History of the Gray Family

Submitted by Fletcher Gray

Thomas Gray was born in North Carolina about 1808. Like most of his time, Thomas left North Carolina and settled in Lincoln County, Tennessee. In 1850 Census, Thomas was listed as a Teamster. Thomas met a lady by the name of Nancy, last name unknown. Thomas and Nancy had ten children. The last two children where twins, boy and a girl. It is unknown if Nancy left Tennessee with Thomas. Between 1849 and 1860 Nancy passed away leaving Thomas to raise a large family. Between 1855 and 1856 Thomas left Tennessee with his family. They arrived in Arkansas and settled in Giles Township Area in 1856.

John Wilson Gray, son of Thomas Gray was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, in or about 1838. Thomas arrived in Van Buren County Arkansas with his father in 1856 from Tennessee and settled in the Giles and Red River Township area. The nearest settlement was a place called Eglantine. John was a farmer and liked to horse trade like most people settling in Arkansas at time. John settled down and married Lucy C. Potter, the daughter of William Potter and Lucy Carpenter Potter. Land records in Van Buren County indicated that John purchased land from William Potter father of Lucy. Lucy and John had five children. The first of the five children was William Thomas, he was born in 1859 and died with in a year of his birth. Lucy and John went on and had John Wilson and Rufus, Moses and Lucy A Gray. Eight months later Lucy died of Whooping Cough. A year later, Lucy passed away leaving John with the three boys to raise.

In 1869, John met Harriett Row and they married and Harriett gave birth to Edine E. Gray. Edine was born in Eglantine in 1870. Soon after Edine was born, Harriett pass away leaving John with three boys and one small baby girl to raise. Between 1870 and 1872, he met Eliza Jane Hooten. John and Eliza were married in 1872 and they had two children together, Sallie and James Walker Gray. In 1877, John Wilson Gray passed away leaving Eliza with six children to raise. Times were hard enough as it was so, a short time later Eliza married Thomas James and they raised James Walker and Sallie. John's brother, Rufus L. Gray, with his wife Eliza Gray, settled in on the farm to raise John and Rufus, Moses. In 1877 John Wilson Gray's estate was probated and the land was divided between the children. In 1884 Rufus Gray and Elizabeth Gray moved to Bell County, Texas, near Holland. Rufus lived there until 1928, until his death.

Between 1892 to 1900, the descendents of Johns and Lucy left Arkansas seeking a new way of life. John Wilson Gray, Moses and Rufus Gray settled in the southeastern area of Indian Territory of Oklahoma a town called Bokchito, Oklahoma. They leased land from the Choctaw Indians and farmed the area from 1890 to 1920. By 1920, John Wilson Gray and Mollie moved to Paducah, Tex. There John had his own Cotton Gin and farmed in northwest part of Texas. Rufus and Moses moved to Coleman County, Texas, near a small settlement called Gouldbusk and took up the only trade they had was farming. By 1940, Rufus and Addie moved to Doole, Texas. Rufus's son, Owen Gray had a local blacksmith in Doole. Owen purchased an old post office and moved it behind the home place in Doole and Rufus and Addie lived there until their deaths in 1945.

Most of the Grays today are scattered across Texas and Oklahoma and some have moved on to Arizona, Alabama, Missouri and California seeking their fortunes.