Author: Maxwell, William Hamilton
Biography:
MAXWELL, William Hamilton (1792-1850: DIB)
Novelist, non-fiction writer, and clergyman. He was born on 30 June 1792 in Newry, County Down, to James Maxwell and his wife, a daughter of William Hamilton (her first name is unknown). He was educated in Newry before matriculating into Trinity College Dublin in 1807; there, his social life took precedence over his studies but he graduated BA in 1812. He wanted to join the army but his family’s preference was for holy orders and he was ordained deacon in Carlow in 1813 before being made curate at Clonallen, near Newry. He married Mary Dobbin in 1817 and they moved in 1820 to Ballagh, Connemara, where he was appointed to two benefices. Maxwell took his social life and field sports more seriously than his clerical duty but he became a prolific writer, publishing the first of his many novels, O’Hara; or, 1798, anonymously in 1825. Henry Colburn is said to have paid him £300 for his second, Stories of Waterloo, but his most popular work was the non-fictional Wild Sports of the West, first issued in 1832. Maxwell’s final years were marred by debt and excessive drinking: in 1845 he lost his living at Ballagh for non-residence, and was imprisoned for debt. He applied to the RLF for relief, writing on 1 June 1847 from the Queen's Bench prison in London. The RLF was evidently wary, not quite believing he was truly in need and Hamilton's financial affairs were also extensively investigated by the insolvent debtors' court. He eventually died in poverty at Edinburgh on 29 Dec. 1850 and was buried in the "Strangers' Burial Ground." He left his widow and eight children unprovided for; the RLF awarded them £50 in 1851. (ODNB 14 Jan 2020; DIB 14 Jan 2020; RLF file 1172) SR