James Earl Hamilton Marsden - Marriage and children

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JAMES EARL HAMILTON MARSDEN
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MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN
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Hamilton was married firstly, c.1490, to
Elizabeth Home, daughter of Alexander Home, 2nd
Lord Home. The marriage was dissolved in 1506,
when it was found that her first husband Thomas
Hay, a son of John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester,
was still alive at the time of the wedding. In
November 1516 Hamilton married Janet Bethune of
Easter Wemyss, daughter of Sir David Bethune of
Creich, and widow of Sir Robert Livingstone of
Easter Wemyss, who had been killed in the Battle
of Flodden Field. In November 1504 Hamilton had
been granted a divorce from Elizabeth Home on the
grounds that she had previously been married to
Thomas Hay. Hay had apparently left the country
and was thought to be dead when Hamilton married
Home in or before 1490, but in fact he did not
die until 1491 or later. This award of divorce
was repeated in 1510, suggesting that Hamilton
had continued living with her after 1504, and was
held by some to undermine the dissolution of the
first marriage as invalid. It is likely that the
real motive for divorcing Elizabeth was that she
had not born any children and that Hamilton
wanted a legitimate heir he already had several
illegitimate children, his eldest illegitimate
son being James Hamilton of Finnart. The
complicated legal issues of the second marriage
would continue to trouble his heir, whose
legitimacy was questioned by his rivals in 1543.