Ambrose Hamilton was in the Revolutionary War.This is from ISLANDS OF MAINE by Bill Caldwell--Great Chebeague,the biggest of some 180 islands in Casco Bay, is four and ahalf miles long, a mile wide, with a land area of 2,800 acres.The recorded history of the island dates back to before thePilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Then Chebeague was listed asa "colony of the Royal Crown of England" and its first whiteproprietor was the father of Maine, Sir Ferdinando Gorges. Butnot for long. In 1650, he sold out to a Boston merchant namedMerry, thereby starting a trend of island selling. Merry neverset foot on the island, but he boosted his ego by changing itsname from Chebeague (Indian word for cold spring water) toMerry Island. However, money spoke louder than vanity toMerry. He sold the island at a profit for $500 to anotherBoston businessman named John King. Then King sold at a profitto Walter Gendall of Yarmouth. He held it despite theinconvenience that he was charged with treason at the time by aMassachusetts court, and had to pay over 20 pounds to buy hispardon. But the Indians didn't pardon Gendall; they killedhim. And soon Chebeague's name changed again, strangely thistime. The island was given to two deacons of the First Churchof Boston as "recompense for their goodly deeds," and wasrenamed "Recompense Island."But only briefly. On shore, where Stroudwater stands now,between downtown Portland and the jetport, big money was beingmade in cutting and shipping tall pines for the masts of theEnglish navy. Since 1691, all white pines with a diameter of24 inches at one foot above the ground, were reserved for theEnglish Crown and marked with the King's Broad Arrow. ColonetThomas Westbrook was one of the men making small fortunes fromshipping out the tall white pines. A mast tree 120 feet tallwas worth $500. A 75-foot tree for a bowsprit fetched $200, anda spar fetched up to $100. In 1772 Maine shipped 382 masts, 69bowsprits and 451 spars to England and earned over $200,000, avery big sum in those days. With some of those profits, Col.Westbrook bought Great Chebeague. But business on the mainlandwas too hectic for him to settle out on an island. None of theearly owners had the good sense of the Indians to really enjoythis lovely island. That had to wait until Scotsman AmbroseHamilton arrived.Hamilton built a log house on the north end, fathered 12children and became grandfather to 71. Hamiltons built andmade famous the Chebeague stone fleet. By the 1850s, overthirty Hamilton stone sloops, the Mack trucks of their time,were hauling heavy loads of granite from Maine quarries to bemade into some of the greatest buildings of their time. OneChebeague stone sloop, the Addie Snow, is believed to have sentthe 291-foot passenger ship Portland to the bottom in the greatstorn of 1898, one of the worst tragedies at sea. The theoryis that the Portland, in zero visibility, heavy seas and ahowling gale, collided with the granite-laden Addie Snow, cavedin from the impact, and sank with the loss of 175 lives.Exactly how or where the Portland was lost had been a mysteryfor half a century. Then in November 1944, a scalloper out ofRockland was dragging off Cape Cod and brought up thePortland's bell in her net. With the ship's bell as evidenceof exactly where the Portland sank, Edward Rowe Snow, who haswritten fine books on New England's coast, sent down divers tofind out if any more of the Portland lay on the bottom. Thedivers found the bow of the Addie Snow embedded in the side ofthe Portland, indicating a terrible collision and immediatesinking. All lives on both ships were lost. In anothertragedy in the winter sea, ocean spray froze on the masts anddecks of a Chegeague stone sloop outside of Boston Harbor. Tonsof ice weighed her down till she became helpless in thebreaking, freezing seas. Capt. John Ross and his two sons, Johnand Walter were found aboard, frozen to death, encased in iceon the rigging.Three brothers emigrated from Scotland in the year 1760. Theirnames were Ambrose, Roland, and John Hamilton. Roland settledat Walnut Hill, John at Cousins Island, and Ambrose onChebeague Island. His wife was Nancy Ramsey from Ganzy. Fromthis union were born Ambrose, James, Jonathan, Lemuel, John,Jinnie, Lucy, Deborah, Amy, Lydia, and Betsy. Betsy died ininfancy. Ambrose married Ruth Sawyer. From this union wereborn David, Charles, Ambrose, Dorcas, and Lydia. Ambrosemarried a second wife, Annie Sawyer. From this union were nochildren. James Hamilton married Polly Webber, from whom wereborn Jack, James, Simeon, Reuben, Benjamin, Mary, Eliza,Rebecca, and Sarah. James Hamilton married for his secondwife, Sarah Littlefield. One child, Sophriana was born of thisunion.Jonathan Hamilton married Betsy Dyer. From them were bornAmbrose, Edward, Sallie, Betsy, Lucas, and Dorcas.John Hamilton married Anna Sawyer. From this union were bornSoloman, Richard, Robert, Enoch, Ambrose, John, and Jinnie, adaughter. He married for his second wife, Mehitable Soule. Ofthis union were born Barnwell, Porter, Alfred, Phlinda, andAnn.Jinnie Hamilton married John Curit. From this union were bornStephen, John, Deborah, and Jane. She lived to the advancedage of 100 years, 10 months.Lucy Hamilton married Eben Hill, by whom she had Eben, Abner,Joseph, Rachael, and Eunice. She lost a daughter, Rachael, wholived to be 13 years old.Deborah Hamilton married Richard Hutchinson of whom were bornSallie, Amy, Samuel, Stephen, and William.Amy never married. Her lover was lot at sea. She dressed indeep mourning for some time, and then changed to white. Herroom was furnished in white, and she wore white from head tofoot.Lydia and Betsy died in infancy.Ambrose, the old stock, went away to Belfast to make a suitableliving. While there, he was taken sick, and Betsy, his wife,got one of the boys to row her to Belfast. She found him deadand buried when she arrived.