James Gray
- Born: Cir 1691
- Marriage (1): Tamson Hillary
General Notes:
Ken Gray notes:
James Gray, of Portsmouth, Newington and Barrington, New Hampshire, is the first man of the name whom we have been able to identify as an ancestor. He may have been a son of John Gray of Oyster River; he may have been a son or grandson of Francis Gray of Great Island; he may have been a relative of George Gray of Kittery, Maine; he may have been a near relative of Robert Gray of Berwick, Maine who had wife Jeane or Jennett; he may have been a descendant of some Massachusetts family; or, he may have been a first immigrant, which we very much doubt. It is not at all unlikely that he was brother to Agnis Gray of Portsmouth who in 1715, married Thomas Russell and later owned land and lived in Barrington; Mary Gray of Newington, who, in 1725, in Newington married George Marriner; Elizabeth Gray of Durham, who, in 1727, married Joseph Whitten; or George Gray and John Gray, who served as soldiers "south side of Oyster River,"1732 in third co. in Col. Gilman's regt. under command of Capt. John Smith, Jnr. "able bodied men under 45".
Agreeable to family tradition, he was born in 1691. His wife's name was Tamson. In deeds he styled himself, usually, "mason" but sometimes "bricklayer" or "yeoman". He appears to have first lived in Portsmouth until about 1713 when he appears in Newington for several years, then to Portsmouth. About 1732 he appears to have settled permanently in Barrington, where he and his wife Tamson were still living when they made a deed, Aug.8th 1758. In 1742 he gave his son George Gray 40 acres of land, a part of his homestead in Barrington, which was probably a marriage settlement. In 1758 he sold to William Gray 40 acres, also of his homestead in Barrington, not mentioning any relationship. Descendants of this William Gray state positively that William was a son of James and Tamson Gray. Three other children were baptised at Newington. James and Tamson Gray probably had other children.
Children;
--------, daughter, bapt. At Newington, 25th May 1717.
2. George, bapt. At Newington N.H. 22nd Nov. 1718; m. about 1742, Martha James; d. in Wiscasset, Maine, 30th March 1755.
James, bapt. At Newington, N.H. 7th Sept. 1723.
A James Gray appears in deed records In Barrington, 1769 and 1773 who may have been James, son of James and Tamson Gray.
3 William Gray, prob. B. about 1725; lived in Barrington; m. Hannah Foss; d. 1778.
In regards to the parents of James Gray (c1691) Ken Gray notes:
EARLY GRAYS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE.
The principle query with the writer is, who were the ancestors of James Gray of Portsmouth, Newington and Barrington, New Hampshire and whence did he come?
In the early settlement of the New England states nearly all immigrants came first to Boston; There were quite a number of early immigrants by the name of Gray who settled in Mass. and quite a number of that name, either immigrants or descendants who later drifted into New Hampshire and Maine.
The most of the historians have been inclined to credit nearly all of the early Gray settlers of New Hampshire and Maine as being Scotch-Irish, but the writer has some doubt if many who came before about 1718 were not in reality, English.
There was a George Gray in Kittery, Maine who witnessed a deed in 1659. Stackpole says that he was living in town and he had a family in 1671. He had wife Sarah and children named, George, Robert, Alexander, and James. After carefully examining the records it appears quite positive that he was not an ancestor of James Gray of Portsmouth, Newington and Barrington, but he may have been a relative.
A George Gray with wife Jeane or Jennett settled in Berwick, Maine sometime before 1720, reputed to be Scotch-Irish, who was probably born about 1580. He may have been related to George of Kittery and could have been a brother of James of Barrington.
There was a Francis Gray who received land on "Great Island", an island in the Piscataqua river near Portsmouth, in 1660. He appears several times on the records until about 1669, as a somewhat boisterous and intemperate character, but there is nothing to indicate whether or not he had any family.
There was also a John Gray of Oyster River [now Durham] New Hampshire who appears frequently on the records from 1697 to 1748. He married at Durham, before 1st April 1727, Welthen, widow of Robert Huckins and daughter of James and Martha (Goddard) Thomas. In as much as Welthen married Huckins about 1692 we may presume that this was also a second marriage for John Gray and that he was as old or older than the bride. Welthen died soon after having married John Gray and he married, before 1733, a lady named Elizabeth. We find no records of John Gray having any children by any marriage, but he could have been father of James Gray who is reputed to have been born in 1691.
Agnes Gray of Portsmouth who married Thomas Russell in 1715 and later settled in Barrington, Mary Gray of Newington who married George Marriner in 1725, Elizabeth Gray of Durham who married Joseph Whitten in 1727 and George Gray who appears on the records of Durham in 1732, might all be brother and sisters of James Gray of Portsmouth, Newington and Barrington, N.H.
James married Tamson Hillary. (Tamson Hillary was born circa 1695.)
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