letter from Douglas M. Hamilton, near Laurel Hill, to his brother John A. Hamilton, giving
description of condition of crops (cotton, corn peas, hay, potatoes, oats, and clover). Mentions
drop in cotton price worldwide is not good but may force southern planters into needed
agricultural diversification and use of scientific methods, October 3, 1879.
Genealogical notes on the families of Benjamin Peck and John Hamilton, undated.
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1789 - 1862 (73 years)
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