The Curious Case of Gene Hamilton
I’ve long wondered what the story is behind Gene Hamilton, a grandson of Thomas Hamilton via his Father Fred Hamilton. Thomas and Sukie had 11 children, 7 boys and 4 girls. The land appears to have been divided up amongst their children but then, oddly, Gene started to become the principal recipient of his generation.
You can check out the Hamilton Shores database to get a sense, but in summary, from 1921 through his death, many of his aunts and uncles gifted Gene their Maine lands. He ultimately amassed 160 acres (you can see the full estate below – Marion was Gene’s wife).
The Gene and Marion Hamilton Estate from 1977, just after Gene passed. You can see the one carve out for Richard and Nancy Hamilton. He held onto the lands with a tight fist, other than one curious grant – in 1969, he granted Richard and Nancy part of the land we sit on now. I wondered why?
I talked to Doug Hamilton and got the story. As the story goes Gene was a bit of an angry personality, and never joined the family cocktails or gatherings. It turns out there was a quirk in Maine law where if you paid taxes on a piece of property for a long enough time, you could claim ownership. Gene had apparently been doing that for years. Dick Hamilton found out, and demanded the grant from 1969.
Unfortunately later Gene passed in 1976 without children after his only son committed suicide at 16 years old (on their boat, at the shore). His wife passed within a year after that, and the entire estate was sold off and the proceeds given to Boys Town. In the Hamilton Shores section you can see that his estate sued all of our family to prove title, which doesn’t appear to have been contested.
An interesting chapter in our history, and credit to Richard Hamilton for saving the land we have today.
If you have any more color on this, please comment below!
Original Thomas Hamilton Deed
Our family has a long history on Blue Hill Neck, starting in 1770 with the arrival of James Carter. However most of us trace our lineage more directly to Thomas Hamilton, who married James Carter’s grandaughter Sukie and with whom he had 11 children and launched our Tribe of Tom.
Below is the original Thomas Hamilton Deed, when he purchased 33 acres from his Father in law, John Carter. The deed references the shore and the town line.
If you’re curious about the history of our Family’s land on Blue Hill Neck, we have compiled a database of relevant deeds. You can take a look through by visiting the Hamilton Shores portion of our website: https://www.hamdun.org/?page_id=4810.
Deed-1831-John-Carter-to-Thomas-Hamilton-Book-57-Page-25Reunion delayed :(
Hi all,
In the abundance of caution, we’ve decided to postpone the reunion until next year. It will now be held the weekend of July 30-August 1st, 2021.
All payments will be refunded back the way they came – so if you paid by check, Dave and Marian will send you a check back, and if online we’ll refund your credit card or other method of payment.
In the meantime, we are going to get even more active on this site. We’ve compiled some fun stories and memories and are going to start publishing them here. We hope you might use some of this time at home to gather up any photos, recipes, stories or otherwise and send them to us!
Most importantly, we hope this finds all of you healthy, and we can’t wait to see you in 2021.
- Dan, Anne, Helen and Duncan
First Photo Submission!
Chocolate Sauce for Fannie Hamilton’s Feather Cake
PrintChocolate Sauce for Fannie Hamilton’s Feather Cake
This sauce over feather cake in a bowl makes cottage pudding which was Grandpa Hamilton’s all time favorite.
Ingredients
Scale- 2 squares chocolate
- 2 cu sugar
Instructions
- melt 2 squares of chocolate over water
- add sugar and mix
- add 1 cu boiling water and cook until it reaches its desired consistency
Fannie Hamilton Feather Cake
PrintFannie Hamilton Feather Cake
This recipe comes originally from Fannie Hamilton (1872-1971). Serve with chocolate or plain pudding sauce (see separate recipe for that).
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50
Ingredients
Scale- 1 cu sugar
- 1.5 cu flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cu blueberries (optional)
Instructions
- sift the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl
- melt butter in 1 cup measuring cup, add 1 egg (make sure the butter cooled so you don’t cook the egg) and fill cup with milk
- add this to the flour mixture and beat well with a wooden spoon
- bake at 375 in a greased 9″ x 9″ pan until toothpick comes out clean (typically 30 minutes)
- can add blueberries or sliced apples – slice apples onto bottom of pan, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and pour cake batter on top
Notes
- see separate recipes for the chocolate sauce
1952 Survey
Anyone else ever wonder why that stone pillar sits near she shore in front of Gates Cottage? See below for a Survey done in 1952.
That year, the land was split up. The EB Hamilton you see below was Gene Hamilton (Eugene Bartlett Hamilton) – that land is no longer in the family and Gene Hamilton is a story for a different post.
FB Hamilton is Floyd Hamilton (Florentine Byard Hamilton). Both were brothers of our Harry Hamilton and all three were grandsons of Thomas Hamilton.
DB and RA Hamilton are Donald and Dick Hamilton, and the stone pillar is marked on the survey, although the Floyd and Dick Hamilton lots were eventually combined.
1952-Survey-Book-7-Page-22-to-support-transfer-to-RA-and-DB-HamiltonCatherine’s Onions
PrintCatherine’s Onions
A Hamdun cocktail party standby!
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Scale- 2 large red onions
- 1 cu sugar
- 2–3 tbsp sour cream
- Ritz Crackers
Instructions
Thinly slice 2 large red onions. Cover with 1 cu sugar and 2/3 cu water. Let stand over night. Drain. Add sour cream to just moisten, about 2-3 tbsp. Serve with Ritz crackers.
Nannie’s Blueberry Muffins
PrintNannie’s Blueberry Muffins
Serve these warm from the oven, first thing in the morning!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
Ingredients
Scale- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 1/4 cu sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cu milk
- 2 cu flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pint (2 cu) dry Maine blueberries
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Combine flour, salt and baking powder and add alternately with milk to sugar and butter mixture. Add blueberries.
Fill banking cups 2/3 full and bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar while still warm.
Store uncovered.
Dan’s Blueberry Pancakes
PrintDan’s Blueberry Pancakes
These take a while to make homemade but the difference is worth it.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 10 1x
Ingredients
ScaleButtermilk
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (half of large lemon)
- 2 cu milk
Dry Mixture
- 2 cu all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp banking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet mixture
- 2 cups buttermilk (from above)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cu butter, melted
- [optional, but recommended!] 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup fresh Maine blueberries
Instructions
First, make the homemade buttermilk. Add lemon juice to milk, mix, and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
Next, melt the butter so it’s cooler by when you need it.
While those are sitting, combine the dry ingredients into a larger bowl. Lightly mix.
Beat the 2 eggs in a separate bowl. Add the butter to the buttermilk, and slowly add to the 2 eggs.
Keep the two mixtures separate until ready to cook.
Grease a griddle; heat to 275 degrees – water drops should skip across it.
Pour the wet mixture over the dry, add the Blueberries and lightly mix. Don’t overstir – there should still be some clumps.
Pour roughly 1/2 cup of the mixture onto the griddle, and brown on each side – about 1 minute, serving hot.
Notes
Can substitute white vinegar for lemon juice in the buttermilk if you don’t have a lemon handy.
