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Nathaniel Gow (28 May 1763 – 19 January 1831) was a Scottish musician who was the fourth son of Niel Gow, and a celebrated performer, composer and arranger of tunes, songs and other pieces on his own right. He wrote about 200 compositions including the popular "Caller Herrin'".

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Nathanial Gow
Born	(1763-05-28)28 May 1763 Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland
Died	19 January 1831(1831-01-19) (aged 67) Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation(s)	Musician composer co-founder of a music-selling and publishing house
Instrument(s)	Violin, fiddle, cello

Early life

Nathaniel was born to Niel Gow and Margaret Wiseman, at Inver, near Dunkeld, Perthshire, on 28 May 1763; with brothers William, John, and Andrew also showing early musical talent.[1] He was taught the fiddle at first by his father, but was soon sent to Edinburgh where he was taught successively by Robert "Red Rob" Mackintosh, the fiddler Alexander McGlashan, and his elder brother William Gow. He also learnt the cello under Joseph Reinagle. In 1782 he was appointed as one of His Majesty's herald trumpeters for Scotland.[1]

Career

In 1796, Gow started a music-selling and publishing business with William Shepherd at 41 North Bridge, Edinburgh, which continued until Shepherd's death in 1813. Gow became prominent as the leader of many bands, and was important at many assemblies such as the Caledonian Hunt Balls. His patron was the Duke of Atholl.[2]

Between 1799 and 1824, he published a significant number of collections of tunes, including some by Scottish composer Magdalene Stirling.[3]

Gow played for King George IV at the Royal Caledonian Hunt ball during his visit to Scotland in 1822.

Later life

He married twice, and had five daughters and one son by his first wife, Janet Fraser.[1] One of his daughters, Margaret, in 1810 went onto marry Adam Armstrong, a European pioneer to the Colony of Western Australia.

By his second wife, Mary Hog, whom he married in 1814, he had three sons and two daughters. Only one of his daughters, Augusta Gow, seems to have followed in the family profession, and became a teacher of music in Edinburgh.[1] Augusta Gow was appointed as a wet nurse to the infant princess Royal Victoria in late 1840. In July 1852 she arrived in Hobart Tasmania with her husband Frederick Alexander Packer and their son Frederick Augustus Packer. Another of their sons Arthur Packer married Margaret Clyde and had a son RC Packer, who was the founder of Australia's Packer Media Dynasty.

Gow died in Edinburgh on 19 January 1831, aged 67,[4] and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.[1]

See also

• Scottish Baroque music
• Joseph Reinagle

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831) at RegencyDances.org

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