Looks like we’re Irish

If you are a member of this Gray family line, you might be interested to know that it looks as though our roots trace back from Mississippi to South Carolina to Ireland. If the research another family historian has done is correct and belongs to our John Gray, we also have another Revolutionary War patriot. At this point, it would be wise to take all of this information with a huge grain of salt.

John Gray B. 1735, Laurens County, SC; d 1806; m.  Ailse Hiatt 1761

He served in the militia as a horseman during 1780-1782.  The Tories burned his house.  At sometime, he was in Sumter’s brigade and was also under Colonel Hammond. John Gray-served in the light dragoons under Capt Samuel Martin, Lt. Col. William Polk, and General Sumter during 1781. John Gray, served as a captain in the militia under Col Winn. Source: Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution.

Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers in Georgia Vol II:

John Gray, B. abt 1735, Laurens Co., SC; d. at the same place 1806; married 1761, 96th Dist. SC, Ailse Hiatt B. SC 1740, Died SC 1787.
He was a Revolutionary Soldier of S.C., served as a member of the S.C. militia and as a Patriot, supplied provisions for the State Soldiers.  His home was burned by the Tories.  (Ref Indents of S.C. Rev. Claims by Sailey, Book R, p. 184, N.S.D.A.R. 171971)

Children: Hezekiah, b. 1763, mar. Demaris Dulin [If this is our Hezekiah, he was the father of Coleman Gray, the father of Lott Dulin Gray, father of our Annabelle Gray Wilson]

Umbilical Cord

In genealogy, following only the mother-daughter connections in your ancestry is called your umbilical genealogy.

For the female descendants of Anna Belle Gray Wilson, it looks like this:

R & A, daughters of →

Robin, daughter of →

B.A., daughter of →

Anna Belle Gray Wilson (1907-2002), daughter of →

Alice Madora Thompson Gray (1880-1907), daughter of →

Anna Harriet Gordon Thompson (1859-1915), daughter of →

(This is where it gets fuzzy; more confirmation needed)

Mary Francis Hughes Gordon (1833-after 1919) daughter of →

Nancy Catherine Devall Hughes (1800-1851), daughter of →

Elizabeth Hill Devall (1775-?)…

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Discovery is addicting

Newsflash 1: Yesterday I discovered that there is another Mitchell brother – John A. Mitchell, son of Albert Washington Mitchell and Susan Cone Mitchell. He was their 4th child. He died in 1859 at the age of 19. He is also buried in Attala County, Mississippi but not in the Shady Grove Methodist Church cemetery with his parents. John is buried in the Liberty Chapel Cemetery (Methodist) in Ethel, Mississippi (see his Findagrave record).

Newsflash 2: This Mitchell family — parents Albert W. and Susan Cone Mitchell — lived in Henry County, Georgia before moving west to the Kosciusko, Mississippi area. The majority of the offspring of Albert (born in South Carolina) and Susan (born in New York) were born Henry County, which is south of Atlanta:

• Whitman William Mitchell (1833-1862) – killed 31 December 1862 during the Battle at Murfreesboro, TN.  He was hit by a cannon ball while attempting to aid his younger brother Albert Pierce Mitchell who had been severely injured. He was 29 years old.
• George Fellows Mitchell  (1835-1914)
• Lucy A. Mitchell (1837-1918)
• John A. Mitchell (1840-1859)
• Albert Pierce (or Pearce) Mitchell (1842-?) — maternal grandfather of L.A., Roy Sr, Frank and Willie Wilson
• Benjamin Franklin Mitchell (1846-1864) — killed during the fighting around Atlanta in August 1864 and may be buried in Atlanta’s beautiful Oakland Cemetery.
• Charles Robert Mitchell (1848-1895)

Their last child, Cornelia B. Mitchell, was born in Pontotoc County, Mississippi in 1851. So sometime between 1848 and 1851 the family traveled about 350 miles west, a trip that likely took 10 days or more.

Now to find out why they left Georgia, why they chose Mississippi, and the route they likely traveled.