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ANCESTRY OF DAVID HAMBLETON
OF WESTBURN, LANARKSHIRE, SCOTLAND
Last Revised May 13, 2010
The Hamilton family for centuries has been one of the most distinguished in
Scotland and England, closely related to royalty in both countries. The origin
of the family name is the place name of Hambledon, in Leicestershire, England.
The family descends from the Earls of Leicester, Leicestershire, England, and
before that from the Lords of Pont Audemar, Normandy, France. The earliest
family member to use the Hambledon surname was Sir William de Hambledon, son of
Robert de Beaumont, a.k.a. Robert de Bellomonte “Blanchemaine,” Third Earl of
Leicester. Born in Hambledon, Barkby Parish, Leicestershire, England, Sir
William de Hambledon was married about 1215 to the daughter of the Earl of
Strathern, Scotland. Their son, Sir Gilbert de Hambledon, born about 1220, was
the first family member born in Scotland, and before 1300 the Hambledon family
was established in Scotland in Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The
seat of the Lanarkshire family was in Westburn, where the surname was spelled
as Hambleton.
The first record of the family in Scotland was in 1294 when Sir Walter
Fitzgilbert witnessed a charter conferring on the monastery of Paisley the
privilege of herring fishing in the River Clyde. The first record of the
family name in Scotland was in 1296 when Sir Walter Fitzgilbert de Hameldone
pledged his allegiance to Edward I, King of England, for which he became
Governor of Bothwell Castle. After this initial support of the English, the
Hamiltons allied themselves with Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick, during the
Scottish Wars of Independence. Bruce was crowned King of Scotland on 25 March
1306 by the Bishop of Glasgow. The Hamiltons were granted the lands of Cadzow,
and Sir Walter Fitzgilbert became Baron of Cadzow, Knight de Hambledon. His
son, Sir David Fitzwalter, Lord Cadzow de Hambledon, married Lady Margaret
Leslie. She was the daughter of Robert the Bruce’s sister, Lady Matilda
Bruce, who had married Hugh Leslie, Fourth Earl of Ross, in 1308.
The Hamiltons came to be considered the most important of the Lowland families,
aspiring at one time even to the Scottish throne. Robert the Bruce’s daughter
Marjorie, Princess of Scotland, married Walter, High Steward of Scotland, from
whom the Stewart name derives. When Robert the Bruce died on 7 June 1329,
Walter had predeceased him. The crown passed to Walter’s son, who became
Robert II, King of Scotland, the first of the Stewart kings. He was succeeded
by his son Robert III, his grandson James I, and his great-grandson James II.
During this time the title of Lord Cadzow passed from David Fitzwalter to his
son Sir David, who was knighted by King Robert II, then to his son Sir John,
who was killed on 14 September 1402 at the Battle of Homildon, Northumberland,
England. It was the marriage on 4 February 1474 of Sir John’s grandson, James
Hambleton of Torrance, to Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, daughter of King
James II, which gave the Hamilton family aspirations to the throne.
[ NOTE: Many genealogists have stated that this is the James Hamilton who
married Christian Stewart, daughter of Stewart of Minto, Roxburgh, Scotland,
which is incorrect. She was born about 1498, and married about 1518, and there
is no record of a son named Robert. Nor could Matthew, born c. 1512, and
Andrew, born c. 1548, have been her grandson and great-grandson. ]
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