 His father, Andrew Cheyne, was the eldest of two illegitimate children born to James Cheyne, who was the youngest brother of John Cheyne, the Laird of Tangwick (Northmavine, Shetland).His father grew up at the Tangwick Haa, and went to sea around the age of twelve, rising to command a brig in the Far East at the age of 22.His mother Eliza, the daughter of the Rev.