I don't think that this will be the final word on the Reverend Thomas Bray and his "relationship" with the descendents of Henry Bray, d. 1812, Chatham County, NC James W. Bray From "The Brayville Gazette", Vol.2, No.2, May, 1996 Written and edited by James W. Bray THOMAS BRAY GRAND UNCLE OF THE BRAYS? One of the enduring legends of the history of the Bray family of Chatham County, North Carolina is that of its connection to Reverend Thomas Bray, minister, Church of England, born in Salop County, England, 1658. Reverend Bray's goal in the late 1600s was to come to the American Colonies and establish a series of religious libraries on behalf of the Church of England. In a 1953 publication, Colonial and Revolutionary Lineages of America, The American Historical Company, Inc., New York, William G. Bray of Indiana is credited with providing research information that makes the link between Rev. Bray and Henry Bray of London, England. He goes on to contend that this Henry Bray, born circa 1684, is the father of Henry Bray who died, 1812, in Chatham County, North Carolina. It was William G. Bray's belief that this Henry Bray was the nephew of Dr. Bray. He apparently bases his belief on a short paragraph from the "Acts of the Assembly of Maryland," Vol. VI, p. 178: His Excellency is pleased to give to the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray...(provided he comes to this province and the Act for marriage Lycenses pass)for the good services he has done in collecting Lyberarys, etc. for the money and tot. arising in marriage Lycenses since the 29th of June, 1697, His Excey having already given Dr. Payne for the maytenances of his Brother's child in the province what before accrued upon his account since his Excys Government. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DR. BRAY The Reverend Bray arrived in Baltimore on March 12, 1700. He stayed in the Colonies for about six months. He is credited with having sent 34,000 books and tracts to America. Henry Bray, his nephew is said to have preceded his uncle to the Colony of Maryland by at least a year or so. Although not much is known about this Henry Bray and his early years in Maryland, Dr. Brays life and times are well documented. The following summary of some of the important events in his life were taken from the book "Thomas" Bray by H.P. Thompson, London, S.P.C.K., 1954. Thomas Bray was baptized on May 2, 1658 in the village of Chirbury, near Shrewsbury, Salop County, England not far from the Welsh border. Thomas' parents were Richard and Mary Bray of Bray's Tenement in the hamlet of Marton. Many generations of Brays had lived in the Chirbury parish... "between 1650 and 1706 five Brays served Chirbury as churchwarden." At an early age Thomas was recognized for his intellect and was sent to the Grammar School at Oswestry. On March 12, 1675, at the age of 17, Thomas Bray matriculated at All Souls College, Oxford University. In 1678 he earned his B.A. degree. He was ordained a deacon in the Church of England in 1681. In approximately 1686 he married Elenor (last name unknown). Thomas and Elenor had two children: William born on October 25 in 1687 and baptized on November 15th, 1687 per the register in Over Whitacre. William's sister Goditha was born on January 2,1688-9 and baptized on January 13. Elenor died on March 9, 1688-9 a few months after the birth of her daughter. The Reverend Thomas Bray, after a long and productive life, died in England on February 15, 1730 at the age of 72. His will, witnessed by William Portman and John Allen, was written on January 31, 1730. WILL OF REVEREND BRAY In his will, Dr. Bray names William Belitha, Stephen Hales, and Samuel Smith as overseers of the will if his daughter Goditha Bray Martin declines the "burdensome duty". Samuel Smith is named as the executor. Beneficiaries named in Reverend Bray's will are: his son William; his daughter Goditha Martin Bray and her husband James Martin; Rev. Bray's servants, Margaret Harris, Sarah Walker, and John Vat; Thomas Grove the undertaker and his two daughters. In addition to naming beneficiaries, Thomas Bray spells out in detail the distribution of his books and manuscripts. The will does not mention any brothers, sisters, nieces, or nephews. In point of fact, according to the author H.P. Thompson, Thomas Bray, son of Richard and Mary Bray was an only child. This appears to rule out William G. Bray's assertion that a Henry Bray who arrived in Maryland at or around the time of the Reverend Bray's arrival in that colony was his nephew. This assertion seems to be made on the basis of the use of the word "nephew" in the above paragraph from the Acts of the Maryland Assembly. The question is: whose nephew? It does not however eliminate the possibility that this Henry Bray might have been a cousin or came from the same general area in Salop County, England. This needs further investigation and clarification to find out if Henry Bray (d.1794) of Chatham County may have been descended from the Brays of England in or near the city of Shrewsbury in the West of England near Wales. From "The Brayville Gazette, Vol., 3 No. 1, Sept. 1997: The Reverend Bray... Revisited The tradition that Henry Bray (d.1794) was the nephew of the Reverend Thomas Bray needs some clarification. I had previously written that the Rev. Bray was an only child. This may not be the case. I looked carefully at the Shropshire County, Chirbury parish records in the IGI (International Genealogical Index) for evidence of the birth of a brother to the Rev. Bray. It turns out that Richard and Mary Bray, parents of the Reverend Thomas Bray had a son, Richard born in 1660, two years after the birth the Rev. Bray. But, there was no information from the parish records that this Richard married there or had children named Edward and Henry. St. Botolph's Without.... However, in 1706 The Rev. Bray became the rector of the Church of England parish of St. Botolph's Without, Algate, London, England. The enclosed listing of "Brays of England by County" shows that Brays had a fairly extensive history in this parish. It's possible that the Reverend Bray was the parish minister to the ancestors of Henry Bray (d.1794) and hence the source of the family story of the Reverend Bray being the "uncle" of Edward and Henry Bray. An important note: The William G. Bray of Indiana as noted above was a U.S. Congressman and may have wanted the Reverend Bray as part of his illustrious ancestors. jb -----Original Message----- From: Pat Perkins [mailto:caviness@conninc.com] Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 6:29 AM To: BRAY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [BRAY-L] Henry & Edward BRAY I thank you for sharing your family heritage story . however It is not likely that one would live to be especially in those days 113 .I just don't believe it happened .I think that you are all missing a generation here and confusing a Henry Sr with a Henry Jr as one Henry . There is also no evidence that Thomas Bray had any brothers .in order for thomas to have been the uncle of Henry Bray ,he would have had to had a brother none so far have been found . without proof thats what they remain stories . Stories sometimes over time can take on a life of their own, however one must continue to search and not compacently accept what has been handed down as truth .Its like when you were a kid and played telephone each whispering to another a sentence and by the time it got to the end of the row of kids the sentence retained little of its original content It is also possibly true that Henry is the nephew,or some relation of Thomas, and that not all facts have been found re family members .perhaps there was a brother who has not come to light there are other slightly different stories out there re this relationship it certainly warrents checking out . patricia perkins ==== BRAY Mailing List ==== Help keep free Genealogy on the Internet.. Join Rootsweb Genealogical Data Cooperative http://www.rootsweb.com ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237