Thomas Gray

[Nightmare]

Hi Lavina,

Yes, I'm sure there are several relationships to my family of Grays &, I would from what I know already of these families, there will be many more as the family history is unravelled further.

From my data base the following:

William Gray b. Circa 1839 Stoke, Ferry, married Sylvester (Thorp) Gray b. 1851 Burwell, Cambridge.
William was the son of Robert Gray & Sarah Harris. 
Robert Gray was one of the sons of my ancestor Robert Gray b. 1775 Cambridgeshire &  his wife, Mary Leighton b. 1777 in Isleham, Cambridge.
I am a descendent of another son Robert & Mary named William Gray b. 1812, Dunnagon, Cambridgeshire & his wife Ann King b. 1815, West Row, Suffolk.

It seems that some of my Gray family relocated yo Mildenhall, Suffolk somewhere between 1815 & 1830 or there abouts.

I haven't any parents Williams wife Sylvester Thorpe/Gray as yet or for the parents of William Grays mother Sarah Harris. Interestingly though I have a daughter named Beatrice Gray born 1869, location unknown to William & Sylvester Gray.

In my data I have a Mark Wilson & Eliza Thorpe who had a son named Hiram Wilson. Is this your Mark Wilson & Eliza Thorpe ?From my data Hiram Wilson married Euphemia Harris who was the daughter of John Harris & Abigail Gray. I don't have any dates or other information regarding these people as yet.

I'm very curious & interested to hear your reply.

Regards
Nightmare

[Nightmare]

Hi Lavina,

I also forgot to ask is your Eliza Thorpe descended from James Thorpe & Elizabeth Buttress\Buttriss by chance ?

If so she (& yourself) would also be related yet again to the same Gray family by being a descendent of Founness\Foundness\Fowk Gray through his daughter also named Silva\Sylvester Gray b. Circa 1793.

This Sylvester married Stephen (James ?) Thorpe father of James Thorpe who married Elizabeth Buttress\Buttriss.

At one stage I did believe Founness\Foundness etc.. Gray to be a brother of my ancestor Robert Gray b. 1775 Cambridge. But if this Founnes etc.. Gray died in 1828 aged 91 years of age as some researchers have him, this would mean he was being born around 1737 around 40 years before my Robert being born in 1775.  It seems a pretty long stretch to me. On that information he is more likely to be in the preceeding generation to Robert Gray 1775 & his siblings.

I'm not pretending to be a Gray genealogy expert at all & I have so much to find, clarify & learn about my relatives but, I feel there is a lot incorrect stuff out there at present owing to the confusion of people with the same names such as the various Sylvester Grays\Thorpe, Foundness\Founess Grays, James (Stephen) Thorpes\Gray etc...  & that doesn't exempt my research & the conclusions I have come to in my data. It's a genealogy minefield but, I am enjoying the challenge.

Regards
Nightmare

[Nightmare]

Hi Lavina,

Thanks for the PM.

I forgot to mention also that I have in my data a Mark Wilson who married Sarah King, 19 December 1802 in Lowerstoft, Suffolk. Could this be a coincidence or is this Mark Wilson the possible grandfather of your Mark Wilson who married Eliza Thorpe in Midlenhall, Suffolk ?

Again someone from the King family is involved as well but, they are all proving elusive to link together so far.

Regards
Nightmare

[lavina]

HI Nightmare,

My Mark Wilson's father was William, Horse Dealer. That is all I have on him.

That was the easy one, I'm still thinking about the rest.

Regards

Lavina

[lavina]

Hi Nightmare,

Yes, Eliza Thorpe descended from James Thorpe & Elizabeth Buttress. I found the baptism of Eliza 14 January 1849 at Foxton, Cambridgeshire with her sister Lucy, aka Holland.

Hiram Wilson, Mark & Eliza's son is buried at Hopton, Suffolk,in the same cemetary as three generations of my Taylor family.
Euphemia, Fammy as she was known, is buried at West Row, near Mildenhall.

We always new there was a connection the the Gray, but didn't know which line to start with.

I'll be back after I've looked through some more notes.

Regards

Lavina

[Cuxwold]

Hi Nightmare,
My 2 x grt grandfather was James Thorpe bn c 1818.
My grt grandfather was Edmund bn c 1831, James's eldest son.
Some info on data I have re Mark & Eliza Wilson,
Ihave them having 11 children.
Hiram and Euphemia Wilson , I have them with 4 children
Kathleen bn 1910,
Rodney bn 1912,
 Mark bn 1914,
Lazurus bn 1917.
Hiram also had a brother called Lazurus bn 1887.
Euphemia had a brother called Rodney bn 1891

[Nightmare]

Hi Lavina & Cuxwold,

Thanks for the additional information.

James Thorpe being the grandson of Founness/Fowk/Fawk etc..  Gray. This Founness Gray could be our common ancestor ? I'm sure all three of us are related through the Gray family but exactly how ? I can't answer as yet.

I have him in the same generation of who I have yet to establish the parents for the following. (These may or may not be his siblings or at least his cousins)

Thomas Grayb. c. 1740 married Elizabeth ? who was the father of 
Thomas Gray b. 1764 who married Susannah Faben.
Codilla Gray b. 1774
Ossory Gray b. 1777
there were other children

Codilla Gray b. Circa 1740 mother of
Charles Gray who married Aquila Smith

John Gray circa 1750 who married Mary ? & was the grandfather of
Charles Gray b. Circa 1811 who married Lydia Elliot

There are other Grays I have in this generation but the above have well known descendents.

The next generation after Founess would then contain the following Grays who have known descendents but I have yet to find the parents for,

Sophia Gray b. 1764 who married James Sly
Robert Gray b. 1775 who Married Mary Leighton
 William Gray b. 1776 who married Henrietta (Retty) Smith

Of course the youngest from one generation could well be confused with the eldest of the following generation, they then may not be uncle & nephew. I'm sure all of the above Grays are closely related but ....... finding out how is the challenge.

 Then there are the other Gray strays such as Euphemia Harris's mother Abigail Gray who married John Harris. I have only a reference to her mother being Sophia Gray & possibly being born in Bedford ? Her parents unknown.

The list goes on but then there are the just as numerous Harris strays as yet I am unable to find parents for who have further connections to the Gray family & so on.

It's a tangled web & not helped by our ancestors ...... scant flippancy with names & other details when it suited them.

[Nightmare]

Hi Again Lavina & Cuxwold,

In regard to your Abigail Gray who married John Harris.

I have in my data the following which may be of interest to you.

John Gray married Mary Owens on the 12 November 1801, Meppershall, Bedford.
They had a daughter Sophia Gray, christened 21 November 1802 in Meppershall, Bedford. Could this Sophia be the mother of your Abigail ? The dates fit but..... that's all I have to go on so far.

Likewise, could this John Gray & Mary Owens also be the parents of Charles Gray who married Charlotte ? who then in turn had a son also named Charles Gray who married Mary Elliot ? The time frame fits nicely to all of this but I'm only speculating here.

Euphemia's Brother Rodney being born in 1891, that would make him quite a bit younger than his eldest sibling &, his mother would be some age when she gave birth to Rodney ? Perhaps my dates are wrong or have some entered in the wrong generations ?

[Cuxwold]

Hi , re Rodney Harris ,
I have him bn 1891, and this would make Adigail Harris ( nee Gray ) 43, as I have Abigail bn 1848.
I have Rodney marrying Rhoda Bird in 1916

Cuxwold