Hamilton, Catherine Jane [pseud. Retlaw Spring] (1841–1935), author and journalist

Hamilton, Catherine Jane [pseud. Retlaw Spring] (1841-1935), author and journalist, was born on 25 January 1841 at Kilmersdon, Somerset, where she was baptized on 12 April 1841, the younger of two daughters of Richard Hamilton (1805?-1859), vicar of Kilmersdon, and his wife Charlotte, née Cooper (1809-1882), the fifth daughter of William Cooper, of Queens County, Ireland. She was of Irish heritage on both sides. Her father belonged to a military family with roots in Strabane (county Tyrone) - his father, John Hamilton, and her father’s four older brothers were all officers in the Fifth Foot – and was a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. He had been a bright scholar with an aptitude for languages, and as a preacher was praised for his powerful sermons and his ability to bring the Bible to life for his parishioners.