On a social media platform for a non-genealogy interest, someone asked if I was related to William Rowan Hamilton. Below is my answer.

Probably not. I know who he is. My parents got back to Isaac Hamilton born about 1830 in Ohio, and we can’t get past that. My Dad participated in the Hamilton DNA study and we only matched distant cousins from the lines of Isaac’s grandchildren. That is, my paternal grandfather’s cousins.

I’m thinking there is either a name change or a non-paternal event (AKA bastard) that has no paper trail we have not yet found.

I’ve got some DNA matches to the English/Inglis surname DNA study, so that leads me to believe maybe the mother was a Hamilton and the father an English. But I had so little success with that line of reasoning, that until I can travel to courthouses and research primary documents, I may never make the connection.

What About Alexander Hamilton?

People also ask about Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Most people who think they are related to him is in name only.

Only two of his children lived long enough to have children who themselves had children.

He has about 250-300 living descendants and they have participated in the Hamilton DNA study. So if you have a living male relative named Hamilton, you can participate and possibly find out who you are related to.

Scottish clans gave their name to the lords and all their subjects, so while some Hamiltons are related to each other, not all Hamilton’s are related to all other Hamiltons.

My Y Chromosome DNA looks like my male ancestors were either Vikings or ancestors of the vikings.

Nearly every other surname in my tree my parents got to the boat or back to Europe.

But my oldest Hamilton is stuck in 1830 Ohio.