 Elizabeth
Hamilton
Irish Author and Educator
1758-1816
Elizabeth Hamilton was born in Belfast , in July of 1758.
She was the daughter of Charles Hamilton, a
Scottish merchant who had moved to Belfast , and
Katherine Mackay who, was the sister of the
minister of Belfast 's first dissenting
congregation.
Her father died in 1759, leaving
his widow with three children. Finding herself
unable to care for all her children, Katherine
sent them to be raised and educated by
relatives. In 1762, Elizabeth was sent to be
raised by her paternal aunt, a Mrs. Marshall,
who lived in Stirlingshire , Scotland , with her
husband, a prosperous farmer. It appears from
her own writings that Elizabeth had an idyllic
childhood during which she both read widely in
Scottish history and literature and enjoyed
active outdoor play. She attended a day school
at Stirling between the ages of eight and
thirteen, a form of education that she later
advocated.
Elizabeth was also an
intellectually active girl. She had a taste for
good literature and was widely read. Wallace was
the first hero of her studies; but meeting with
Oglivie’s translation of the Iliad, she idolized
Achilles and dreamed of Hector. Her aunt
disapproved of her literary interests, afraid
that Elizabeth would be viewed unfeminine if she
was seen reading such material. She was also
given to writing poetry.
In 1788, Elizabeth went to live
with her brother Captain Charles Hamilton, who
was engaged on his translation of the “Hedaya”,
the Muslim code of laws. After the death of her
brother Charles in 1792, the literary career of
Elizabeth Hamilton commenced. Her first work was
“The Letters of a Hindu Rajah”, in tribute to
life of her brother, published in 1796. The
success of this work decided her to pursue the
vocation of a writer.
Elizabeth Hamilton spent the
years following her brother's death traveling
around southern England with her widowed sister
Katherine, with whom she lived for most of the
rest of her life. It was not until 1804 that she
returned permanently to Scotland , settling in
Edinburgh , where she became an active
participant in the cultural life of the city.
She wrote successively, “Memoirs
of Modern Philosophers”,”Letters on Education”,
“Life of Agrippina”, and “Letters to the
Daughters of Noblemen.” This last book was
published in the year 1806. Soon afterwards,
Miss Hamilton became an active promoter of the
“House of Industry” at Edinburgh, an
establishment for the education of females of
the lowest class. For the benefit of these young
women, Elizabeth wrote the little book,
“Exercises in Religious Knowledge”, which was
published in 1809.
Elizabeth Hamilton has shown in
all her works great power of analysis, a firm
grasp of philosophy, and singular proficiency as
an expositor of educational theory. More
importantly, her work was a great influence on
mothers of her time, encouraging them to be
careful what they allow into the minds of their
children.
She left Edinburgh for Harrogate
in May of 1816, hoping to recover from the
effects of a particularly bad winter, but she
died there on 23 July, 1816 at the age of 58.
Source of Quotes:
Woman: Her Position, Influence, and Achievement,
published by The King-Richardson Company in 1903
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