Above is the Ancestry records and timeline we gathered for Matthew Lee, 1837 – 1892. Why did we start to look at this person and family, well it was down to our genetic connection to Bill. One of his grandmothers was Catherine Walton, the wife of this Matthew Leigh. We also looked at other family lines and ancestors Bill has in his tree, but it drew us back to this family.
We were able to find records of birth and death for all of Matthew and Catherine’s children with the exception of their son Matthew born circa 1869, we were never able to find a record of Matthew’s death as Matthew.
Now for a coincidence, below is the 1901 Ancestry Scotland census document for Joseph Hunter, Jane, and Ian’s great grandfather. Note the estimated date of birth is 1868 and it states he was born in England.
The document states that Joseph Leigh Hunter is 29 years old and the document is dated 1898, indicating he was born in 1869. They recorded his father as Leigh Hunter – Coal Miner- deceased and his mother as Kate Hunter ( Walton )
So in summary, Joseph Leigh Hunter was born in England in 1869, they recorded his parents as Leigh Hunter and Catherine Walton.
We can find no records of birth when we search for Joseph Leigh Hunter born 1869 +/- 2 years at Ancestry. The first record that we can find for Joseph Leigh is his wedding document, so according to records, Joseph Leigh Hunter didn’t exist before 1898! Jane’s friend, a professional genealogist, confirmed this lack of records.
