George H. Hunter was born in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the 16th February 1879, the second son of William and Christina Hunter (née Carnegie). His father was a joiner and he was a cabinet maker.
On the 23rd January 1906, he arrived in New York City, having sailed from Glasgow on the
Caledonia. From there, he made his way to Atlanta, Georgia, where he found work as a cabinet maker with the Colcord Lumber Company in the city. He resided at 319. East Georgia Avenue, in the city.
He was engaged to Margaret “Maggie” MacGregor, who was also from Aberdeenshire, and as soon as he had settled in Atlanta, he sent for her to join him. As soon as she arrived, the couple immediately got married, the ceremony taking place on the 2nd October 1906
Family lore states that in early 1915, Maggie Hunter discovered she was suffering from a terminal illness, and she wanted to return home to live out her final days. As a result the couple booked second cabin passage from New York City to Glasgow on the Anchor Liner S.S. Cameronia. The couple left Atlanta and travelled by rail to New York City where they discovered that, the British Admiralty had requisitioned the
Cameronia for war service as a troop ship, and transferred her passengers, some crew and cargo to the
Lusitania. Thus, George and Maggie Hunter joined the Lusitania as second cabin passengers on the morning of 1st May 1915 at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York. The
Lusitania then left port just after mid-day and six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine
U-20 off the southern coast of Ireland and only hours away from her Liverpool home.
Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May both he and his wife were killed after the
Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that time, she was within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from her destination.
As neither of the Hunters’ bodies were recovered from the sea and identified, neither has a known grave. George Hunter was aged 36 years.
Georgia Marriage Records from Select Counties 1828 – 1978, 1881 Census of Scotland, 1891 Census of Scotland, 1901 Census of Scotland, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Aberdeen Press and Journal, The Atlanta Constitution, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Lawrence Evans, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.