Thomas and Sukey Hamilton
Hi all, been a bit quiet here as I have spent the last 6 weeks on Hamilton Shores. While here I raided my Mother’s basement which has all of Nancy Nivison’s (Aunt Nancy to many of you) records. She saved everything and was active researching our genealogy so lots of great stuff that I am slowly scanning into the Documents area of the website.
But perhaps the most interesting find were these pictures of Thomas Hamilton and Susan (Sukey) Carter, who together started the Tribe of Tom. Neither Duncan nor I have come across photos of them to date4 so we believe this is the first and only set in existence.
Both look like photos of pictures hanging on a wall. Anyone recognize them and know where they were (or are)?
Thomas Hamilton, 1810 – 1891 
Susan (Sukey) Carter, 1806 – 1881 Pretend to at Least
Duncan submitted this poem which was written by Charlotte Hamilton Rice. Required reading for all of our better halves!
The superscript numbers refer to the folks at the bottom and their links to our family tree.
Long, long ago in the dim days of yore There lived very close to the Hamilton Shore A group of kids called the Tribe of Tom And they were the folks that we come from. Ruby(1) and Julia(2) and Addie(3) and Sue(4) These were the girls in that lively crew. Alec(5) and Frederick(6) and Sidney(7) and Ben(8) But the nicest boy was the one called Hen(9), Our Grandsire from whom we directly descend. The Tribe of Thomas did swim in the bay, They ran thru the woods and they jumped in the hay. They walked on the shore, they dug clams in the sand, They loved every inch of this Down-in-Maine land. So we, their descendants, have all the same yen To get back to Maine just whenever we can. And we want all the in-laws to have the same passion If you belong to our family, it’s really the fashion. Oh, Anita(10) and Ginny(11), Marj(12), Nancy(13) and Ann(14) And Penny(15), Ed(16), Albie(17), please see if you can Be an actually ardent Down-in-Maine fan. So, here’s to Tom’s Tribe and our spot way down East And if you can’t like it – pretend to at least. Charlotte Hamilton Rice – July 14, 1962
(1) Rubie Hamilton, 1853-1900, married Charles Gerry.
(2) Julia Hamilton, 1836-1932, married Freeman Higgins.
(3) Adelaide Hamilton, 1842-1922, married John Marks.
(4) Susan Hamilton, 1838-1860, married Geoge Bartlett.
(5) Alexander Hamilton, 1830-1887, married Naomi Lufkin.
(6) Frederick Hamilton, 1850-1933, married Adelle Grindle.
(7) Charles (Sidney, went by Syd) Hamilton, 1847-1937, married Clara Joyce.
(8) Benjamin Hamilton, 1832-1918, married Sarah Hamilton (yes her maiden name..).
(9) Our own Henry Hamilton, 1845-1915, married Eva Byard.James Hamilton, 1828-1909, and John Hamilton, 1836-1864, aren’t mentioned.
(10) Anita Tabor, married to Hammy Gates.
(11) Virginia Ellis, married to Dick Gates.
(12) Marjorie Jones, married to Ken Rice.
(13) Nancy Garfield, married to Dave Rice.
(14) Ann Lang, married to Bob Hamilton.
(15) Elizabeth Ruggles, married to Doug Hamilton.
(16) Ed Lodge, married to Frannie Hamilton.
(17) Albie Smith, married to Peggy Hamilton.Drone Video
Created this video a few years ago. Enjoy.
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-25
