Member of Tennessee House, 32nd General Assembly, 1857-59; representing Hawkins County; Democrat. Born on February 2, 1826, near Blountville, Sullivan County; son of John B. and Elizabeth (Hicks) Hamilton. Attended common schools of Sullivan County; later removed to Church Hill, Hawkins County, where he was a farmer, merchant, and hotel owner. Married on March 12, 1850, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, to Margaret Elizabeth Maxwell, daughter of James J. and Margaret (Wallace) Maxwell. Two daughters — Olivia M. (Mrs. Alexander Smith) and Ida Demetria Hamilton. Sometime justice of the peace. Baptist; moderator of Holston Baptist Association for several consecutive years; Masonic Order. In Civil War: enlisted at Camp Powell in 1861 as 1st lieutenant, Company K, 29 Tennessee Infantry; promoted to captain. Resigned on account of ill health in 1862, but re-enlisted in 18?? in Captain Miller’s Company of local defense troops, District 5, Hawkins County. Died near Church Hill on December 18, 1880; ?????? McPheeter’s Bend Baptist Church Cemetery, Hawkins County. Son of John B. Hamilton and grandfather of B?rt E. Smith, sometime members Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: Goodspeed, History of Hawkins County, 1229; Hawkins County Will Book, 1797-1886, Pt. 2, pp. 530-33; U.S. Census, 1880, Hawkins County; Tennessee Confederate Records, Reels 239, 357; information supplied by great-granddaughter, Mrs. Patricia S. Trolinger, Church Hill.

From Biographical Directory: Tennessee General Assembly, 1796-1967, Issue 3