Sir Henry Raeburn - Robert Hodshon Cay - Google Art Project

Robert Hodshon Cay FSSA LLD (7 July 1758 – 31 March 1810) was Judge Admiral of Scotland overseeing naval trials. He was husband of the artist Elizabeth Liddell, father of John Cay

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

and maternal grandfather of

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...

Life

Cay was born on 7 July 1758 at Charlton Hall in North Charlton in Northumberland, the son of Frances Hodshon of Lintz (1730-1804) and John Cay DL JP. In 1776 he is recorded as winning a gold medal for horsemanship at the Edinburgh Riding School. He studied law at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

graduating in 1778, and was admitted to the Scottish Bar in 1780. By 1800 he had risen to be the principal judge in the High Court of the Admiralty in Scotland (usually termed Judge Admiral). In 1788 he was also created a Commissary of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 1793 he moved to 1 George Street, occupying the upper two levels of a large Georgian tenement on the corner of St Andrew Square in Edinburgh's New Town. The house is now demolished. He was a Trustee of Charlotte Chapel on Rose Street and can be presumed to have worshipped there. He is known to have been a friend of Rev Daniel Sandford who oversaw worship at the chapel. He was a member of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries. The

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1803. In this year he moved to 11 Heriot Row, which was then a new house). He died at home, 11 Heriot Row in

on 31 March 1810. He is buried in

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

Churchyard in eastern Edinburgh. The grave lies just north of the church, with his father. His principal estate remainder Charlton Hall in Northumberland which he had inherited from his father.

Artistic recognition

Cay was painted by Sir Henry Raeburn. This portrait is now with the Museum of Fine Arts in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. A copy of this by Isabella Cay (1850-1934) (his granddaughter) hangs in the

James Clerk Maxwell Foundation The James Clerk Maxwell Foundation is a Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, registered Scottish charity set up in 1977. By supporting physics and mathematics, it honors one of the greatest physicists, James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), an ...

museum.

Family

On 26 September 1789 he married amateur pastellist Elizabeth Liddell, daughter of John Liddell of

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

. Their children were: * John Cay * Frances Hodshon Cay (mother of

) *Jane Cay *Robert Dundas Cay (

's lawyer) *Albert Cay *Robert (died young) *Elizabeth (died young) *George (died at 6 weeks) buried in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cay, Robert Hodshon 1758 births 1810 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Scottish judges Lawyers from Edinburgh People from Northumberland