JOHN WESLEY GRAY 1868

December 8, 2022

Happy 154th birthday to John’s paternal 2nd great-grandfather, John Wesley Gray.

8 DEC 1868 - Born in De Kalb, Kemper, MS to Robert Nathaniel Gray, age 23 and Ruthy “Babe” McKinney Gray, age 27. He was the second of ten children. He had an older brother, Richard “Reuben.”

Jobs:

Farmer

Merchant

Blacksmith

Owned an auto repair garage

Owned stock in a cotton fin and sawmill

Transported convicted criminals to Texas State Penitentiary in Rusk, TX

1870 - Moved to TX.

His family is named in the book “Cherokee County History.”

Cherokee County Historical Commission (Tex.). Cherokee County History, book, 2001;Jacksonville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth354360/m1/299/?q=Nell%20Gray: accessed October 9, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cherokee County Historical Commission.

Below I’ve added excerpts from the book in the timeline below in blue.

Abt. 1871 - Birth of sister, Dilliah “Dilly” E. [TX].

22 DEC 1872 - Birth of brother, Alexander “Al” L. [TX].

16 MAR 1874 - Birth of sister, Francis “Parilee” [TX].

22 FEB 1876 - Birth of sister, Susan E. [TX].

DEC 1878 - Birth of brother, William “Will” M. [TX]. On the census he is Thomas.

11 MAY 1880 - Birth of brother, Charles “Charlie” Washington [TX].

1880 - Residence - Cherokee County, TX.

22 APR 1882 - Birth of brother, Benjamin “Bennie” Othnel [TX].

JUL 1884 - Birth of sister, Inez F. [TX].

2 JAN 1889 - Married Sarah “Sally” Sanderson in Cherokee County, TX when he was 20 and she was 16.

5 NOV 1889 - Birth of daughter, Nellie [Lone Star, Morris, TX]. This was John’s great-grandmother.

4 OCT 1890 - Birth of daughter, Annie Belle (Annabell) [New Summerfield, Cherokee, TX].

16 FEB 1893 - Birth of daughter, Rosa “Rosie” [TX].

28 AUG 1895 - Birth of daughter, Johnie (Johny) Ida [TX].

1 MAR 1897 - Birth of daughter, Mary “Savannah” [Cherokee County, TX].

1900 - Residence - Lone Star, Cherokee, TX.

2 FEB 1901 - Birth of daughter, Idella “Della” [Jacksonville, Cherokee County., TX].

The above mentioned book mentioned two more daughters, Gertrude and Frances. It mentions that Frances passed away in childhood but no other information is given.

John Wesley Gray and Sallie Sanderson and children

RobertGray77 originally shared this on 08 Aug 2011 on Ancestry.com

15 SEP 1905 - Death of wife, Sarah Sanderson, at the age of 32 in Cherokee County, TX. They had been married 16 years.

6 FEB 1906 - Married Paulina Melvina Reigle Betts, in a civil ceremony at Piney Branch, Troup, TX.

Paulina had been married to Frank Betts and had a son, George Vernon Betts. I’m not sure if Frank died or they divorced.

26 MAR 1907 - Birth of daughter, Gladys Elnore [New Summerfield, Cherokee, TX].

1908 - Moved to OK.

1910 - Returned to TX.

1910 - Residence - Justice Precinct 5, Cherokee, TX.

1910 - Birth of child [New Summerfield, Cherokee, TX].

1 FEB 1912 - Birth of daughter, Bennie Marie [Blackjack Community, Cherokee County, TX].

1913 - John transported convicted criminals via "surrey with fringe on top" to the Texas State Penitentiary in Rush from 1910 to 1913. Floyd Griffin was the constable in Blackjack then.

5 OCT 1914 - Birth of daughter, Neva Winona [Gould, Cherokee, TX].

22 OCT 1916 - Death of father, Robert Nathaniel at the age of 71. [Terrell, Kaufman, TX].

1916 - BLACK JACK, TEXAS (Cherokee County). Black Jack, on Farm Road 2750 eighteen miles northeast of Rusk in northeastern Cherokee County, was first settled in the 1840s by Robert Graves Stadler, a native of South Carolina and veteran of the Texas Revolution. He was joined by a number of relatives, mostly nephews and nieces, who built a small settlement that they named after the numerous blackjack trees in the vicinity. A log schoolhouse was constructed around the time of the Civil War, and in 1875 the Blackjack Baptist Church was organized. However, the town did not grow until around 1916, when John W. Gray and Tom Upchurch opened a store. At its height just after World War I the small community had two stores, a cotton gin, a garage, a church, a school, and a population of 100. After World War II the school was consolidated with the Troup school. The last store closed in 1961, but as late as 1966 the reported population was still seventy-five. In 1990 Black Jack was a dispersed rural community with a church, a few scattered houses, and a population of forty-seven. The population remained the same in 2000.

1917 - John built a store on the Valley Fitch property that Paulina had bought. He went into partnership with Tom Upchurch. The family income had always been supplemented by a small store from which John Wesley peddled merchandise in the surrounding area. Paulina sold her farm, and the store was moved to the intersection of the Gould Road and Troup-Rusk highway. An acre of the land purchased from Egbert and Eula Salmon accommodated the store, a rock grist mill, a threshing machine, and wood saw which were all powered by a gasoline engine.

John Wesley Gray operated a blacksmith shop and owned an auto repair garage which Jack Mayfield operated. John Wesley owned stock in a cotton gin and sawmill established by Walter Schmidt and Marvin Smith.

1918 - Death of daughter, Rosie [TX].

1920 - Residence - Justice Precinct 5, Cherokee, TX.

1924 - In 1924, John Wesley and Paulina moved to Nacogdoches, Texas so their three daughters could attend Stephen F. Austin State College and its demonstration school. The Store at Blackjack was managed by Will Elmore in John's absence.

25 MAR 1925 - Death of mother, Ruthy “Babe,” at the age of 83 [Blackjack, Cherokee, TX].

1927 - Because of Paulina's failing health, the family returned to Blackjack in February 1927 and resumed management of the store.

1930 - Residence - Precinct 5, Cherokee, TX.