The Hunters of Musselburgh
Musselburgh from Theatrum Scotiae by John Slezer 1693.
One of my maternal great great grandmothers was Elizabeth Ann Hunter b 1859 in Leith. She was the daughter of Charles Hunter b 1826, a ship porter in Leith who was born in Musselburgh just down the coast.
I can trace the Hunters back at least to 1703 for certain and through marriages back to the early 1600s.
Thomas Hunter b 1767 (died in 1829) was a carter of coal, as was his son Thomas Hunter b 1792. The younger Thomas was the first Hunter to be captured in the census, which started in 1841 so I can see where he lived - on High Street in Musselburgh in the parish of Inveresk. His son George was also a carter.
!841 Census of Inveresk parish (Musselburgh)
My great great great grandfather Charles Hunter b 1826 is missing from this census - he would have been 15 and off working somewhere else.
Thomas Hunter b 1767 was the son of George Hunter b 1740.
I have no idea what George Hunter did as his birth and marriage records don’t give much information.
George would have been a young boy of 5 when the Scottish Jacobean army defeated the English at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745.
George’s father Thomas Hunter b 1703 was born before Scotland merged with England in 1707.
Musselburgh is a few miles east of Leith where my mum was born.
1778 map of “Pinkie and Inveresk” (Musselburgh)
If we zoom in to the map we can see the streets where the Hunters lived:
Newbigging Street in Musselburgh
Thomas and Isabel Hunter lived there in 1851 (according to the 1851 census)
But you might be wondering what Pinkie is? It’s the site of another famous battle - the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh 1547… in which the English trounced the Scots.
“The English Victory against the Scottish by Musselbroghe 1547”
These maps are amazing - I love the way the artist has shown his patriotism - a close up reveals the “Scottish Horsemen Running Away”
Sadly 6,000 - 15,000 Scots were killed and 2,000 taken prisoner…
Leith “Litte” is at the bottom right corner of the big map…
Charles Hunter b 1826 and some of his siblings moved from Musselburgh to Leith to work in the docks during the Industrial Revolution. Charles married a Irish immigrant Elizabeth Anderson who came to Leith with her parents from Antrim in the north of Ireland.
For generations the Hunters had been Presbyterians and their births, marriages, and deaths were recorded in the Musselburgh/Inveresk parish registers, which is why I’ve been able to trace them back so far.
Elizabeth Ann Hunter b 1859 (married William Robertson b 1856)
Charles Hunter b 1826
Thomas Hunter b 1792
Thomas Hunter b 1767
George Hunter b 1740
Thomas Hunter b 1703
John Hunter (the younger) c 1668 (likely but unconfirmed)
John Hunter (the elder) c 1641 (likely but unconfirmed)
St Michael’s Parish Church c 1547 to c 1805
Other ancestor families who married Hunters and are part of our tree include
Wilson Milestones Abernethie Handiside Young
David Milestones b 1710 and John Abernethie c 1690 were weavers
List of people in the parish 1744 includes David Milestones and family
Thomas Hunter (lower left), Jean Abernethie, and Anna Handisyde (Thomas’ mother)
Thomas Hunter b 1703 is shown in this document above as living in the village of Westpans. This is about one hour’s walk from where the Battle of Prestonpans took place so he may have joined in the celebrations.
Westpans (green circle)