Marianne-Caroline Hamilton

• Name — Marianne-Caroline Hamilton • Birth Name — Marianne-Caroline Tighe • Born — 1777 • Birthplace — Rossana, County Wicklow • Died — 9 July 1861 (aged 90) • Place of death — Dominick Street, Dublin • Known for — Reminiscences of Marianne-Caroline Hamilton (1777–1861) • Spouse — Charles Hamilton

Marianne-Caroline Hamilton was born in 1777 at Rossana, County Wicklow. She was the second daughter of landowner and MP for Athboy, William Tighe, and Sarah (née Fownes). William Tighe was a friend of John Wesley who used Rossana as his base from which to preach in Ireland. Sarah Tighe was the heir of Sir William Fownes, and Lady Elizabeth Fownes (née Ponsonby). Hamilton spent a great deal of her youth at Harrow, England, where her younger brother was attending boarding school, and in London. The family holidayed in Ireland, which she preferred due to the space and freedom she had there. Hamilton received a comprehensive education from a number of governesses, a master for arithmetic, and her brother's tutor providing Latin tuition. Her main interest was art however, later confessing to avoiding Latin classes to draw. She travelled with her family, spending time in France, Flanders, and Holland, with the family returning to live in Ireland in 1795. John Inigo Spilsbury was employed as her drawing master, during which time she reached the skill level of a professional artist. She married Charles Hamilton, of Hamwood House, Dunboyne, County Meath in April 1801. Charles was a land agent for the Dukes of Leinster. The couple had six children, Sarah, Caroline Elizabeth, Mary, Charles William, William Tighe, and Frederick John Henry Fownes. Hamilton educated her children herself, which left little time to paint. From her writings it is evident she was deeply involved in the running of Hamwood and its gardens.

Hamilton transcribed a number of albums of poetry, with contributions from Thomas Moore and Hamilton's cousin and sister-in-law Mary Tighe. Thomas Campbell wrote a poem in tribute to her, The stanzas on painting. She wrote a history of her family, detailing the lives of Theodosia and Mary Blachford, and Sarah Ponsonby. Ponsonby bequeathed all of her private papers to Hamilton.