Emigration To Virginia
Hamilton did not talk about his parentage, career, and name in the Old World. At one time he was called Trent, although he returned to his name of Hamilton when Queen Anne came to the throne in 1702. In his address to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1739, he speaks of “liberty, the love of which as it first drew me to, so it constantly prevailed on me to reside in this Province, tho' to the manifest prejudice of my fortune.” Probably Hamilton was his real name, but, for private reasons, he saw fit to discard it for a time. About 1697, he came to Accomac County, Virginia. There he continued his study of law and taught a classical school. He later obtained employment as steward of a plantation owned by one of his former students, Joseph Preeson. After Preeson’s death in 1705, Hamilton continued working the Preeson estate. This led to his marriage, on March 6, 1706, with the widow of the estate, Ann Preeson, a daughter of Thomas and Susanna Denwood Brown, who were members of a prominent Quaker family. The marriage is said to have brought Hamilton influential connections, and he began the practice of the law.
Two years after his marriage, on March 26, 1708, Hamilton purchased from John Toads a 600-acre estate in Maryland known as “Henberry.” It was located on the north side of the Chester River in Kent County, Maryland. Current day Millington, Maryland is situated in the area that Henberry used to encompass. He still had a residence in Virginia as he was working in both colonies at the time.
Read more about this topic: Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)