John Hunter-Duvar
John Hunter-Duvar was a Scottish-born journalist and poet, born in 1821, who eventually became an influential figure in Canada's Maritime Provinces, particularly Prince Edward Island. After receiving an education at Edinburgh University and possibly other esteemed institutions, he migrated to Canada in the late 1840s, where he began his career in journalism with the New York Associated Press. In 1848, he married Anne Carter, whose intriguing background included rumored ties to Queen Victoria, and together they faced personal tragedies, including the loss of two of their four children.
In 1861, to differentiate himself from another John Hunter, he added "Duvar" to his name through an act of parliament. Hunter-Duvar became a prominent member of the local community, serving as a justice of the peace and later as the Dominion Inspector of Fisheries for Prince Edward Island. His estate, Hernewood, not only functioned as a retreat but also inspired much of his writing, including allegorical works that explored themes of transition and Victorian morality. Notable publications include *The Emigration of the Fairies* and *Annals of the Court of Oberon*, both of which reflect the blend of personal and fantastical elements in his literary style. He passed away in 1899 at his estate, leaving behind a legacy intertwined with both journalism and poetry.
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John Hunter-Duvar
Writer
- Born: August 29, 1821
- Birthplace: Newburgh, Scotland
- Died: January 25, 1899
- Place of death: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Biography
Born in Scotland in 1821, John Hunter became a journalist and began visits to in the Maritime Provinces in Canada around 1849. Canada became his adopted country. Hunter was educated at Edinburgh University, and may have also studied at University of Aberdeen and the Sorbonne. In 1848, Hunter married Anne Carter, rumored to have been an illegitimate cousin of Queen Victoria, although definitive documentary evidence failed to surface. In addition to the intrigue that surrounded his wife’s identity, mystery and tragedy clouded the four Hunter children. Two did not survive childhood, and a third disappeared in New York in 1884.
Around 1849, Hunter started writing for the New York Associated Press. Starting with trips to Halifax in 1849, Hunter spent the next eight years exploring Prince Edward Island. Hunter-Duvar reported on the Crimean War for the New York Associated Press, after which, in 1857, his wife and children departed England for Canada. Hunter-Duvar had “Duvar” appended to his name by an act of parliament in 1861, to distinguish himself from someone also named John Hunter.
By 1860, Hunter-Duvar had accumulated seven hundred acres that he turned into Hernewood Estate, where he farmed, ran a sawmill, and led the life of a country squire. Fully assimilated as a Prince Edward Islander, Hunter-Duvar was a member of the Volunteer Force. In 1868, Hunter-Duvar became a justice of the peace. He spent 1875 through 1879 as editor of the Summerside Progress, but left the paper when he became Dominion Inspector of Fisheries for Prince Edward Island, an important post Hunter-Duvar served in for ten years.
Hernewood served not only as a retreat and estate for Hunter-Duvar. The place served as the setting for an allegorical fairy world in Hunter-Duvar’s poetry. The Emigration of the Fairies, which appeared with De Roberval: A Drama in 1888, was an allegorical account of Anne and John Hunter-Duvar’s transition from England to Canada. Likewise, Hernewood’s significance in Hunter-Duvar’s writing was evidenced in Annals of the Court of Oberon, published in 1895, in which the author deconstructed the fantastical world of fairies on the estate, and used the writing as a vehicle for a lampoon of Victorian morality.
Constancy—like The Emigration of the Fairies published with De Roberval: A Drama in 1888—was a somewhat bawdy romance about a knight, Sir Pallinor, who became attracted to the guises of his wife, a magician. After being tempted by her various incarnations, the unfaithful Sir Pallinor returned to the comfort of his marriage. Hunter-Duvar died at Hernewood in 1899.