5th Great Grandparents William Hamlet and Elizabeth Morgan

*revised 29 Sep. 2025

William Hamlet (1749–1822) According to Charles Burns (1), it is not possible to establish where he was born or who his parents were, except that he was occasionally referred to as being "from abroad". There was a baptism of a William Hamlet in the Bath Abbey baptism records from 1772, noting the baptism of “William Hamlet, a negro,” but without any mention of parents or sponsors. At that time, Hamlet would have been around 23 years old, but the details of how or when he came to England remain unclear. Several other similar baptisms were recorded in Bath around that period.

Brian Wellings, Cynthia McKinley and Ceris Humphreys have conducted considerable research on the Hamlet family of Bath. This is detailed in Profiles of the Past (2). From this research, it seems that William may have been brought to the UK as an indentured servant by a Mr Gegg, a retired Jamaican planter. Mr Gegg advertised for the return of his servant (slave), who had absconded,."In the BATH CHRONICLE 23rd September 1773, retired Jamaica planter Thomas Gegg (1715 - ca.1777) placed an advertisement: "Went from his service the 2nd September, a BLACK MAN, who calls himself Wm Hamlet. He is well favoured, small in person, affects the beau in his gait, thinks himself of consequence and nothing is good enough for him. Tis hoped nobody will encourage him in his idleness. Any person who harbours him shall be prosecuted agreeable to law". 

He may have originally from Benin/Togo. My daughter's DNA analysis reveals a 1% African ancestry, tracing back to the Benin/Togo region. This suggests that my ancestor, William Hamlet, or his parents, likely originated from this area. Historically, for more than two centuries, formidable kings in what is now Benin actively participated in the slave trade, capturing and selling individuals to French, Portuguese, and British merchants. These enslaved people, frequently men, women, and children from rival neighboring tribes, were often gagged and forcibly packed onto ships destined for Brazil, Haiti, and the United States.

After Gregg unsuccessfully tried to retrieve him, he seems to have disappeared for a while. During this time, he possibly went abroad to Ireland or France, where he learnt portraiture and silhouette making. 

After that, Hamlet seems to have his primary residence in Salisbury, as he was married there and his children were born there. He also operated in Bath as a portrait artist and silhouette maker, possibly in the tourist season. Bath was a popular leisure resort for the wealthy at that time. Visitors had plenty of time to indulge in favourite daytime pursuits, including walking on the parades, carriage excursions, visiting libraries (which were usually also bookshops), milliners, toy shops, jewellers and artists' showrooms and of course, sitting for a portrait. The place was awash with portrait painters, including Gainsborough. (3)

William became a significant portrait painter (silhouette artist) for his time, painting the royal family, the nobility and common folk.  Furthermore, he appears to have devised and sold silhouette gadgets that produced 2 silhouettes in a minute. He had a great business going until his son and partner, William the younger, died suddenly age 36. 

After this, the studio became noticeably quieter, though there are a few silhouettes labelled by Hamlet from 1820, suggesting he continued to work until at least that time. At one stage, he registered for bankruptcy. Hamlet died in 1822 at the age of 73, seven years after his son’s death. He was buried at Walcot Chapel in Bath, listed as residing at 79 Avon St at the time. During the 1820s, Avon St was considered the poorer part of Bath, known for its high population density and numerous inexpensive boarding houses, making it a popular area for struggling artists. Despite Hamlet's evident success as a silhouettist, it did not lead to a comfortable retirement for him.

Elizabeth Morgan (1761-1832). According to Burns, William married Elizabeth Morgan, an English woman from Salisbury, in 1779. She was probably illiterate, as she merely "made her mark" on the marriage register. They had five children, William, Thomas, Elizabeth, George and Charles. Their eldest child, William Hamlet Jr., was baptised in December 1780 and, following in his father’s footsteps, also worked as a profilist. Between 1783 and 1792, four more children were baptised at St. Thomas’: Thomas (1783–1803), Elizabeth (1788–1847), George (1788–1792), and Charles (1792–1810). Of these, only Elizabeth lived to maturity. Listed in the 1841 Census as a spinster residing with a Salisbury stationer’s household, she later died in Salisbury’s Union Workhouse in June 1847.

I have obtained most of this information from a wonderful article about William by Charles Burns. A detailed and fascinating account of his life can be found here.

(1)William Hamlet of Bath & Salisbury

History of Silhouettes, Silhouette Collection / 13th October 2024 / By Charles Burns

(2)Profiles of the Past. (n.d.). William Hamlet the Elder. Retrieved September 29, 2025, from https://www.profilesofthepast.org.uk/artist/hamlet-william-elder

(3) Sloman, S. L. (1993). Artists' picture rooms in eighteenth-century Bath. Bath History, 6, 132–146. Retrieved from https://historyofbath.org/images/BathHistory/Vol%2006%20-%2007.%20Sloman%20-%20Artists%27%20Picture%20Rooms%20in%20Eighteenth%20Century%20Bath.pdf

These pictures are from the Charles Burns article in Roving Artist.