William Henry Ray (1828 - 1898)

Born 4 May 1828 in Alabama, United States

Husband of Martha Emeline (Holcombe) Ray — married 2 Sep 1869 in Shelby County, Alabama, United States

Descendants

Died 14 Nov 1898 at age 70 in Shelby County, Alabama, United States

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Biography

William Henry Ray was born the 4th of March, 1828, in Alabama.

William married his first wife whose name is believed to be Nancy Elizabeth Jane Gray sometime before 1849. The name of William's first wife is based on the information given on the death record of William's son Robert Jasper Ray who was born 5th of January 1860. Two of William's other children's death records list only the maiden name of "Gray" for their mother's name.^[1][2][3]

William H. Ray patented 40.11 acres of land at the Tuscaloosa land office on the 2nd of September, 1850. The land description is: Township 21S; Range 1E; NW 1/4 SE 1/4 Section 2 in Shelby County, Alabama.^[4]

William married his second wife Martha E. Holcombe Williamson (widow of James Williamson) on the 2nd of September, 1869 in Shelby County, Alabama.^[5] Martha listed the date of her marriage as the 2nd of September, 1863 in the 1920 application for a widow's pension based on Williams service in the Civil War. Martha also listed William's enlistment year in the Civil War as 1863. Martha was 83 years of age in 1920, and her memory was faulty on the exact year of her marriage to William.^[6]

William appears in the 1870 Federal census in Shelby County, Alabama. William's household appears as follows: (Note: census taker used initials) WH Ray, age 42; ME Ray, age 32; IH Ray, age 19; AP Ray, age 15; SC Ray, age 13; MJ Ray, age 9; RJ Ray, age 11; WE Ray, age 7; and DK Ray age 3.^[7]

William appears in the 1880 Federal Census' in Shelby County, Alabama. William's household appears as follows: William age 51; Martha age43; John age 29; Robert age 20; Martha age 18; Willis E. age 16; David age 14; Allen age 10; Tartan age 8; Walter age 6; and James age 4.^[8]

William died the 14th of November, 1898 in Shelby County, Alabama. William was buried in the Ray Cemetery, Westover, Shelby County, Alabama.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Robert Jasper Ray Death Record list his mother as Nancee Gray - "Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDYW-CLG : 11 January 2021), Nancee Gray in entry for Robert Jasper Ray, 1939.
2. ↑ Death of daughter: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JK3C-H2Z Sara Catherine Ray.
3. ↑ Death of Son: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDPS-Y6L John Henry Ray
4. ↑ Land Patent record from Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records: Land Patent search at: https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/
5. ↑ "Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQ65-SMT : 19 February 2021), William H. Ray and Martha E. Williamson, 02 Sep 1869; citing Shelby, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 1,571,844.
6. ↑ Widows Civil War Pension records of William Ray, Private Company H. Alabama 7th Regiment. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama, Confederate Pension Applications, 1880-1940.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH2M-W8G : 28 May 2021), W H Ray, 1870.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4V6-1CQ : 19 February 2021), William Ray, Spearmans, Shelby, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district ED 126, sheet 305C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,031.
9. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKZ-MD1S : 30 May 2020), William H. Ray, 1898