Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet (of Trebinshun House)

Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton, Bt, (around 1800, by William Beechey )

Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet (born May 25, 1767 - September 14, 1849 in Iping (Sussex)) was a British naval officer, Member of Parliament and Governor of Newfoundland .

He began his nautical career at the age of 9 on his father's ship, the Hector . He attended the Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth from 1777 to 1779 and commanded a number of ships in the Royal Navy and was at the same time one of two members of the House of Commons for the constituency of St Germans in Cornwall between 1790 and 1812 . When his father died in 1784, he inherited the title of Baronet , of Trebinshun House in the County of Brecknock, which had been awarded to him in 1776 in the Baronetage of Great Britain.

Demasduit (Mary March) 1819

He then served as the resident governor of the Crown Colony of Newfoundland from 1818 to 1823 . During his term of office, the reconstruction of the capital St. John's fell after two fires in 1818 and 1819.

He tried to expand agriculture, but failed because of the poor soil on the island. The economy suffered from reduced demand for cod and Hamilton encouraged the broadening of the fishing industry for whales , seals and salmon .

His wife, Lady Henrietta Hamilton , painted a famous portrait of Demasduwit (Mary March), a Beothuk captured in 1818 .

In 1830 he was promoted to Admiral and in 1833 knight commander of the Order of the Bath .

Hamilton died at the family home in Iping , West Sussex . His only son Charles John James Hamilton (1810-1892) inherited his title as 3rd Baronet.

Web links

• Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador EN
• Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Bt. On thepeerage.com

predecessor	Office	successor
John Hamilton	Baronet (of Trebinshun House) 1784-1849	Charles Hamilton