Author: Nevay, John
Biography:
NEVAY, John (1792-1870: ODNB)
His name is also spelled Neave although it always appears as Nevay on his title pages. Born at Forfar, Angus, he was the son of a weaver, Andrew Neave, and his wife, Elizabeth (Halket). He was educated at Forfar schools and became a handloom weaver. In 1812 he married Jean Edward (1793-1863) and they had at least three children. He was a friend of Alexander Laing (q.v.) of Brechin and contributed “Mary of Avonbourne” to his Angus Album. As “John o’ ye Girnal”, Nevay also makes an appearance in John Wilson’s “Noctes Ambrosianae” in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (1835). He claimed that some of his verse had been translated into French by the Chevalier de Chatelain. Later publications include Rosaline’s Dream (1853) and Fountain of the Rock (1855). He died at Forfar, and both he and his wife were buried in Newmonthill cemetery, Forfar. (ODNB 23 Apr. 2020; ancestry.co.uk 23 Apr. 2020)