Hamilton was born in
New York sometime in 1773, and was reputed to be a son of
Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father and future Secretary of the Treasury. His mother was a free woman of color. Historians are uncertain whether Alexander Hamilton was the father. William Hamilton learned the trade of carpentry, which he depended on to make his living. He got involved in community activism within the African-American community. Although New York passed a law to establish gradual abolition, there were still numerous slaves being held in the early post-Revolutionary War decades. In 1808, Hamilton co-founded the
New York African Society for Mutual Relief, which provided financial support for sick members as well as for their widows and children. As part of a movement of African Americans to independence after slavery was abolished, many established independent congregations of churches and other independent black institutions. The
African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) was founded in Philadelphia as the first independent black denomination in the new United States. In 1820, Hamilton became a founding member of the
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, another independent black denomination, in New York City. In 1827, Hamilton helped establish ''
Freedom's Journal,'' the first black newspaper in the United States. In the 1830s, he participated in and spoke against
slavery at the first national conventions of African Americans. In 1859, the magazine published
Martin Delany's anti-slavery novel
Blake.
Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1855), had been published a few years before. Both helped raise support for the abolitionist cause. ==Political thought==