text: william s. hamilton william stephen hamilton ( august 4 , 1797 – october 9 , 1850 ) , a son of alexander hamilton and elizabeth schuyler hamilton , was a politician and miner who lived much of his life in the u.s. state of illinois and territorial wisconsin . hamilton was born in new york , where he attended the united states military academy before he resigned and moved to illinois in 1817 . in illinois he lived in springfield and peoria and eventually migrated to the lead - mining region of southern wisconsin and established hamilton 's diggings at present - day wiota . hamilton served in various political offices and as a commander in two midwest indian wars . in 1849 he moved to california on the heels of the california gold rush . he died in sacramento , most likely of cholera , in october 1850 . early life william stephen hamilton was born august 4 , 1797 in new york , third - youngest child and second - youngest son of alexander hamilton . william was a month shy of his seventh birthday in 1804 when his father was infamously killed in a duel with vice president aaron burr . in 1814 he was admitted to the united states military academy , from which he had resigned by 1817 . following his resignation from west point , hamilton migrated to sangamon county , illinois . he lived in springfield and peoria , illinois until 1827 when he moved to the lead mining region around the fever river . political and militia service hamilton first held elected office in 1824 as a member of the illinois house of representatives from sangamon county in 1824 . while working in the legislature hamilton sponsored a bill that imposed a statewide tax intended to fund road repair and maintenance . the tax was proportional to property value , to be paid in labor or money , and replaced an older system which required every able - bodied man to work on the roads five days per year . the bill passed , and the new law was met with much opposition ; it was repealed by the next legislature in 1826 – 27 . hamilton served as aide de camp to governor edward coles , and while living in illinois , first in springfield and later in peoria , hamilton worked for the general land office as deputy surveyor of public lands . in that position he surveyed springfield 's township . he was also an incorporator of the original illinois and michigan canal company , along with coles and other prominent . in late 1827 hamilton served during the winnebago war in the volunteer illinois militia as a captain . hamilton commanded a company raised in galena , illinois known as the galena mounted volunteers . hamilton 's company was under the command of henry dodge and was mustered into service on august 26 , 1827 and released on september 10 , 1827 . hamilton moved to wisconsin and established hamilton 's diggings in 1827 . during the april – august 1832 black hawk war , between white settlers in the lead mining regions and sauk chief black hawk 's british band , hamilton again served in the volunteer militia . accounts of the war indicated that hamilton was often in charge of the militia 's indigenous allies . at the war 's onset it was known that many of the sioux and menominee were eager to join the conflict against the sauk . hamilton was sent to the michigan territory , north of prairie du chien , to recruit the assistance of indigenous allies . the result was successful and several parties of u.s. aligned native americans joined the war . in june , hamilton 's return to fort hamilton with a large group of militia - aligned native americans coincided with the arrival of one of the survivors of the june 14 spafford farm massacre . the survivor , francis spencer , arrived at the fort around the same time as hamilton did - accompanied by u.s. aligned menominee . afraid that the fort , like his party at the farm , had also been attacked , spencer retreated back into the woods . he avoided the fort for between six and nine days , when hunger finally drove him into the open and he realized his mistake . on june 16 , about an hour after the fight at horseshoe bend , hamilton arrived on the battlefield with u.s. aligned menominee , sioux and ho - chunk warriors . according to dodge , the warriors were given some of the scalps his men had taken , with which they were " delighted " . dodge also reported that the allied warriors then proceeded onto the battlefield and mutilated the corpses of the fallen kickapoo . in 1842 and 1843 hamilton served as an elected member of the wisconsin territorial assembly . hamilton lost an 1843 election for the national - level office of wisconsin territory delegate to the united states congress , and in 1848 he lost an election for delegate to the wisconsin constitutional convention . though well known as a smelter and miner in the lead region of southern wisconsin and northern illinois , hamilton was unable to achieve the political fame he desired . mining career when hamilton moved from illinois to wisconsin in the late 1820s he established a lead ore mine that became known as hamilton 's diggings ; he later renamed the settlement wiota . during the 1832 black hawk war a fort was erected at hamilton 's diggings , it was known as fort hamilton . two contemporary descriptions of hamilton 's diggings provide a glimpse into the mining life of hamilton and the others settled at present - day wiota . an 1831 account from juliette kinzie noted the unkempt conditions as " shabby " and " unpromising " . kinzie also decried the foul language from the miners , whom she called the " roughest - looking set of men i ever beheld . " the other description of early wiota was provided by theodore in 1834 . , a one - time political opponent of hamilton , contrasted the settlement 's apparently rough exterior with small , finer details , such as the presence of a quarto edition of voltaire 's works , printed in paris . hamilton never married and presented a rough , garish appearance . his mother , elizabeth schuyler ( daughter of general philip schuyler ) visited hamilton at hamilton 's diggings during the winter of 1837 – 38 . during the same period , hamilton briefly owned the mineral point miners ' free press ; he sold it to a group from galena and the paper became known as the galena democrat . when gold was discovered in california , in 1848 , gold fever spread into the midwest lead - mining region . hamilton set out for california , arriving in 1849 , with high hopes , and new equipment . his life in the west would prove to be a disappointment and he later regretted moving there . hamilton told a friend in california that he would " rather have been hung in the ' lead mines ' than to have lived in this miserable hole ( california ) . " death before his death hamilton fell ill for two weeks . he suffered multiple symptoms , including dysentery , and , according to his doctor , died from " malarial fever resulting in spinal exhaustion terminating in paralysis by great bodily and mental strain . " william s. hamilton died in sacramento , california on october 9 , 1850 at age 53 . he was interred in the sacramento historic city cemetery . the section of the cemetery where he is buried was named hamilton square in his honor . hamilton had been in california about one year when he died from what he called " mountain fever " , most likely cholera during an 1850 epidemic .