Hunter
Select
Hunter Surname Genealogy
Hunter is an occupational name, derived from the Old English hunta meaning "to hunt" or sometimes a translation of the Latin venator of the same meaning. Its first recording as a surname was in Scotland, a William Huntar in 1116. The Scottish early spelling was Huntar.
Hunter has been a Scottish and English border name, from Ayrshire at one end in the west to Durham at the other end in the east. The English surname of similar roots is Hunt.
Scotland. There was a Norman family of Hunters, so called because they were skilled in hunting, who came north to Ayrshire in the 12th century, apparently at the invitation of the Scottish king. These Hunters gave their name to the village of Hunter's Toune, now Hunterston, near the Firth of Clyde in north Ayrshire. For many years they served as royal huntsmen and soldiers for the king. A parchment signed by the Scottish king in 1374, confirming ownership of the Ardneil lands in Ayrshire to William Hunter the 10th Laird, still survives.
The seat of these Hunters has been Hunterston. The castle there dates from the 13th century. Hunterston House was built close to the old castle walls in the early 1800's. Another Hunter line in Ayrshire, recorded in A.A. Hunter's 1905 book The Pedigree of Hunter of Abbotshill and Barjarg, began at Abbotshill in the 16th century.
Hunters have since spread across the Lowlands of Scotland and are now more numerous around Glasgow and Edinburgh. A Hunter line in Long Calderwood in Lanarkshire produced the famous 18th century Scottish surgeon John Hunter; while the Hunter family at Thurston in East Lothian is probably remembered now because of the tune Miss Sally Hunter of Thurston played by Scottish fiddlers.
Ireland. Many Hunters crossed the Irish Sea to Ulster as part of the Scottish plantations there in the 17th century; while some sought sanctuary there because of the religious conflict in Scotland. The Hunter name is mainly to be found in Derry and Antrim.
England. Most English Hunters were and are to be found in the north of England, not that far from the Scottish border. Another Norman huntsman, Gilbert Hunter, was recorded as holding land in Cheshire in the Domesday Book. However, his family later became Venables.
Hunters have lived at Medomsly in Durham since the 1580's when two Hunters, Thomas and John, purchased houses there. Medomsly Hall was the home of the noted 18th century physician and antiquarian Dr. Christopher Hunter and of the early 19th century general Martin Hunter.
There were many Hunter coalminers in Durham during the 19th century. They mainly appear in the records of unforeseen deaths. Three Hunters were killed in the Felling mine disaster of 1812. George Hunter, a pitman at Cowpen, was murdered in 1849 during a colliery dispute. And other Hunter fatalities were recorded in later mining accidents.
George Hunter formed the Swan Hunter shipbuilding group on Tyneside in 1879.
One Hunter family made their money trading out of London to the Levant in the 17th century. In the 1740's Henry Lannoy Hunter, the first of four of that name, returned from Aleppo and purchased the Beech Hill estate in Berkshire. The family was to remain there until 1949.
America. Hunters in America arrrived in approximate equal part from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Elijah Hunter was a spy during the Revolutionary War and afterwards one of the founders of Ossining, New York. Robert Hunter arrived in Manhattan from Ireland after the war was over and set up an auction house. His son John learnt the business, married well, and built Hunter's Mansion on Hunter island in Pelham Bay to house his fine arts collection. Much later the 19th century immigrant Thomas Hunter, also from Ireland, founded the institution now known as Hunter College.
Scots Irish Hunters started with three Hunter siblings - Alexander, John, and Jane - who arrived and settled in Delaware in the late 1730's. Alexander gained a reputation for wrestling among the native Indian population. Jane married the future North Carolina Governor Alexander Martin. David Hunter, who lived in York county Pennsylvania, mysteriously disappeared in the summer of 1776.
Nathaniel Hunter and his family had come to Virginia from Ireland in 1793 and later set out west for Ohio. Their family account at this time read as follows:
General Alexander Hunter, whose family had come originally from Scotland, was a friend of President Andrew Jackson. He acquired the Abingdon plantation in Virginia in 1835 and would often invite the President down for weekends. Meanwhile Henry Hunter, born in Virginia, headed south after the Revolutionary War to Pinckneyville, Mississippi where he took possession of a two thousand acre site under a Spanish land grant. He named his plantation Hunter Hall.
Another Scotsman, Dr. Johnson Hunter, left his home in North Carolina with his family in 1822 for what was then the Spanish territory of Tejas. He is among the "old 300 settlers of Texas." Eleven Hunters are buried in the Dr. Johnson Hunter cemetery in Fort Bend, Texas.
Australia and New Zealand. John Hunter, a Scottish naval officer, had come out to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788. He stayed and served as the second governor of the colony from 1795 to 1800. When the platypus was first discovered in Australia, it was John Hunter who sent back to England a drawing of the animal and a pelt. The Hunter river and valley in New South Wales were named after him.
In 1838 Alexander Hunter of Edinburgh formed a company to take up land in Australia and five of his sons were soon to move there. Here they were the tough pioneers of the Port Phillip district of Victoria who, every once in a while, would descend on Melbourne to let their hair down.
George Hunter was one of the early settlers of Wellington New Zealand, arriving there with his family from Scotland in 1840. He started a general store there, but died in 1843. His son and grandson, both named George, were later prominent in Wellington affairs.
Select Hunter Miscellany
Select Hunter Names
William Hunter was recorded as the owner of the Ardneil lands in Ayrshire in 1374.
Robert Hunter of Hunterston was the colonial governor of Virginia, New York and Jamaica in the early 1700's.
John Hunter, born in Lanarkshire, was one of the foremost surgeons of the 18th century. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honor.
JA Hunter, born in Scotland, was a famous hunter of the first half of the 20th century in British East Africa.
Select Hunters Today
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
Hunter is an occupational name, derived from the Old English hunta meaning "to hunt" or sometimes a translation of the Latin venator of the same meaning. Its first recording as a surname was in Scotland, a William Huntar in 1116. The Scottish early spelling was Huntar.
Hunter has been a Scottish and English border name, from Ayrshire at one end in the west to Durham at the other end in the east. The English surname of similar roots is Hunt.
Select
Hunter Resources on
The
Internet
- The Hunter Clan of Ayrshire. Hunters in Ayrshire.
- Clan Hunter UK. UK Hunter clan website.
- The Hunter Family in Scotland. Hunters in Glasgow and Lanark.
- The Story of the Hunters. Hunters from Dumfriesshire.
- Hunter Links and Information. Hunters in Ireland.
- Hunter Family Records. Hunters in the UK and America.
- Clan Hunter Canada. Hunters in Canada.
Scotland. There was a Norman family of Hunters, so called because they were skilled in hunting, who came north to Ayrshire in the 12th century, apparently at the invitation of the Scottish king. These Hunters gave their name to the village of Hunter's Toune, now Hunterston, near the Firth of Clyde in north Ayrshire. For many years they served as royal huntsmen and soldiers for the king. A parchment signed by the Scottish king in 1374, confirming ownership of the Ardneil lands in Ayrshire to William Hunter the 10th Laird, still survives.
"The rent was a silver penny. To
this day the Laird of Hunterton keeps silver pennies from the reign of
Richard II, just in case the monarch should drop by looking for his
rent!"
The seat of these Hunters has been Hunterston. The castle there dates from the 13th century. Hunterston House was built close to the old castle walls in the early 1800's. Another Hunter line in Ayrshire, recorded in A.A. Hunter's 1905 book The Pedigree of Hunter of Abbotshill and Barjarg, began at Abbotshill in the 16th century.
Hunters have since spread across the Lowlands of Scotland and are now more numerous around Glasgow and Edinburgh. A Hunter line in Long Calderwood in Lanarkshire produced the famous 18th century Scottish surgeon John Hunter; while the Hunter family at Thurston in East Lothian is probably remembered now because of the tune Miss Sally Hunter of Thurston played by Scottish fiddlers.
Ireland. Many Hunters crossed the Irish Sea to Ulster as part of the Scottish plantations there in the 17th century; while some sought sanctuary there because of the religious conflict in Scotland. The Hunter name is mainly to be found in Derry and Antrim.
England. Most English Hunters were and are to be found in the north of England, not that far from the Scottish border. Another Norman huntsman, Gilbert Hunter, was recorded as holding land in Cheshire in the Domesday Book. However, his family later became Venables.
Hunters have lived at Medomsly in Durham since the 1580's when two Hunters, Thomas and John, purchased houses there. Medomsly Hall was the home of the noted 18th century physician and antiquarian Dr. Christopher Hunter and of the early 19th century general Martin Hunter.
There were many Hunter coalminers in Durham during the 19th century. They mainly appear in the records of unforeseen deaths. Three Hunters were killed in the Felling mine disaster of 1812. George Hunter, a pitman at Cowpen, was murdered in 1849 during a colliery dispute. And other Hunter fatalities were recorded in later mining accidents.
George Hunter formed the Swan Hunter shipbuilding group on Tyneside in 1879.
One Hunter family made their money trading out of London to the Levant in the 17th century. In the 1740's Henry Lannoy Hunter, the first of four of that name, returned from Aleppo and purchased the Beech Hill estate in Berkshire. The family was to remain there until 1949.
America. Hunters in America arrrived in approximate equal part from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Elijah Hunter was a spy during the Revolutionary War and afterwards one of the founders of Ossining, New York. Robert Hunter arrived in Manhattan from Ireland after the war was over and set up an auction house. His son John learnt the business, married well, and built Hunter's Mansion on Hunter island in Pelham Bay to house his fine arts collection. Much later the 19th century immigrant Thomas Hunter, also from Ireland, founded the institution now known as Hunter College.
Scots Irish Hunters started with three Hunter siblings - Alexander, John, and Jane - who arrived and settled in Delaware in the late 1730's. Alexander gained a reputation for wrestling among the native Indian population. Jane married the future North Carolina Governor Alexander Martin. David Hunter, who lived in York county Pennsylvania, mysteriously disappeared in the summer of 1776.
"His fate was not known until nearly a
century afterward, when, on the destruction of an old house in the
valley of Virginia by Union soldiers, a paper was discovered which
showed an order from the Governor of Virginia to bring the dead body of
the patriot David Hunter to the capitol at Williamsburg."
Nathaniel Hunter and his family had come to Virginia from Ireland in 1793 and later set out west for Ohio. Their family account at this time read as follows:
"Thus
in the year of 1810 we were about ready to start on our journey west. When
the time came the horses with their new
harness were hitched, five to each wagon, and everything was ready. Mother
mounted her pony, boys and girls ready to
drive the six cows. The
entire neighborhood was
there to see us off.
With
many sad partings, we pulled stakes and
moved out, a very memorable time to us and many of our good
neighbors. We started
for Ohio what seemed then to be the far west."
General Alexander Hunter, whose family had come originally from Scotland, was a friend of President Andrew Jackson. He acquired the Abingdon plantation in Virginia in 1835 and would often invite the President down for weekends. Meanwhile Henry Hunter, born in Virginia, headed south after the Revolutionary War to Pinckneyville, Mississippi where he took possession of a two thousand acre site under a Spanish land grant. He named his plantation Hunter Hall.
Another Scotsman, Dr. Johnson Hunter, left his home in North Carolina with his family in 1822 for what was then the Spanish territory of Tejas. He is among the "old 300 settlers of Texas." Eleven Hunters are buried in the Dr. Johnson Hunter cemetery in Fort Bend, Texas.
Australia and New Zealand. John Hunter, a Scottish naval officer, had come out to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788. He stayed and served as the second governor of the colony from 1795 to 1800. When the platypus was first discovered in Australia, it was John Hunter who sent back to England a drawing of the animal and a pelt. The Hunter river and valley in New South Wales were named after him.
In 1838 Alexander Hunter of Edinburgh formed a company to take up land in Australia and five of his sons were soon to move there. Here they were the tough pioneers of the Port Phillip district of Victoria who, every once in a while, would descend on Melbourne to let their hair down.
George Hunter was one of the early settlers of Wellington New Zealand, arriving there with his family from Scotland in 1840. He started a general store there, but died in 1843. His son and grandson, both named George, were later prominent in Wellington affairs.
Select Hunter Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Hunter Names
William Hunter was recorded as the owner of the Ardneil lands in Ayrshire in 1374.
Robert Hunter of Hunterston was the colonial governor of Virginia, New York and Jamaica in the early 1700's.
John Hunter, born in Lanarkshire, was one of the foremost surgeons of the 18th century. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honor.
JA Hunter, born in Scotland, was a famous hunter of the first half of the 20th century in British East Africa.
Select Hunters Today
- 65,000 in the UK (most numerous in Tyne and Wear)
- 45,000 in America (most numerous in California)
- 45,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Canada)
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.