Background
Hamilton was born in Catlin, New York, near Seneca Lake.
Hamilton was born in Catlin, New York, near Seneca Lake.
He graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in 1850. He went on to attend Auburn Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1853.
In 1855 he was assigned the pastorage of Columbia, California, a small mining camp established during the California Gold Rush. He became Superintendent of San Jose Schools, and in 1861 he travelled with William H. Brewer and Charles F. Hoffmann to the summit of a nearby mountain, as part of the initial California Geological Survey. That mountain, Mount Hamilton, is named after him.
He served on the Oakland Board of Education from 1866 to 1872.
In 1869, Hamilton came under scrutiny for teaching the doctrine of "a second probation after death" (stating one has a second, posthumous chance of salvation). In 1879 the church joined the American Unitarian Association and became the First Unitarian Church of Oakland.
While preaching on Easter Sunday, 1882, Hamilton spoke "We know not what matter is.." and then collapsed onto the ground, dead.