The Hunter family

From a brief study of the earliest church records for Whiteness and Weisdale it seems likely that all the Weisdale Hunters are descended from one or two families living in Weisdale at the beginning of the 18th century. The earliest ancestor we can establish with any certainty is Olla Hunter of North House (or Northhouse) who married Katharine Magnusdaughter of Setter in 1738.

The site of Northhouse is now occupied by the large house now called Kergord house but originally called Flemington; Setter is less than half a mile away, to the north. There seem to have been three sisters in Setter, who all married Hunters between 1737 and 1741. The baptisms of Olla and Katharine's children, all of Northhouse, are recorded (see the family tree); they had a son Peter born in 1746. Peter married Elizabeth Hunter from Evrabister in 1771. Evrabister was between the present Kergord house and the present farm of Hoove; with the "bister" place name element it was perhaps the original settlement in this part of Weisdale, which may be confirmed by the fact that Thomas Ross lived in Evrabister in 1733 (evidenced by the birth of a daughter). MacRae in the booklet "Kergord House" reveals that the land of Evrabister and Northhouse previously belonged to the Ross of Sound estates; John Ross, the "Tacksman of Sound" was living in Sound in 1826, but it appears that the Ross family originally lived in Evrabister.

Peter Hunter of Evrabister had a son, Olla, in 1771. It is most likely that this is the Peter of Northhouse who married Elizabeth Hunter, as firstly, the son was born in the year of the marriage; secondly, the son seems to be named after his paternal grandfather, as was common for a first son; and thirdly, as his wife came from Evrabister it is quite likely that Peter should live there. This connection can only be further established by a fuller investigation of the Weisdale Hunters.

The next connection is also not absolutely established but seems most likely. A detailed search for confirmation has not yet been made, but was not initially necessary due to a stroke of luck. This was the finding of a partially indexed family register for Tingwall Parish dating from around 1820. The parishes of Whiteness and Weisdale and Tingwall were separate up to 1765 when they united. The family register contains details of families in the united parish; most of the entries records the reading of marriage banns, the marriage itself and children of the marriage. The entry of most interest was as follows:

"John, son of Oliver Hunter and Barbara Hunter in Evrabister, Weisdale, born May 11th 1796
Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Hunter and Johanna Blanche, in No house born Sept 9th 1801

John Hunter, seaman, in Evrabister Weisdale and
Elizabeth Hunter, in North House Weisdale were married by the
Revd John Brydon at Heglabustair Schoolhouse, Nov 20th, 1820
Had issue as follows

The names Olla, Ola and Olliver are all used for the same person in the church records, and it seems most likely that Peter son Ola born in 1771 is the Oliver of Evrabister referred to in the family register entry. It then allows us to make the connection instantly between Ola Hunter and his grandson Henry born in 1829; this is the Henry who eventually moved to Tumblin.

The details of this family register entry still need to be checked from the original registers, but it is clear that John, the son of Oliver and Barbara, had a son Henry. Henry's baptism has been checked; it gives his father John's occupation as a seaman, and confirms the place of birth as Evrabister. This is the only Henry Hunter born in Evrabister around this time, confirming family tradition and the census records. (There is still a house called Evrabister; it is located just south of Kergord house, and is occupied by Hunters!)

In 1841 Henry was 12, and the census shows him living with his parents and siblings, in Evrabister; his father's occupation is given there as "Agricultural labourer". In 1851 Henry still lived with his parents, in "3rd Ho. Evrabister", his father being a "farmer of 5 acres" and Henry a "farm labourer". By 1861 Henry was married, to Barbara (Morrison), and they had their first son John aged one. They still lived in Evrabister, and Henry was a "farmer of 8 Acres and fisherman".

Between 1861 and 1871 came the eviction of the Hunters from Evrabister, which seems to have followed other evictions from Northhouse and Evrabister around the time of the building of the house "Flemington" on the site of Northhouse. In 1871 we find the Hunter family living in Kirkhouse (Twatt), Henry being a "farmer of 12 acres arable"; clearly, though evicted he now farmed a larger area. By 1881 they had moved again, into the Queans, Tumblin, which was then a house having two rooms with windows. There may not have been room for the whole family in the Queans at that time for, because on the night of the census Henry (a "crofter") with his wife and children James, Robert, Barbara, Mary Ann, David and Henry were in the Queans; Joan (age 10) and Adam (age 1) were in the East House with their aunt Elizabeth Hunter, grandmother Elizabeth Hunter and cousin Mary Ann.

Thus the story of the Hunters can be traced very well indeed from census and church records. We have put this established information into a family tree taking us down to Henry Hunter's large family in the Queans. The Whiteness and Weisdale records are so well preserved that it will be worthwhile to try to establish all the Hunter families in Weisdale in the 18th century, which may make it possible to take the story even further back.

All the Hunter references in the baptism and marriage registers were extracted from about 1727 to 1765. An initial analysis of these leads to some interesting ideas. There was a limited number of houses; the oldest recorded is Houve or Hoove where Magnus Hunter lived; he was almost certainly married before 1728. There were several houses in Evrabister, and certainly several in Northhouse eventually. Later Hunters moved in and out of Hoove; for example, around 1742 an Olla moved from Hoove to Staneswell (Stenswall) and Robert (married in 1741) moved into Hoove. It seems that around 1750 North House (occupied from about 1738 by Olla) expanded when Henry and Magnus arrived, Magnus possibly moving from Hoove. This type of change is confirmed by the census records; MacRae in "Kergord House" notes that before Flemington was built (i.e. before the evictions) there were about ten Hunter families in Northhouse and four in Evrabister. It all points to Magnus in Hoove being one of the earliest Hunters in Weisdale; Olla and Robert of Hoove were probably sons, Olla of Northhouse a nephew, and Magnus's father's name Olla; this is very much a speculation! If so, Magnus was probably born around 1690-1700 and his father Olla born around 1660-1670. Confirmation of these early families (before the existence of the Church records) would need to be from sources such as rent books for the estate, if still in existence.

We have put together a family tree based on these speculative origins of the Hunters of Weisdale.