Robert HUNTER

Notes:

                   Birth record extracted from the Register Book of Births, for the Eastern District of Old Monkland in the County of Lanark 23 Jul 1948       s/John Boag    Registrar       Rachael McAleese born 28, May 1883 at 1:45 a.m.

Elizabeth Jane Graham McAleese died at age thirty-eight of drowning in River Calder at Monkland, Scotland.  Rachel was nine years of age at the time.  William, her father took her to live with Elizabeth's sister Mary but Rachel cried for the three weeks she was there so her father brought her back to her brothers, James and Alexander for a short time before taking her to Ireland to the McMasters Farm where she worked for her keep.  Later on
Rachel met Jane McCurdy in Ireland at a Fair where it was common that employers and employees met to hire domestic and farm labor. Jane was deaf and used a slate to communicate.   Rachel worked for Jane and came to love her as a Mother.  Ref:  Elizabeth Hunter 2nd dau. of Rachel and Robert Hunter.

"Big Jim" McAleese, cousin to Rachel met her at her brother's, (Alexander or "Sanny"as family called him), home when notified of his death. At that time Jim was married and had two daughters one older than their cousin, Elizabeth Hunter. His words to Alexander's wife, Rose, was that in "Sanny's" state of mind it was best she had gone to work that day even though he had asked her to stay home.

Rachel, husband Robert, and daughter Catherine are all buried in the same grave at Shotkirk,Lanark,Scotland per grandaughter Margaret Lees Laing.