Archibald Hamilton was born in Scotland and moved to Nansemond, Virginia by 1760. Later Hamilton established a merchant firm with his brother John in Halifax County, North Carolina. In 1777 he refused to sign the oath of allegiance to the State of North Carolina as was required by the North Carolina General Assembly, and as a result he had to leave the state within 60 days, leaving all his property behind. Hamilton and other loyalists fled the state in October 1777 via a ship at New Bern often called the "Tory Brig." Upon arriving in British-held New York, Hamilton returned to Glasgow, Scotland. Hamilton died sometime after 1786.