Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Isabella Gunton was born about 1847 in Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland – the daughter of William Gunton, a woollen frame work knitter, and Mary Ann Dennis.
She married Robert Hay, a mason, on 23 October 1871 in Hawick and they had a son in Durham, England in 1873.
In 1874 the family emigrated to Otago on the Janet Court – their son Robert died on the voyage and was buried at sea.
They settled in Mosgiel, near Dunedin, where Robert worked as a factory hand and they had a further three children.
Robert died at their home in 1906 and Isabella died at her daughter’s home on 20 January 1931 – they are buried together in the East Taieri Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk