| Jo Hamilton | |
| Birth Date: | 7 April 1827 |
| Birth Place: | Barren County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Auburn, California, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Lawyer and politician |
| Children: | 5 |
| Office: | District Attorney of Placer County, California |
| Term Start1: | 1860 |
| Term End1: | 1860 |
| Term Start2: | 1862 |
| Term End2: | 1862 |
| Office3: | 10th & 12th Attorney General of California |
| Term Start3: | December 9,1875 |
| Term End3: | January 8, 1880 |
| Governor3: | William Irwin |
| Predecessor3: | John Lord Love |
| Successor3: | Augustus L. Hart |
| Term Start4: | December 5, 1867 |
| Term End4: | December 8, 1871 |
| Governor4: | Henry Huntly Haight |
| Predecessor4: | John G. McCullough |
| Successor4: | John Lord Love |
Jo Hamilton (April 7, 1827 – August 4, 1904) was a California lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of California from 1867 to 1871 and again from 1875 to 1880.[1] He also served as Trustee of the State Library, 1874–82.
Hamilton was born in Barren County, Kentucky[2] and came to California in 1859 after being admitted to the bar in Georgia.[3] Upon his arrival in California, Hamilton worked in the mines for a short time and initially practiced law at Yankee Jims, California. A pioneering lawyer of Placer County, California, Hamilton served as District Attorney in 1860 and again 1862. He was listed as a leading Democrat of California and was one of the best known lawyers of his time.[4] After retiring, he continued to practice law in Auburn, Placer County.[5] Jo Hamilton died at his home in Auburn on August 4, 1904.[6] [7]
Hamilton was married in 1849 to Nancy Blair, a native of Tennessee. They had five children. His wife, Nancy Hamilton, died just over a month following his death, on September 20, 1904.[8] His son, George W. Hamilton, was a member of the California State Assembly for Placer County from 1893 to 1895.