John Gray Stanley (1778 - 1835)

Born 30 Sep 1778 in Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Died 25 Oct 1835 at age 57 in Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Stanley Name Study.

John Stanley was a Massachusettsan.

JOHN GRAY STANLEY, b. at Lenox, 30 Sep 1778 son of Amos and Zerviah (Gray) Stanley;^[1] d. at Lenox, 25 Oct 1835;^[2] m. at Lee, MA, 27 Jan 1803,^[3] ORRILLA BREWSTER, b. at Becket, 27 Jan 1782 daughter of Oliver and Jerusha (Badger) Brewster;^[4] Orrilla d. at Lenox, 21 Sep 1860.^[5]

John Gray Stanley was the fourth of five children of Amos and Zerviah (Gray) Stanley. He married Orrilla Brewster a descendant of William Brewster of the Mayflower.

John G. Stanley was variously a metal worker, a musical instrument maker, and bookbinder, although reported as not particularly successful in any of these trades.^[6] He was for a year publisher of the Berkshire Star and County Republican.^[7]

The estate of John G. Stanley entered probate 4 November 1835 with son John G. Stanly as administrator. Parties to the estate were widow Orrilla and children John G. and Orrilla B. Stanley. Personal estate was $228.36.^[8]

Children

John and Orrilla were parents of three children born at Lenox, one of whom died in infancy.^[9] Neither of the surviving children married. They lived together in Lenox.^[10]

i JOHN BREWSTER STANLY, b. 1806; d. 1807.^[11]

ii JOHN GRAY STANLY, b. 13 Feb 1808; d. at Lenox, 22 Mar 1887. John did not marry.

iii ORRILLA BREWSTER STANLY, b. 22 Jun 1810; d. at Lenox, 15 Apr 1895. Orrilla did not marry.

Sources and Footnotes

1. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29G-QTTS : 10 November 2020), John Gray Stanly, ; citing Birth, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009245.
2. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVK-25KR : 27 July 2019), John Gray Stanly, 1835; Burial, Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States of America, Church On the Hill Cemetery; citing record ID 18328489, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
3. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHJ4-XX2 : 16 August 2021), John G. Stanley, 27 Jan 1803; citing Marriage, Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007538309.
4. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZ2Y-SCM : 14 January 2020), Orrilla Brewster, 1782.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7J7-D42 : 2 March 2021), Orrilla Stanly, 21 Sep 1860; citing Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts, v 138 p 41, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 960,176.
6. ↑ Warren, The Stanley Families in America, p 123; https://archive.org/details/stanleyfamilieso00byuwarr/page/122/mode/2up
7. ↑ Holland, History of Western Massachusetts, volume 1, p 468
8. ↑ Berkshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1761-1917.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2017. Case 5669
9. ↑ Although father John G. Stanley seemed to use primarily the spelling “Stanley”, the children are more often given as “Stanly”.
10. ↑ Year: 1870; Census Place: Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts; Roll: M593_601; Page: 440B
11. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVK-25K5 : 7 August 2020), John Brewster Stanly, ; Burial, Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States of America, Church On the Hill Cemetery; citing record ID 18328491, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com

• Holland, Josiah Gilbert. 1855. History of Western Massachusetts: The Counties of Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire. Springfield, MA: Samuel Bowles and Company.

• Warren, Israel Perkins. 1887. The Stanley Families of America: As Descended from John, Timothy, and Thomas Stanley of Hartford, Conn., 1636. Portland, ME: Printed by B. Thurston & Co.