Author: Gray, Charles
Biography:
GRAY, Charles (1782-1851: ODNB)
Captain in the Royal Marines and songwriter. He was born on 10 Mar. 1782 (baptised 17 Mar.) at Anstruther Wester, Fife, to Charles Gray and Margaret (Raker) Gray. In 1805, with the influence of his uncle Major-General Bush, he earned a commission in the Woolwich division of the Royal Marines where he served until his 1841 retirement to Edinburgh, on a captain’s pay. He was a great admirer of Burns whose style he imitated and, in 1813, he helped form the “Musomanik Society” in Anstruther with the goal of promoting and enjoying Scottish songs. He married Jessy Carstairs in Mar. 1817; they had at least one child, a son Thomas Carstairs Gray. Charles Gray was noted for his great knowledge of Scottish poetry and his singing; a number of his own compositions became very popular. He died at Edinburgh on 13 Apr. 1851 and was buried in the Dean cemetery. (MSM 206-07; ODNB 8 Feb. 2019; ancestry.co.uk 11 Aug. 2025) SR