Martin Gay (December 29, 1726 – February 3, 1809) was a metal smith and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Cumberland Township in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1783 to 1785.[1]

He was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, 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 in 1776 when the loyalists left Boston. He served as a justice in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland County. 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 in 1788 and then returned to Boston in 1792. He died there at the age of 82. His letters were published in 1898.[2]

His brother Jotham also served in the assembly. His son Samuel served in the New Brunswick assembly.

References

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  1. ^ Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1984). Elliott, Shirley B (ed.). The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1983: A biographical directory. Province of Nova Scotia. ISBN 0-88871-050-X.
  2. ^ Wheelwright, Edward (1898). Martin Gay: Letters Written by An American Loyalist and His Wife 1775-1788. Cambridge MA: John Wilson & Son (reprinted from The Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts Vol. III). p. 28.