Hunter brothers in "King's Own"

[aghadowey]

Not sure if anyone can help find any information with so little detail to start with but here goes!

David Hunter, born c1720 in Aghadowey Parish, County Londonderry, Ireland. Went to Nova Scotia with his family and died there in 1810. At least one brother John Hunter (born c1736) stayed in Ireland. I don't know their father's Christian name but there are lots of males called James, William, George, Samuel and Joseph in the next few generations.

From family notes in Canada- “… [David] could boast of two brothers being in the “King’s Own”, where the qualifications were: six feet in height and perfect in every physical respect.”

Even if I can't find two tall Hunter brothers born in Aghadowey Parish it would be nice to understand  which Regiment they might have belong to. I did try searching 'King's Own' in Google but am not much the wiser.

[alan o]

The Kings Own Regiment  was probably this one: https://www.britisharmedforces.org/i_regiments/kingKLan_index.htm

It was later linked to Lancaster but at your time period recruitment was not always so geographically linked especially fro Irish men who made up the ranks in many 'English' regiments.

However other regiments such as the 3rd Kings Own Hussars did exist.

[Andy J2022]

I think alan o is right. It was most likely to have been the 4th King's Own Royal (Lancaster) Regiment, although there is nothing in their history I have been able to find to support the idea that they only recruited men over six ft in height. The 3rd King's Own Hussars (ironically at that time they were Dragoons) also gained their Royal patronage on the accession of George I in 1714, but I think it is unlikely that they would have been referred to just as the 'King's Own'.

The only other Regiments with 'King's Own' in their title can be discounted. They are the KIng's Own Scottish Borderers but they didn't get the 'King's Own' style until 1805, the KIng's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (only King's Own after 1821) and the King's Own Royal Border Regiment - not formed until 1959 from, in part, the KIng's Own Royal Regiment and the former Border Regiment.

[aghadowey]

Thank you both so much for the information and making it much clearer than what I could find on my own.
The Hunters were big, tall men and perhaps this bit about soldiers being 6' tall was embellished a bit over the years (can't remember exactly when that snippet was written).