Author: Gay, James
Biography:
Gay, James (1744-1819: ancestry.com)
Born in Ulster in Ireland, self-educated, he was apprenticed to a carpenter at the age of 16 and worked at that trade when his family moved to Scotland. In 1765 he emigrated to Pennsylvania and in 1768 married Margaret Mitchell, with whom he had four children. In 1771 they settled in what became Iredell County NC and began gradually extending their land holdings. He fought on the American side in the Revolution, rising to the rank of Sergeant. He wrote his first poem at the age of 61 in 1805--the first of the annual contributions to the celebrations for Independence Day that are included in his subscription collection of poems. He died in Cleveland NC and is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery there. (ancestry.com 10 Sept. 2019; Richard Walser, "Gay, James," Dictionary of North Carolina Biography [1996])