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Note: John Gray is found in the 1850 Lawrence Co., Indiana census in Perry Township (pg. 379 or 15 of 33 on Ancestry.com). Living with him is his second wife, Elizabeth Washom Scott Gray. John says he is 80 years old and was born in North Carolina. John Gray inherited his father's, William Gray's, land on the Catawba river in Burke Co., North Carolina on June 5, 1790. But he moves to Rockingham Co., Virginia before 1801, where he marries Mary Ann Trumbo in November 17, 1801. John and Mary Trumbo Gray were allegedly the first settlers in the Springville, Lawrence Co., Indiana area. John Gray was a reknown hunter and an accomplished gunsmith. Apparently early in life he had been a cattle driver in western Pennsylvania. A family tradition is that John Gray fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe during the War of 1812, but no official military documents confirm this. According to Collier's "History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties, Indiana, John "came to Lawrence Co. in the fall of 1815 from Kentucky and built a cabin not far from the present site of Springville...In the following spring, he went back after his family, which he brought to his forest home in Indiana." In 1973, the Indiana Junior Historical Society published a booklet entitled, "John Gray, Hunter, Pioneer; First Settler of Springville, Indiana, Lawrence County. Many facts and stories are in this booklet, among them the following: "The Indian and The Bear Hunt" "Indians were planning an attack...in North Carolina. The alarm spread and a company of militia went into the Indian country with John Gray as a scout. Tey searched for a few days without finding any Indians. "One rainy morning Gray and several militiamen sat in the opening of a tent oiling theri rifles and playing cards. Gray happened to look up from his task and saw an Indian approaching. When the Indian was about a hundred feet away, Gray raised the empty gun as if to shoot. The Indian stopped, raised his hand to his breast, and called, 'Caw.' "The soldiers, in alarm, jumped up, scattering the cards all over the tent. Gray told the Indian that he was in no danger and invited him into the tent. A very long conversation followed. The Indian assured the party that his tribe was not on the warpath, and that the whole rumor was one big mistake. The soldiers readily believed him. "The Indian noted that Gray was a hunter and told him he knew where to hunt bears. A solder in the party was also interested, so the next morning the three men, unbeknownst to the commanding officer quietly sneaked from the camp, taking their horses and some pack animals. "The Indian led them for about a day into the mountain valley, a spot well known to him, and they pitched camp. The next day, the killing of the bears commenced. The hunters soon had enough hides and bear meat to load all of the horses to the limit. "The party returned to camp and found the company alarmed as to their safety. Their comrades gladly welcomed the hunters back. They had plenty of fresh meat on hand and everyone was satisfied." Another story... It is said that when they came to Lawrence Co., it was so remote that John Gray never expected to have any neighbors and Mary Trumbo Gray did not see the face of another white woman for two years. "It seems at first, Gray did not have any idea to establish a permanent home...Gray built what he called a camp. He sat saplins in the ground fro an outside fram. Connecting these were more saplings running horizontally. They were tied to the frame with buckskin or hickory withes. The frame he weather-boarded with deerskins. In a similar way he put on a roof with polies and skins. The use of nails was out of the question. There were none. The only nails used in the settlements in the south were made by local blacksmiths, and there were not many of them (in Indiana at the time). Gray may have used some wooden pins to hold the structure together, but that is just a guess. Just how well it resisted rain and wind we are not told. John Gray had been among the Indians a good deal and, no doubt, had learned much from the Indians about making a warm, dry shelter. "There was a little beech tree not far from the front of the Gray ("camp") house. John Gray trimmed away the small branches and used the larger ones to hang the hides of deer and bear. The little boys would throw the heads and horns of the animals into the top of the tree. Soon the tree was a mass of horns and hides. "One day Mary and the children were surprised to see a party of Indians at their home. The party stopped at the beech tree and looked at its trophies of the hunt. Then they formed a circle around the tree and began a...dance. It was a dance to honor the great white hunter. When it was completed, the Indians quietly vanished into the forest. This dance was repeated from time to time as long as there were any Indians in the country. "How long the Grays lived in the camp (house), we do not know. However, Mary Gray wanted a real home. John Gray went back to North Carolina and brought back a young hunter nameed Zack Dix. These two experienced woodsman built a substantial cabin--one that lasted the Gray family for many years. (Note: John and Mary Trumbo Gray's daugher Dorothy would later marry a Nathan Dix.) Gray also brought back from North Carolina some razorback hogs. There were enough acorns and beechnuts in the woods to fatten the hogs. But the hogs brought a new problem. The Grays liked pork for a change of meat--and so did the bears! "One day Mary Gray heard a big squeal. She ran to the "branch" and there she saw a pig in the embrace of a bear. She quickly raised the alarm. John, the boys, and the dogs came on the run and killed the bear. Gray and the boys alsway kept a rifle with them in the clearing. After this first bear adventure, whenever Mary heard a pig squeal, she would fire the rifle that was now kept at the house. John, the boys and the dogs would rush to the house and kill the bear. The dogs quickly learned the signal. Whenever they heard the report of the gun, they rushed for the cabin. They would have the bear up a tree by the time the hunters arrived for the kill...We don't know how many bears were killed in the way, but it is an assured fact that the pigs outlasted the bears!" "The Farewell" "There came a time when the Indians visited the Gray cabin for another purpose other than giving a hunting dance around the tree decked with hides and antlers. They seated themselves in a circle in front of the cabin and invited John and Mary Gray to join them. Then the cheif lighted his pipe and drew on it. He then handed it to Gray who took a puff. It was then passed to Mary Gray who also drew lightly on the smoke. It was then passed around the circle. In a few minutes the chief rose, gathered his blanket around him, and strode toward the forest. One by one the other Indians followed in a single file. "The Grays did not understand the meaning of the visit and there was nobody to enlighten them. But after that, there were never any Indians seen in the locality. The ceremony was a farewell visit to the great hunter." Editor's Note: The word Indian is used throughout the text, as it is in the booklet. This editor resisted the temptation to change it to Native American(s). John Gray was married twice, the second time to Elizabeth Washom Scott, the widow of Henry Scott and the mother of Phoebe Scott Gray, wife of John's son Ephraim. This second marriage may have been icy, as Elizabeth immediately relinquishes her dower rights to John's property within a month after he dies. Also, John does not mention his daughter by Elizabeth, Martha, in his will (although this daughter may have been dead before John dies on November 10, 1857). Moreover, John only gives his "imputed" son by Elizabeth, John Ransom Gray, $10 from his estate. Obviously, John did not believe the boy was his child. Note: There is a James Gray, age. 23, b. NC living near John in Shawswick Twp., Lawrence Co., Indiana in the 1850 Census. He is in the household of Thomas Whitted, age 33, b. NC, his wife, Parthena, 34, NC, and Francis M., 11 and Lucinda, 7, both born in Indiana. This family is also close to the Cobbs. (pg. 277 or 3 of 165 on Ancestry.com)
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