James Hamilton

James Hamilton (1710 – August 14, 1783), son of the British-born lawyer Andrew Hamilton who was active in the Thirteen Colonies, was also a lawyer and governmental figure in colonial Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. He served two terms as deputy governor of the Province of Pennsylvania from 1748 to 1754 and from 1759 to 1763. From 1745 to 1747, he was the mayor of Philadelphia.

Early life and education

Hamilton was born in Philadelphia in 1710, in what was then the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania. He was educated in Philadelphia and England before becoming a practicing lawyer in 1731. Hamilton was a freemason and succeeded Benjamin Franklin as Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania in 1735.

Career Supreme Court of Pennsylvania On December 28, 1733, his father resigned as prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and Hamilton was appointed to the office.

In May 1734, James's father, Andrew Hamilton, sold him the town that is present-day Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for 5 shillings. Later that month, on May 21, the younger Hamilton secured a patent from the Penn family for his grant on the Lancaster land.

After the death of his father on August 4, 1741, Hamilton inherited his 150-acre estate known as Bush Hill north of the city. He assisted his brother-in-law William Allen in the administration of lands purchased by his father to be used for the state house and surrounding public space.

Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Hamilton was a member of the provincial assembly from 1735 to 1740.

Lieutenant governor of the Province of Pennsylvania

Bush Hill the seat of William Hamilton Esq. near Philadelphia, a portrait by James Peller Malcolm; Bush Hill was the country residence of Andrew Hamilton, which he later passed on to his son, James Hamilton became a member of the provincial council in 1746. He was commissioned by the sons of William Penn to serve as lieutenant governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, serving in that capacity until 1754, then again from 1759 to 1763, and briefly in 1771 and 1773.

On September 13, 1761, Hamilton and William Allen conveyed Lot no. 1 and the other pieces of property obtained by Andrew Hamilton and Allen to Isaac Norris II and the other trustees in charge of purchasing property for the Philadelphia State House, which was later renamed Independence Hall. The conveyance of this land completed the area of the yard: property that contained the state house and the public spaces surrounding it.

Other issues Hamilton confronted included: