Author: Keith, Charles
Biography:
KEITH, Charles (1749-1807: findmypast.co.uk)
Despite the popularity and frequent reprinting of “The Farmer’s Ha’,” little is known about its author. Older sources state that he was born at Montrose, the son of David Keith, in about 1755. The only public record that fits this description is for a Charles Keith who was baptised at Montrose on 1 Nov. 1749, the son of Captain David Keith and his wife Marjory Gardiner. Keith studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen (MA 1779). He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and in 1785 was reported to be settled at Morpeth, Northumberland, "warmly recommended by all the Professors of the University of Edinburgh as a gentleman of respectable character, and distinguished abilities in his profession." He died at Durham and was buried at St. Mary le Bow on 10 Apr. 1807. An eighteen-stanza version of “The Farmer’s Ha’” was first published in Ruddiman’s Weekly Magazine where other poems by Keith also appeared. (findmypast.co.uk 8 Dec. 2025; ancestry.co.uk 8 Dec. 2025; Caledonian Mercury 14 Feb. 1785; Angus Album [1834]; BAM) SR