John Gray1 
d. before 8 February 1795
John Gray|d. b 8 Feb 1795|p7367.htm|Robert Gray|b. s 1680\nd. 30 Jan 1771|p7924.htm||||||||||||||||
4th great-grandfather of Ruth Minerva Fairfield.
6th great-grandfather of Laura Jane Munson.
- Family Background:
- Fairfield and Allied Families
- Appears on charts:
- Pedigree for Ruth Minerva Fairfield
John Gray was of Biddeford.1 He was the son of Robert Gray.2,3 He and Jane Patten , daughter of Matthew Patten and Margaret (—?—) (Patten), were married 28 July 1743 at First Congregational Church, Biddeford, York County, Maine, by Moses Morrill.4,5,6 He died before 8 February 1795 in York County, Maine.7
John Gray was probably born in Northern Ireland, and as a young boy came to New England with his father, or perhaps both parents. (Without more information, it is impossible to say whether Jannet, his father's only known wife, was John's mother). In any event, the family was in Berwick, York County, Maine, by the fall of 1720, where, between then and 1730, five younger siblings were baptized.
John Gray is called " of Biddeford" in his 1743 marriage record, but in modern terms that could also mean Saco which was at that time part of Biddeford. However, we know from Folsom's history that "Mr. John Gray possessed a valuable estate in the vicinity of the Falls" on the western (Biddeford) side of the Saco River; also that he was one of the principle millmen. His house was near the mill brow, and "he built another for his son in law, Mr. David King, (a brother of the late Rich. King, Esq. of Scarboro') at the place called 'King's Corner,' a short distance above the upper meetinghouse." Folsom says elsewhere that David King moved from the Saco side to the Biddeford side soon after his marriage, so this was probably the reason.3
John Gray was probably born in Northern Ireland, and as a young boy came to New England with his father, or perhaps both parents. (Without more information, it is impossible to say whether Jannet, his father's only known wife, was John's mother). In any event, the family was in Berwick, York County, Maine, by the fall of 1720, where, between then and 1730, five younger siblings were baptized.
John Gray is called " of Biddeford" in his 1743 marriage record, but in modern terms that could also mean Saco which was at that time part of Biddeford. However, we know from Folsom's history that "Mr. John Gray possessed a valuable estate in the vicinity of the Falls" on the western (Biddeford) side of the Saco River; also that he was one of the principle millmen. His house was near the mill brow, and "he built another for his son in law, Mr. David King, (a brother of the late Rich. King, Esq. of Scarboro') at the place called 'King's Corner,' a short distance above the upper meetinghouse." Folsom says elsewhere that David King moved from the Saco side to the Biddeford side soon after his marriage, so this was probably the reason.3
Additional Data
John Gray sold land in Pepperellborough, York County, Maine, on 13 March 1777: "John Gray, of Biddeford, yeoman, to Elizabeth King wife of David King, of Biddeford, 150 acres in Pepperellborough."8
John Gray was mentioned in a deed on 8 February 1795 in Colebrook, Grafton County, New Hampshire,: Josiah King of Colbrook [Colebrook], Grafton Co. [now Coos], N.H., yeoman, to John Hays; mentions his [Josiah's] mother, Elizabeth King and her father John Gray, late of Biddeford, decd." John Hayes was Josiah's son-in-law.7
John Gray was mentioned in a deed on 8 February 1795 in Colebrook, Grafton County, New Hampshire,: Josiah King of Colbrook [Colebrook], Grafton Co. [now Coos], N.H., yeoman, to John Hays; mentions his [Josiah's] mother, Elizabeth King and her father John Gray, late of Biddeford, decd." John Hayes was Josiah's son-in-law.7
Child of John Gray and Jane Patten
- Elizabeth Gray+ 1 b. Aug 1745, d. 17 Mar 1777
Citations
- [S719] S.M. Watson, "David King, of Saco, and some of his Descendants", Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder 3:2 (1886): 118.
- [S746] G.T. Ridlon Sr., Saco Valley Settlements and Families (Portland, Maine: the author, 1895), 699.
- [S1072] George Folsom, History of Saco and Biddeford, with notices of other early settlements, and of proprietary governments, in Maine, including the provinces of New Somersetshire and Lygonia (Saco, Maine: A.C. Putnam, 1830; reprint Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1984).
- [S761] The New England Historical and Genealogical Register; (Online database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001), (Orig. Pub. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 148 vols., 1847-1994) 71:216, "Then were Married John Gray and Jane Patten both of Biddeford me Moses Morrill clerk"; intention was also published, but gives only the year.
- [S720] A.K.P. Meserve M.D., "Records of First Congregational Church in Biddeford", Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder 6:1 (1889): 293, "Mr. John Gray and Mrs. Jane Patten". "Where Mrs. is placed before a lady's name, it does not imply that she was a widow. When a gentleman was honored with a Mr., his lady was favored with the title of Mrs."
- [S726] Walter Goodwin Davis, "The Ancestry of James Patten," Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis (1885-1966): A Reprinting, in Alphabetical Order by Surname, of the Sixteen Multi-Ancestor Compendia (plus Thomas Haley of Winter Harbor and His Descendants) compiled by Maine's Foremost Genealogist, 1916-1963), (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1996), 3, 92.
- [S724] Antiquary, "King Deed Extracts", Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder 3:3 (1886): 214, citing Registry of Deeds, Alfred, Maine, Vol. 58, p. 41.
- [S724] Antiquary, "King Deeds" 3:3:214, citing Registry of Deeds, Alfred, Maine, Vol. 46, p. 16.
