Hamilton Family papers

The Hamilton Family papers date from 1803 to 1923, although the bulk of the collection spans the period 1827 to 1883. The papers include correspondence; financial, legal, and land records; and a photograph.

Most of the correspondence consists of personal letters sent by the Hamilton children to their parents in Port Tobacco. The letters were typically written while the children were attending various academies and colleges. Topics covered include Catholic schooling at Mount de Sales Academy, Mount St. Mary's College, and Georgetown College; family matters; and national events, including the Civil War and development of the West. Other personal correspondence includes ten letters from Rebekah M. Wilmer to F. Hill Hamilton, possibly a cousin, written in 1909.

The collection also contains business documents and letters concerning the commercial dealings of John Hamilton and other Charles County, Maryland, figures including Charles A. Pye and John Adams. Among the business records are items from the mercantile of house of Neale, Harris, and Company, which addresses tobacco and other agricultural trade, particularly transactions between Charles County farmers and Baltimore agents, and a financial ledger belonging to John Hamilton which lists transactions such as slave purchases, farm product sales, expenses, and disbursements to his children. Other topics include personal indebtedness and the resettlement of a slave.

This series contains correspondence, a legal inventory and distribution list for the personal estate of John P. Hamilton, and bills and receipts for schooling expenses. The earliest letters were written by Nancy Hamilton to her husband, John, presumable while she was undergoing treatment for an illness and was separated from her home and family. The bulk of this series consists of letters daughter Lizzie and sons John E., Samuel Henry, and G. P. (George) sent to their parents from their respective schools. Also included are student report statements and bills for tuition and fees from officials at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and Mount de Sales Academy in Baltimore County. Other correspondents include a niece, Susan A. Hill, of Washington, D. C., and Elizabeth B. Hawkins, probably a relative of John Hamilton's third wife, Mary Emily Hawkins Hamilton. An additional set of ten letters was written between May and November 1909 by Rebekah M. Wilmer to F. Hill Hamilton, then a student at Mount St. Mary's College.

Major topics discussed in the letters include Catholic education in the mid-nineteenth century; health concerns; the Hamilton children's homesickness and desire for more news, packages, and visits from home; shortage of funds; and references to events in the large world, including the Civil War, Georgetown College at the time of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, and farming and immigration in southern Illinois. The Wilmer letters describe her life as a teacher in Charles County, Maryland, sporting events in the community, and her eagerness to be home with her family. She describes her life and local events, including a prank she and a friend played, and frequently mentions her eagerness to see Hamilton on his next visit home.

The last two items in this series are legal documents regarding the appraisal, inventory, and distribution of the personal estate of John P. Hamilton (1848-1923), the son of John Hamilton.

Arrangement is chronological.

This series contains three sets of correspondence and related documents, and a financial ledger, each arranged chronologically. The first group, dated 1818 to 1874, includes fifteen letters and three receipts documenting John Hamilton's business affairs. These deal largely with agricultural matters, including tobacco and corn crops and prices; timber and inferior shingles; taxes; and a new law for the weighing and inspection of grain. Two of the letters in this group deal with the purchase of and care for slaves. Correspondents are other Charles County, Maryland, farmers and planters and the Baltimore mercantile firms of Neale, Harris & Company and Penn & Mitchell.

The second set of correspondence, consisting of nine letters dated from 1851 to 1855, deals primarily with John Hamilton's role in the financial troubles of Charles A. Pye, who may have served as the agent for Hamilton in Baltimore. In one letter Pye requests a loan from Hamilton; in another he pleads for oat seed on credit and feed for his cattle. In additional letters, R. H. Mitchell and Mr. Oliver of Baltimore offer several negative comments concerning Mr. Pye and his ability to handle business. Sister Mary Aloysius (Mary Clare Pye), under the auspices of the Sister of the Visitation, also writes to inform Hamilton of her willingness to assist her brother by signing a deed.

The third group of correspondence and documents, dated from 1846 to 1848, concerns the business interest and communications of a farmer named John Adams. Most of this correspondence deals with the sale of Adams's grain by his Baltimore agents, Neale and Luckett, and orders for supplies shipped to him from Newport, Charles County, Maryland, by Baltimore merchants Dinsmore & Kyle.

Two other notable items in this series include an 1803 deed of trust conveying the Charles County, Maryland, property known as "Beach Neck" to Edward Hamilton, the father of John Hamilton's first wife, Nancy. There is also an 1818 bond, signed by Edward Hamilton, acknowledging Charles Neale's final payment of a debt. The two oversize documents were moved to flat storage.

This series also contains a financial ledger of John Hamilton, which lists transactions such as slave purchases, farm product sales, expences, and disbursements to his children, from 1857-1882. Included with this ledger are some miscellaneous items that were found in the ledger. These include a 1918 map of Zekiah Swap near La Plata, Maryland (oversize), period copies of two Senate floor speeches about the admission of Kansas as a state to the United States in 1858, an 1846 broadside relating to a person dispute in Charles county, a late 19th century flyer about St. Mary's College, a political cartoon about the National Anti-Monopoly League and two ads.

The series is grouped by family or individual or individual relationship; within the groupings, the documents are arranged chronologically.

This series consists of two undated and unidentified photographs. The first photograph depicts three young boys, possibly members of the Hamilton Family, on the front porch of a large home. The second is a calling card sized photograph of an unidentified young woman. Both of these photographs are probably from the late 1800's and have been moved to the photograph collection.