John Hamilton of Brownhall Donegal 1800-1884
My 4th Great Grandfather, John Hamilton, led an extraordinary life during one of Ireland’s most tumultuous era’s. In 1998 he was the subject of a book written by the author Dermot James detailing wonderfully his life and times:
John Hamilton of Donegal 1800-1884: This Recklessly Generous Landlord - published by the Woodfield Press.
It was at the height of my genealogy work that I discovered the book had just been published and was ecstatic that an ancestor of mine was the subject of an entire publication. I ordered a copy immediately from a bookshop on The Diamond in Donegal Town and waited three weeks for it to arrive to Australia. I was overjoyed to be able to take a brief respite from my research and sit and read information that I possibly would never have been able to gather personally - Dermot had done it all ! to be able to read a book detailing so well the life and times of your own ancestor was such a priviledge.
John Hamilton, the father of Mary Hamilton ( my 3rd Great Grandmother) inherited the family estate of Brownhall in County Donegal at the age of 18 but officially took possession at the age of 20. He was to become a landlord with a difference through times of extreme hardship for many in Ireland, Co Donegal being no exception, and was to become a legend renowned for his concern for the tenants on his lands and his overwhelming generosity towards them. During the great famine his tenants were never evicted from their homes as was the case for so many other poor folk, victims of their unsympathetic and often greedy landlords.
It will be a sheer joy to recount the outline of his life here; for those of you who wish to read more in detail I urge you to seek out and purchase a copy of the book itself. Last time I checked, a few months back, very few copies were currently in print with just one being offered on Amazon UK. You could always try The Four Masters bookshop in Donegal Town itself.
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