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Note: William Gray was a small land owner in Burke Co., North Carolina. William Gray enlisted in the 1st Regiment, North Carolina, under Col. Thomas Clark. Quite a few published sources state that William Gray died at the Battle of King's Mountain, including the U.S. War Department Record # 1513860 in Washington, DC. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vol. 75, page 3, also cites his service-related death. Another source describes William as being mortally wounded on the day of the Battle, October 7, 1780, and dying of his wounds on October 18. However, at least one heavily documented book on this battle, Kings Mountain and Its Heroes, doesn't mention his name among the dead or wounded. From Ellis Gray's "John Rhode and His Descendants;" William Gray was born in England in 1745. He came to America in about 1760 when he was 15 years of age. He was married in about 1765 to Lydia ____________ (whose last name is thought to be Seymour), who was born in 1747 and died in 1810. William Gray and his family lived in Burke County, North Carolina, which is near the border of South Carolina. There were four children born: three boys and one girl. Only one of the names of the children is known, and that is John. William Gray was a farmer or plantation owner and owned slaves, who worked on his plantation. William Gray fought in the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in 1777 as a private in the First North Carolina Regiment under Colonel Thomas Clark. William Gray was killed in the battle of Kings Mountain, fought at Charlotte, South Carolina on 17 October 1780 between 1100 British and 1000 American soldiers or "backwoodsmen," as they were called. The British losses were 250 killed and 664 taken prisoner. The American losses were 28 killed and 60 wounded. The following is the story of the battle of Kings Mountain, as told by a grandson, William Gray, to his grandchildren, Lilly Wattles and her brothers and sisters: "After William Gray went to the war, the British Tories came to his home, took the shoes from his wife Lydia's feet, cut out the piece she was weaving from the loom, and drove off all her cattle, horses, and other stock; they also took her five slaves. All this time her three boys stood by, too little to help their mother when a man lashed her with a big whip as she remonstrated; but they vowed that when they were men they would find this man and give him back blow for blow. The Tories left Lydia Gray only one little crippled mare her husband kept to raise colts, one of whom he rode away to battle. After the battle this horse found his way back home, but his brave rider lay sleeping at Kings Mountain. "Lydia Gray's patriotic neighbors arose, took her stock away from the Tories who had it, and gave her slaves back to her. They gave this Tory warning to leave the county in so many days, which he was glad to do. After the news of her husband's death came, Lydia Gray lost her mind and was shut up in one of those old cabins for a time, maybe months, maybe years; her neighbors bringing her food and caring for her children. After a time she recovered her mind, gathered her children together, and went on living. One little girl had been taken by a family who had no children, and they begged to keep her and were allowed to do so. (We have often speculated about this child.)" Other documentary records of William Gray are: 1. War Department Records at Washington, D. C., #1513860. 2. U. S. Census of 1790 of North Carolina, Burke County, which shows: "Lydia Gray, the family consisting of three males, two females and five slaves." (This was the only Gray family listed in Burke County, North Carolina. There were no other Grays in North Carolina.) HOWEVER... On a trip to the Burke Co., North Carolina library in November, 2003, documents were obtained that cited William Gray as a Tory: (Letter to Dr. Robert Rhode of Northern Kentucky University) Dear Bob: William Gray the first probably did die at the Battle of King�s Mountain--fighting for the British. Yep, Dave and I uncovered compelling evidence that William I was a Tory. Lydia may have been accosted all right, but it was most likely by the Patriots in the area. Evidence includes William�s biographical page from "Revolutionary War Soldiers of Western Carolina: Vol. 2, Burke County", pg. 125, which has bios on Tories and Patriots from the county; and a page 95-97 from Vol. VI, #4 of the Burke Co. Genealogical Quarterly (1996). Page 95, entitled �Tories in Southwestern North Carolina,� lists William Gray as indicted by a grand jury for his Tory allegiance. Also on this list are Greenberry and William, James, John and Spencer Wilson, John Bradshaw, Nathan Burchfield, Edward, Seth and Hezekiah Hyatt and Edward Leatherwood�all seem to be neighbors of William and Lydia. (Oddly, two of Burchfield�s sons, Robert and Meschak, were noted Patriot fighters. Fielding Bradshaw seems to have sided with the Patriots too. And they talk about the Civil War dividing families!! Page 96 cites William Gray as one of the men in Burke Co. on the �List of the Disaffected men (Bruke Co., Misc. Records). Several witnesses attested to his British allegiance, including Capt. Robert Patton, James Morris, Robert Pepper, Joseph Dobson Jr. and neighbor and fellow Tory Nathan Burchfield. I know Floy does not believe Ephraim had anything to do with this family, but she is just wrong. Ephraim inherits part of William�s land, and also petitioned in Burke Co. Court of Please and Quarter Sessions, June 1821 (N.C. State archives Stack Number C.R. 049.301.2) as published in Vol. VIII, #3, pg. 79 of the Burke Co., Genealogical Quarterly, to administer �Lyda� Gray�s estate. Lyda is cited as �formerly of this county.� It seems that she did die in 1820-21 in Heywood Co., NC. It seems from other pages garnered from "Revolutionary War Soldiers of Western Carolina" that the area where William lived on the Catawba River was a Tory hotbed. By the way, the area where his land was on the north side of the river is now in Caldwell Co. He also owned land on the south side, however, which seems to still be in Burke to this day. I am sending you copies via snail mail of this evidence. There is a small chance that William may have switched sides at the last minute and that the Tory neighbors accosted Lydia because of this, but this is a very small chance. Ann P.S. I know that Ephraim�s branch insists that Lydia�s maiden name was Richardson. However, the Wilson family (Greenberry Wilson) and the Fielding Bradshaw family and the Burchfields may be related somehow to the Grays. Two of the Bradshaws married Robinson sisters. Also, Nathan�s widow, �Eberilla� or Arabella (according to the 1790 census) was a neighbor of Lydia�s. The Bradshaw family named one of their daughters Lydia. Once source in the library had Greenberry Wilson�s father as Ephraim Wilson. This differs from online sources, however. The Bradshaws were from Virginia; the Wilsons and Leatherwoods from Baltimore Co., Maryland. There seem to be no Richardsons in Burke Co. at that time. According to Anna Louise Gray Handy, a descendant of Ephraim Gray, son of John and Mary Ann Trumbo Gray and grandson of William and Lydia Richardson Gray, William and Lydia had at least ten children, nine sons and one daughter. Eight of the sons settled in the South, while John and Mary Ann Trumbo Gray migrated to Indiana.
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