John Thomas Gray (1863 - 1925)

Born 7 Sep 1863 in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Henrietta (Bates) Gray — married 11 Sep 1890 in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia

Descendants

Died 8 Mar 1925 at age 61 in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

John Gray was born in Victoria, Australia

John was born in 1863.^[1] He married Henrietta Bates in 1890.^[2] He passed away in 1925, and his remains were interred in the Williamstown Cemetery in Presbyterian H, Row 14.5, Grave 8.^[3]

In his teens, John promised his mother, Dorothy Ferguson-4689 that he would not drink alcohol, and wrote a note to that effect. At that stage, his parents were members of The Independent Order of Rechabites (IOR) as family lore suggests that some family members were adversely affected by alcohol.

Prior to his untimely death, John was working for the Australian Wheat Board in Williamstown and his job was to have his team load wheat onto ships in the port. Records suggest that his team were extremely efficient at loading ships quickly and this saved ship owners money & time.

As a consequence, the ship's Captains/Masters would anchor waiting for the high tide to sail, then return to shore in the ship's tender and offer to buy John drinks as a token of gratitude. He apparently reneged for quite some time and then, thinking that by not having a drink with them he was abusing their goodwill, yielded to accepting.

Unfortunately, alcohol did affect John badly and he duly became an alcoholic over a matter of years. The day before his death John had been on one such binge and was left to sleep off the effects the next day. His wife, Henrietta, Bates-5146 was going out for the day, so she hid John's coat and boots so that he couldn't go out and buy more alcohol.

One of his sons, Vivian Gray, Gray-8332 and a boarder remained in the house and heard John stir from his stupor, then walking the passageway mumbling "I'm going mad. I can't find my boots!" After a while John had gone quiet, so the others had assumed he had returned to bed. Later the boarder found John hanging from a hook in the ceiling with a hay tie around his neck.

The family doctor was called and pronounced life extinct. Then, in his report, suggested that John had placed the hay tie around his neck and then had a heart attack. The Coroner found that John had committed suicide.

Notice in a newspaper, the Williamstown Chronicle (Vic. : 1856 - 1954) Sat 14 Mar 1925, Page 2, OBITUARY, read ... MR. JOHN THOMAS GRAY. The funeral of the late Mr John Thomas Gray took place on Tuesday afternoon, and was of a private nature, and very largely attended. The remains were interred in the local cemetery. The pall-bearers were:---- Messrs’ Chas. McRorie, Snr. and Jnr, (of Jas. Bell and Co.), D. Green, G. A. Homewood, Alex Moore, James Skelt, W. Duff. The Rev. Martin conducted the service at the graveside. Messrs’ Nelson Bros., of Douglas-parade, were the undertakers.

Sources

1. ↑ Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria (Australia) GRAY, John Thomas CB 791268 Birth
   Father: Lawrence
   Mother: Ferguson, Dorothy
   Event Place: Williamstown
   Reg Year: 1863 Reg State: Victoria
   Ref Number: 23664
2. ↑ Registry of BDM, Victoria.
   Marriage certificate Record information
   Event: marriages
   Registration number: 6367 / 1890
   Family name: GRAY
   Given name(s): John Thomas
   Personal detail
   Spouse's family name: BATES
   Spouse's given name(s): Henrietta
3. ↑ Registry of BDM, Victoria.
   Death certificate
   Record information
   Event: deaths
   Registration number: 2443 / 1925
   Family name: GRAY
   Given name(s): John Thomas
   Place of event: MELBOURNE EAST, Australia
   Personal detail
   Mother's name: Dorothy
   Mother's family name at birth: FERGUSON
   Father's Name: GRAY Lawrence

• Registry of Births, Marriages & Death.

• Public Records Office (PRO) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

• Coroners Court Records