John William Hamilton was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1900.

He was the older brother of Franklin Elmer Ellsworth Hamilton, who was also both a Methodist Bishop and the Chancellor of American University.

Later he did serve with General Don Carlos Buell's troops in Kentucky (dates unknown).

That same year Hamilton transferred his ministerial membership to the New England Annual Conference, where he was ordained Elder in 1870 by Bishop Levi Scott.

Hamilton's pastorate at People's Church was especially noteworthy because he was responsible not only for its founding, but also for its development into the largest Methodist congregation in Boston.

Moreover, it was Hamilton's intent from the outset that this church be open to everyone, regardless of social standing, race, or national origin.

Christianity • Protestantism Beginning in 1892, Hamilton was elected corresponding secretary of the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society, an agency of the M.E.

Church created after the American Civil War to establish and maintain educational institutions in the southern U.S. for the benefit of freed slaves and other underprivileged youth.

John Hamilton was an eloquent advocate of temperance and the rights of African Americans and women.

Hamilton United Methodist Church, designed by architect Julia Morgan in the famous Haight/Ashbury District, was named for the "Phoenix Bishop" who helped raise the City Spirit from the ashes: "Together we will rebuild this city, one neighborhood at a time!"

Hamilton also was a leader in raising funds for the restoration of John Wesley's living quarters at Lincoln College, Oxford.