Robert Hamilton

Robert Hamilton was an early resident of the district.

History
Robert Hamilton, the father of Alexander Miller Hamilton, was born 23 September 1837 at The Stane, Shotts Ironworks, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Shotts, known for its mining and ironworks, was part of the Lanarkshire parish of Bothwell. The ironworks was first established in 1801, but by the time Robert Hamilton senior (Robert's father) was a clerk at the works it had changed hands and was operating under the name Shotts Iron Joint Stock Company.

Robert (junior) married Alice Webb Russell in 1861 in Bathgate. They departed from Liverpool on the Champion of the Seas with their two sons, Robert aged three years and James aged one year. They were amongst the other 344 passengers on board the vessel. A few deaths occurred from cholera on the voyage. On the passenger list Robert is described as a laborer, aged 28 years and Alice, his wife aged 25 years. The journey was estimated to take 140 days.

They settled at Sebastopol and had a large family, with Alexander Miller Hamilton being born on 22 March 1881. Alexander married Eleanor Stevenson Ellis who, with their two sons Russell and Robert William Hamilton were living at 4 Campbell's Crescent early in the 1900s.