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Note: Christopher Gray died between 1870 and 1874, as Lot 20 of "Budlongs Addition", in Adrian, shows Mrs. Gray as the owner on an 1874 map. By the 1893 map, she was gone, back to Piscataway with her children. Her husband is possibly buried in Oakwood Cemetery. The following Piatts lived in surrounding towns: James in Gilead, John in Woodbridge, Louisa in Brovid, Mary A. in Bronson, Rheuma in Brovid, William in Bronson, Antony and Andrew in Hillsdale; Nathaniel Piatt appears in Branch County, Bethel, in the 1870 Census. Little is known of the life of Edward Francis Gray, after his return to New Jersey. A family tale has him doing blacksmith work in the roundhouse of the Jersey Central Railroad, in Dunellen, N.J. He is also said to have worked, for some time, as a conductor. Somehow, he managed to meet his future wife, Catherine Marie Sullivan, and raise a large family. Grove Street, in Dunellen, was the first Gray address, then 344 First Street. A cow grazed in pasture, immediately behind the Gray property. Being the son of a farmer, Edward used up all spare property planting a Concord grape arbor, a cherry tree, berry bushes and a vegetable garden. Harvested vegetables were kept in a dirt storage space, beneath the rear porch. Jams and jellies were cooked up and stored on basement shelves. Nine children were mothered by no-nonsense Catherine, using her Irish brogue as a whip. They were: Clara, Daniel, Emma, Edward F., Jr., Florence, Margaret, Kathleen Marie, Mildred and Christopher. The Gray home was directly across the street from St. John's Grammar School, which educated several family members. Catherine spent many hours of her later years helping the nuns , who taught at the school. Her grandson, George Edward Stitcher, frequently did altar boy duty at 5 A.M.,Mass, in the convent chapel, stopping in to have breakfast with Grandma. Grandpa Edward was at a loss for things to do in his retirement and took long walks around Dunellen. One rainy day, he took a chill and developed pneumonia. He died on December 4, 1937. On December 7, 1937, a Mass was held at St. John's, and burial was at Holy Redeemer Cemetery, So. Plainfield, N.J. Cause of death was, "coronary thrombosis, with chronic intestinal nephritis, contributory."
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