I will check on the Noice surname bit.
For all interested in the Hamiltons, here is some interesting information. I have in my possession the autobiography of my great-great grandfather, Thomas Smith (1836-1920) of Elma township, Perth county, Ontario. His wife was Ellen Hamilton (1844-1912), daughter of John Hamilton (1810-1887) and Joan Bryden (1807-1879). In Thomas Smith's autobiography of c. 1915, he includes some information on his wife's family, and notes that John Hamilton of Peebles had two older brothers, James and George, and a sister Ellen (namesake of his wife). He states that Ellen was married to a "Spaulding" although I have not been able to find any such record. (There is the possibility that this part of the autobiography (and "Spaulding") suffered from mis-transcription - only the typewritten version survives from the 1960s, whereas the original hand-written copy was accidentally destroyed in the 1990s by a relative in whose possession it had come to rest.)
Thus Thomas Smith was not aware of the older sisters of John Hamilton (Jane Ferguson and Margaret Muir Charters) as they were not in Peebles when Ellen Hamilton (1844-1912) was a little girl before moving to Canada in 1854 with her parents. But their relationship is confirmed from the Australian death registers.
This shows that older brother James was certainly perceived as a brother of John (1810-1887) by his daughter Ellen who would have known James when she was a little girl in Peebles. However, I'm starting to wonder if this James Hamilton (c.1791-1870) was maybe a half brother, given that there seems to be a large gap between him and Jane (born c.1802). Another possibility is that he was actually a generation further up, a younger brother of John Hamilton, husband of Anna Scott.
This James married Marion Callendar in 1820, and the entry from Edinburgh parish is as follows:
"Jas Hamilton mason St. Cutht parish & Marion Callender New Greyfriars, d. of James Callender book seller Dalkeith".
Thus all siblings seem to have left the place of their birth and moved. James was in Peebles by 1821 at the time of the birth of his daughter Grace. Perhaps George followed his older brother, leading him to settle there by 1827 when he married Mary Small. (In the parish register of Peebles for 1827, "George Hamilton, labourer in Peebles and Mary Small in the parish of Yarrow gave in their names to be proclaimed in order to marriage which was done once in Sunday 7 Jan. and twice on the 14th following and no objections offered.") John was in Peebles by about 1832 when he married Joan Bryden (no entry found). There was some reason they all moved to Peebles, but it could have just been because James moved there in the early 1820s - why that happened we may never know.
Any thoughts let me know!
Jamie Reid