Hamilton was born on November 15, 1815. He was the eldest of fourteen children born to John Church Hamilton and Maria Eliza van den Heuvel Hamilton. Hamilton had 13 younger siblings, Maria Williamson, Charlotte Augusta, John Cornelius Adrian, Schuyler, James, Maria Eliza, Charles Apthorp, Robert P., Adelaide, Elizabeth, William Gaston, Laurens, and Alice. His paternal grandparents were Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States, and Elizabeth Schuyler. His maternal grandfather was Baron John Cornelius van den Heuvel, the one-time governor of Dutch Guiana. He graduated from Columbia College, and at a "very early age he had the management of a large amount of real estatefor the family and others."
Career
Hamilton joined the 11th Regiment of the New York Artillery, where he became a second lieutenant. When the Civil War broke out, he became the aide-de-camp to Major General Charles W. Sandford, and took part in active campaigns in Virginia. He was promoted to Major General in the New York Militia for his use of a gas balloon constructed by Thaddeus S. C. Lowe for military observation during the war. He later reported directly to President Abraham Lincoln. He was placed in charge of troops during the New York Draft Riots in 1863. He was the author of a life of Oliver Cromwell, and a book of poetry. His book Dramas and Poems was published in 1887. For his literary work, he added his mother's surname to his own in order to distinguish himself from his similarly-named relatives, publishing under the name Alexander Hamilton, of "Heuvel".
Personal life
He was cited as "remarkable for his cultured mind, speaking a number of languages," and as a "mathematician and penman." He was a Republican, and attended an Episcopal church. In 1890 he was elected a member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati, by virtue of descent from his grandfather Alexander Hamilton. In 1842, Hamilton married Elizabeth Smith Nicoll, a daughter of Henry Woodhull Nicoll. Elizabeth's sister, Mary Louisa Nicoll, was the wife of Gen. Henry Constantine Wayne. Together, they were the parents of five children, three of whom survived to adulthood:
Rev. Alexander Hamilton, who married Adele Walton Livermore.
Henry Nicoll Hamilton, who married Mary Amelia Fish.
