Peter Hay Hunter (1854–1909) was a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

and a prolific author.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 10 September 1854 the son of Ann Hay and her husband James Hunter, a paper merchant. Hunter had a comprehensive university education including

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

in Germany and the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

in Paris, France. He graduated with an MA from the University of Edinburgh in 1877. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1881.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott His first role was as assistant at

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

Parish Church. He was ordained as minister of

Elie Elie may refer to: People * Elie (given name) * Elie (surname) Places *Elie, Fife, a village in Scotland, now part of the town of Elie and Earlsferry *Elie, Manitoba, Canada **Elie, Manitoba tornado See also *Elie Hall, Grenada *Elie House, cou ...

Parish Church on the

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

coast in April 1883, translating to

Yester Parish Church Yester Parish Church is a church of the Church of Scotland in the village of Gifford, East Lothian, Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland. The village forms part of Yester, Bolton and Saltoun parish, and is a linked charge with Humbie Parish Church. ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

in August 1886. This was almost certainly with the patronage of the

Marquess of Tweeddale Marquess of Tweeddale (sometimes spelled ''Tweedale'') is a title of the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1694 for the 2nd Earl of Tweeddale. Lord Tweeddale holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Tweeddale (created 1646), Earl of Gifford (1694), ...

for whom he acted in the official capacity as Chaplain to the Lord High Commissioner for the periods 1890 to 1892 and 1896 to 1897. In February 1896 he moved to the prestigious St Andrews Church in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original Neoclassicism, neo-classical and Georgian architecture, Georgian period architecture. Its ...

. He was then living at 13

Regent Terrace Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the upper south side of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed ...

Calton Hill Calton Hill (; ) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and f ...

in east Edinburgh.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1897 The University of Edinburgh gave him an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

(DD) in 1902. He lived his final years at 35 Great King Street in a large Georgian house in Edinburgh's New Town. Hunter died in Edinburgh on 26 December 1909. His position at St Andrews Church was filled by Rev George Christie.

Family

In September 1886 he married Helen Dawson, daughter of James Dawson of

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

Publications

Hunter wrote a mix of religious subject matter and crime novels. Several of his books remain in print. As an author of crime he usually wrote as P. Hay Hunter. *The Story of Daniel (1883) *My Ducats and my Daughter (1884) *The Crime of Christmas Day (1885) *After the Exile: 100 Years of Jewish History and Literature (1889) *Sons of the Croft (1893) *James Inwick: Ploughman and Elder (1894) *The Silver Bullet (1894) *John Armiger's Revenge (1897) *Bible and Sword (1904) Hunter had two periods of writing serials for "Life and Work": Gruppy Davy in 1895 and The

Tacksman A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for th ...

of Uavaig in 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Peter Hay 1854 births 1909 deaths Writers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish crime fiction writers Clergy from Edinburgh 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Leipzig University alumni