British Royal Navy commander, James Cheape (1795-1841), was the first son of George Cheape and Lilias Guthrie of Wellfield, Scotland. The family was well connected and sent Cheape to be educated at the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth, England, where he trained to become a naval officer under the guidance of Admiral Philip Patton. He left the academy in 1811, and served as a midshipman on board the Caledonia, Warspite, Tigris, Express, and Belette . Cheape saw action in the Atlantic, during the Napoleonic Wars as part of the French blockade at Basque Roads; the War of 1812, mostly intercepting American merchant vessels; and in the Algerian conflict led by Sidney Smith. He was made Lieutenant in 1816 and commander 1827.
James Cheape married Jean Ogilvy Arbuthnott (1807-1900) in 1830. He died in 1841.
From the guide to the James Cheape letters, Cheape, James letters, 1808-1818, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
