Martin Gay (December 29, 1726 – February 3, 1809) was a metal smith and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

. He represented Cumberland Township in the

Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scoti ...

from 1783 to 1785. He was born in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location o ...

, the son of the Reverend Ebenezer Gay and Jerusha Bradford. Gay was married twice: first to Mary Pinckey in 1750 and then to Ruth Atkins in 1765. Gay went to

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

in 1776 when the loyalists left

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. He served as a justice in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

. He was elected to the assembly in a 1783 by-election held after Hezekiah King's seat was declared vacant for non-attendance. Gay travelled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1788 and then returned to Boston in 1792. He died there at the age of 82. His letters were published in 1898. His brother

Jotham Jotham or Yotam (; el, Ιωαθαμ, Ioatham; la, Joatham) was the eleventh king of Judah, and son of King Uzziah and Jerusha (or Jerushah), daughter of Zadok. Jotham was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned for 16 years. Edw ...

also served in the assembly. His son

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

served in the New Brunswick assembly.

References

1728 births 1809 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs {{NovaScotia-MLA-stub