Genealogy by Martha

Cross - Love - Culpepper - Herron - Mordecai - Shelby - Cobb

John Gray, I (the Immigrant)

Male Abt 1690 - 1851  (~ 161 years)


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  • Name John Gray 
    Suffix I (the Immigrant) 
    Born Abt 1690  Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Immigration Abt 1740  Philadelphia Port, PA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Will 23 Apr 1751  Rutherford Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Probate 27 Nov 1751  Rutherford Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died Between Apr 1851 and Nov 1851  Rutherford Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I12107  MyTree
    Last Modified 13 Aug 2014 

    Family Agnes MNU (Gray) 
    Married Abt 1710  Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Jacob Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
     2. William Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
     3. David Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
     4. Joseph Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Benjamin Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Ann Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
    +7. Samuel Gray,   b. 1720, Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Apr 1775, Rutherford Co., NC (old Tryon Co.) Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 55 years)
    +8. John Gray, II,   b. Abt 1726, Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1801, Monroe Co., VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 75 years)
     9. Elizabeth Gray,   b. Londonderry, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location
    Last Modified 17 Jul 2017 
    Family ID F6064  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 

    • Descendants of John Gray I
      Generation No. 1
      1. JOHN1 GRAY I was born Abt. 1685 in County Ulster, Northern Ireland, and died 21 Nov 1751 in Timber Ridge, Augusta Co., Virginia. He married AGNESS?. She was born Abt. 1695 in County Ulster, Northern Ireland, and died Abt. 1759 in Augusta Co., Virginia.
      Notes for JOHN GRAY I:
      John Gray and his wife Agnes were probably among those families who came to Virginia with Benjamin Borden in 1737 although a deed for the property where they lived was not drawn until 6 July 1742, at which time John Gray bought 203 acres of the Borden tract, the deeds of lease and release being dated July 26. Deeds of lease and release were common ways of conveying property in England and were in use in this country during the Colonial period, the deed of lease being dated one day prior to the deed of release, and in effect acting as a single conveyance. The land lay "in Orange County on the waters of James River, being part of the said Benjamin Borden's large tract of 92,100 acres of Patin land., dated the sixth day of November of 1739, which Tract contains 203 acres and two Roods of Land, situated on the Northwest side of the Timber Ridge in Orange County, beginning at a Double Poplar on the said Ridge and running thence North 50 degrees west 185 poles to a small poplar, thence north 40 degrees east 176 poles to a Spanish oak on the side of the aforesaid Ridge, thence along the said Ridge south 40 degrees west 176 poles to the Beginning. The consideration named was Pound 6:2:1. The deed was recorded 26 August 1742. The first grants were issued on surveys made by James Wood of Orange County.
      It is indicative of the uncertainty regarding county lines that this deed was recorded in the Court House of Orange County, for the land covered by the deed was certainly in the new county of Augusta, although the deed speaks of it as Orange County, and it was recorded there. According to Lippincott's Gazeteer, Timber Ridge was a post-village of Rockbridge County, seven miles NE of Lexington, Rockbridge County was formed from Augusta and Botetourt Counties in 1778, and Timber Ridge fell in the section that became Rockbridge County.
      It is believed that John Gray and wife, Agnes migrated from England to Virginia between 1737 and 1742. John bought 203 acres along the James River in the Timber Ridge area. In 1746, the settlers at Timber Ridge built a log cabin to be used as a Presbyterian church. A list has been preserved of the men commissioning the first pastor in 1753. On the list appears the names: Samuel Gray, Jacob Gray, and William Gray. These were sons of John and Agnes. John Gray's will is dated April 23,1751 and lists as his heirs: Wife, Agnes, and children: Jacob, William, David, Joseph, Benjamin, Ann, Samuel, John, and Elizabeth. William was appointed guardian over Benjamin who was still a minor. After John's death, Agnes and children moved to NC.
      John Gray and his son Samuel were among the inhabitants of the Virginia frontier who in 1742 petitioned Royal Governor William Gooch to appoint officers to raise militia for defense of the frontier settlements against Indians raids. The lands of John and Samuel Gray were located in what was known as the Borden Tract and on the northwest side of the Timber Ridge in present Rockbridge County (named for the Natural Bridge, which is one of Virginia’s most noted scenic attractions and which lies in Rockbridge County). The nearby town of Lexington became a center of education under the influence of those early Ulster Scots Presbyterians who populated the area. (Source: familygenes.net/gray.htm)
      This land is located in present day Rockbridge County north of Lexington between Brownsburg and Fairfield, Virginia. This Borden Grant was adjacent and to the south of Beverly Manor, Borden Grant and Beverly Manor are located in present day Rockbridge and Augusta Counties.

      More About JOHN GRAY I:
      Land: 08 Mar 1757, Heirs of John Gray sold land in Borden Grant.
      Occupation: Yeoman.
      Will: 23 Apr 1751, Will is recorded in Augusta Co., Virginia on Page 396.

      Children of John and Agness? are:
      i. Ann Gray, m. James McClung.
      2. ii. David Gray, b. Virginia.
      iii. Elizabeth Gray.
      iv. Jacob Gray.
      v. Joseph Gray.
      vi. William Gray.
      3. vii. Samuel Gray, b. Abt. 1720; d. Abt. 1775, Tryon/Rutherford Co., North Carolina.
      4. viii. John Gray II, b. Abt. 1726, County Ulster, Northern Ireland; d. Abt. 1801, Monroe Co., Virginia.
      ix. Benjamin Gray, b. Abt. 1745.