 The crude estimate here of c. 1725 for his birth date is based on his apparent age in the portrait, made after his appointment as Piper to the Countess in 1756.However, he may be the Joseph Turnbull who married Elizabeth Charlton, at St. Nicholas' Church, on 4 May 1749; IGI estimates his birth year at about 1724, which is consistent with the apparent age of the piper .In October 1760, he started to work as an innkeeper, running The Angel Inn, a large coaching inn in the centre of Alnwick.