I have been researching the Bray family for more than 30 years, for those interested I am posting Edmund Bray junior's information I have found.
Edmund Bray was born in Cambourne Cornwall on the 29th November 1834, nothing is known of his early life other than he was a copper miner, until at the age of 19 the family decided he should emigrate to Australia. It appears it was to see if it would be in the best interests of his family to follow at a later date. In early 1854 the young Edmund applied and was accepted to emigrate to N.S.W. Australia along with other young single men between the ages of 18 and 35. He embarked on the "Lady Elgin" and arrived in Sydney on the 4th August 1854, he had paid one pound for his passage out and was assisted by James Bowe of Sydney. In the Sydney Morning Herald thursday August 10 1854 it shows James Bowe paid for his brother John Bowe to emigrate to Sydney N.S.W. Australia but there is no mention of Edmund Bray so we can only assume Edmund was a friend of John Bowe and this is the reason he was assisted by James Bowe.
The young Edmund must have decided to advise his parents with his two brothers and sister to follow him to Australia as they arrived on the "Forrest Monarch" four years later. At this time it appears he was aresident or an employee of the Quarrymans Arms Hotel at Pyrmont Sydney N.S.W. Australia. Little is known of his movements until he married Mary Watnough in Sydney on the 8th September 1864. They were both in Forbes N.S.W. when they met, and then moved to Orange N.S.W. as they had a son Edmund born in 1866 at Orange. At the time he held the licence of the "Victoria Hotel in Orange. They must have moved back to Forbes as their son died when he was five months old and Mary soon after in 1866 in Forbes. On the 10 February 1868 he married Jemima Preston Preston and took over the licence of the Great Eastern Hotel about 1873 from his father Edmund senior, he held the licence till 1879, and again from1880 to 1886. The hotel was built by C. McAllister about 1860. in December 1861 he had a forced sale of The Great Eastern Hotel, it sold for 600 pounds and 150 pounds for a feed and produce store next door, the purchaser was W. Phillip Mylecharane who with a Mr Ford established a mail run to Orange in 1861. They owned the coach that left the Great Eastern Hotel in 1862 for Orange and was held up at Eugowra. This was known as the "Great Escort Robbery". Edmund senior leased the "Great Eastern Hotel" from them and when they sold the coach runto "Cobb & Co" in late 1862 the hotel continued to be the booking agents during the time the Bray's held the licence. In 1885 Edmund junior went bankrupt and was sold up by Dr Sandford for the sum of 22 pounds 15 shillings. He states in a letter he attributed his insolvency to depression in bussiness "the times being dull" and that he had much sickness in his family over the previous years, at the time he had 8 chidren living and a further 4 had died. The bankruptcy papers show he made a request to be allowed to keep the following or he would be destitute. 1 table, 8 chairs, 3 childrens cots, a small bed, 4 Mattresses, 4 pillows, 4 blankets, also a looking glass. From here there is nothing known until his death at Rookwood Cemetry on the 12th January 1901, his death certificate shows he dired from heart disease suddenly, the verdict of a magesterial inquiry held at Rookwood.
I hope those researching the Bray family find this interesting, if so I will post the same about Edmund Bray Senior
John
