William Gray
The Gray family tartan Ancestry.com (WilliamWilson6705/datchison1956) |
| Born: | 1755, Perth, Scotland |
| Died: | August 14, 1834, Madison County, Alabama |
| Buried: | Gray Cemetery, Madison County, Alabama |
| Father of: | David Gray |
| Husband of: | Eleanor Wardrobe Blackburn Gray |
| Grandfather of: | Pleasant Gray |
| Father of: | Thomas Gray |
Notes:
• Sometimes spelled "Grey". There is documented evidence he was in the Madison County area early in our history (1810). - Record II
• Son of John Gray (1716 - 1782) and Margaret Blair (1720 - 1790). - Ancestry.com 1
• Marriage to Eleanor Wordrobe, 1780, Blount, Tennessee. - Ancestry.com 2
• "The first term of the Superior Court (Madison County) was held on October 1, 1810 in the Madison County Courthouse, under construction, but sufficiently completed for use. The first case before the new court was that of Jonathan Wall. The first jury panel drawn" included William Gray. This is proof of his presence in Madison County as early as 1810. - Record I
• A "Revolutionary War soldier, William Gray, took land adjacent to Batt's holdings (located near the Botanical Gardens site today). William Gray's wife was Eleanor Wardrobe Blackburn, a widow and sister of Lord Wardrobe of Scotland. Gray also served on the first jury selected in Madison County, and a grandson founded Huntsville, Texas, which he named after his hometown in Madison County." - HMCHS
• William and Eleanor Gray came to Madison County in their old age with several adult children, probably while the land was still Indian territory. - Memories of Madison
• His wife, Eleanor, died in 1822, her sixty-fifth year. - Memories of Madison
• "William Gray was born in Perth, Scotland, near Edinburgh, where he married Eleanor Wardrobe, sister of Lord Wardrobe. One can only imagine the criticisms that William may have gotten at home for bringing his bride from the civilization of Scotland to the primitive Indian lands of America." - Memories of Madison
• William Gray #118 bought Section 30, Township 3, Range 1W, and Section 7, Township 4, Range 1W. - Heritage
• "In the Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers and Patriots in Alabama, by Louise Milam Julich, DAR, William Gray is shown as 1755-1834, born in Perth, Scotland, near Edinburgh. His service was as a Private and Ensign in Virginia. He was with General Morgan in regular service, and his obituary was published in the Southern Advocate, 8-26-1834. He lived in Blount County, TN in 1796 and moved from there to Madison County, AL in the early 1800's. William first married Eleanor (Wardrobe) Blackburn in 1780. She was a widow and sister to Lord Wardrobe of Scotland. William Gray's second marriage was to Lucy (Phillips) Neal, a widow, who died 3-18-1831." - Heritage
• Children by his first wife Eleanor Wardrobe (1) David born 1786 (2) James, born 1788, married Jane Milligan, died 1850; (3) John Wardlow born 1790, married Sallie House and moved to Arkansas, died 1871; (4) Margaret Peggy, born 1792, married Andrew Maxwell and moved to DeSoto County, Mississippi, died 1862; (5) William, Jr., born 1796, married Mary Jane Byrd, died 1859; (6 ) Thomas, born 1800, married Margaret Johnson; (7) Joseph H. born 1804, died in 1834; (8) and Eleanor (Ellen), born 1808, married William G. Pride (Wilsey Pride), died 1837. By his second wife Lucy Phillips Neal had child (9), Eliza William, born 1825, married John Beverly Bridgforth." - Heritage & Ancestry
• Gray Cemetery off Balch Road NW of Madison, Alabama. - Patriot Database
• Obituary from Huntsville Southern Advocate, Aug. 26, 1834
"GRAY, WILLIAM-Died at his residence in this County on the 13th inst., William Gray, Sr., in the 79th year of his age. He was born in Perth, near Edinburg, in Scotland, and in early life emigrated to the United States. When the struggle for human liberty commenced, he rallied beneath the standard of his adopted country, and served as a Private and Ensign in the regular service, under Gen. [Daniel] Morgan. Upon the return of peace, he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits; and in that quiet and favored mode of existence discharged, through a long life, all of the social duties of a man and citizen. He was an affectionate husband, a fond parent, and an indulgent master, and was universally beloved, not only in the family circle, but through the extended circle of his acquaintance. He was a professor of the religion of Jesus Christ for 58 years, and in his retired sphere inculcated the sacred principles he practiced. Having disposed of his property and settled all his earthly concerns, he was frequently heard to observe that nothing remained to him but to die; and this last act of his life he performed with the calm and joyous serenity which the Christian alone can display-having full assurance, as he himself said, that in the approaching conflict with the King of Terrors, he should come off more than conqueror, through Him that loved him and gave himself for him. He sunk to death calmly as to a night's repose; and if human conduct furnish any guide to future destiny, he has secured an interest in the first resurrection.
In that blest region to the just assign'd,
What new enjoyments please the unbodied mind,
As wing'd with virtue thro' the etherial sky,
From world to world unwearied it doth fly.
Does it delight to hear bold seraphs tell,
How Michael battled and the dragon fell,
Or curious trace the long elaborate maze
Of Heaven's decrees where wandering angels gaze;
Or mix'd with milder cherubims,
And gentle like the dove,
At Jesus' feet he sits to glow
In hymns of love."
- Find A Grave
• There are four or five thick folders on the Gray family in the "Family Files" of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library's Heritage Room. - Editor's Note
Related Links:
• 2GenNuts - Gray Historic Cemetery Blog by 2GenNuts
• Ancestry.com 1 - Page owned by davehurst67 and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/40777118/person/19665636978.)
• Ancestry.com 2 - Page owned by datchison1956 and can be viewed only through an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/22731316/person/1434176159.)
• Find A Grave - Paged created by Jason Preseley and photo of the obituary by td.
• Heritage - The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, pages 48, 215.
• HMCHS - A History of Early Settlement: Madison County Before Statehood, 1808-1819, Published by The Huntsville,-Madison County Historical Society, 2008, page 32.
• Melendez - GenForum Post by Cleo Gray Melendez. Originally found at http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/pageload.cgi?william,e,gray::al/madison::428.html, but no longer accessible.
• Memories of Madison - Memories of Madison: A Connected Community, 1857-2007, by John Patrick Rankin, 2007, pages 19.
• Patriot Database - Tennessee Valley Chapter Alabama Society of Sons of the American Revolution/List of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Patriots Buried in Madison County, Alabama.
• Record I - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentially of Alabama and the United States, Volume I, by James Record, 1970, page 38.
• Record II - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentially of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 524.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• David Gray
• Eleanor Wardrobe Blackburn Gray
• HMCHS
• Memories of Madison
• Patriot Database
• Pleasant Gray
• Record I
• Record II
• Thomas Gray