Letter from Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier, to Mary Hamilton, relating to the death of Hamilton's cousin, the son of her uncle Frederick Hamilton (see HAM/1/4/1). Napier writes that he will not pretend to condole with Hamilton over his death and notes that it is fortunate that he had no children. He expects that Frederick Hamilton will do something to aid his son's Danish ‘wife’ and ‘prevent her acting improperly’. [Frederick Hamilton was unsure as to whether or not his son and this woman was married.] Napier continues noting that his old-fashioned notions lead him to see their marriage as binding in the eyes of God if not the law of the land. He believes that she would not know this as she was married to Robert Hamilton in her own country and believes she lawfully is so and therefore should not be left to become destitute.
Napier continues his letter with news of his two sons in the navy. He eldest son, William has been spending some time with Napier who notes that he has not seen him for five or six years prior to this. He notes that there is advantages in having daughters as opposed to sons in that ‘they stay at home with their old Parents till they become old themselves’.
Dated at Queen Street [Edinburgh].
Editing supervised by David Denison and Nuria Yáñez-Bouza.
First edited in the project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers' (Hannah Barker, Sophie Coulombeau, David Denison, Tino Oudesluijs, Cassandra Ulph, Christine Wallis & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, 2019-2023).
Under the 'More' menu you can find metadata about the item, any transcription and translation we have of the text and find out about downloading or sharing this image.
Zooming image © John Rylands Research Institute and Library, all rights reserved.
Editing supervised by David Denison and Nuria Yáñez-Bouza.