John Gray

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 8 dated events in the chronology →

1. 1752 John Patterson is named one of the first vestrymen of St. Matthew's Parish The act of the 1752 Assembly that created Orange County and the Parish of St. Matthew named John Patterson among the twelve vestrymen who were to serve until the first vestry election. People: John Patterson, Alexander Mebane, James Watson, Mark Morgan, John Gray Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Documenting the American South: Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, vol. 23: Acts of the General Assembly, March 31-April 15, 1752, ch. VI
2. September 9, 1752 The Orange County court holds its first session at John Gray's house Eight justices of the peace held the county's first Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at John Gray's house near the Eno River, with Alexander Mebane as sheriff and Richard Caswell as clerk. They named fifteen road commissioners and several constables and laid a poll tax of one shilling on each tithable. People: John Patterson, John Gray, Richard Caswell Place: John Gray's house, near the Eno River · Also named: Alexander Mebane · Also mentions: Eno RiverLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 19
3. December 1753 Justices recommend John Gray for sheriff With Alexander Mebane's term running out, the court sent the governor three names, with 10 votes for John Gray, 8 for Lawrence Thompson and 6 for James Dickey. Gray, the justices' favorite, was appointed. People: Matthew Rowan, Lawrence Thompson, John Gray Place: Orange County · Also named: James Dickey, Alexander MebaneSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 168
4. 1754 Alexander McCulloch gives up his commission in the Orange County militia The 1754 return of the colony's militia records that McCulloch gave up his commission for Orange and recommended Sheriff John Gray as colonel. NCpedia says he resigned because he lived too far from the county. People: Alexander McCulloch, John Gray Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Documenting the American South: Report concerning the militia in each county of North Carolina, 1754
5. 1755 Lawrence Thompson is appointed sheriff of Orange County In 1755 the county court sent the governor three names for sheriff, John Patterson, Lawrence Thompson and Alexander Mebane, and Thompson received the appointment. He had run second to John Gray in the justices' vote two years before. People: John Patterson, John Gray, Lawrence Thompson Place: Orange County · Also named: Alexander MebaneSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 168
6. 1763 Thomas Hart is appointed sheriff of Orange County Governor Arthur Dobbs appointed Thomas Hart sheriff of Orange County in 1763, and he served two years. His father-in-law, John Gray, had held the office before him. As collector of taxes Hart became unpopular with the Regulators, though Stokes found no charge that he abused any of them in collecting. People: Thomas Hart, Arthur Dobbs, John Gray Place: Orange CountyInternet Archive: Durward T. Stokes, "Thomas Hart in North Carolina", North Carolina Historical Review 41 (1964), p. 326
7. April 23, 1768 Edmund Fanning writes Governor Tryon that Orange is in revolt Two weeks after Regulators rescued a seized horse at Hillsborough, Fanning reported people across the county binding themselves by oath to refuse taxes, and said he and other officers expected an attack. People: Edmund Fanning, William Tryon, Thomas Lloyd (died 1792), Thomas Hart, Francis Nash, James Thackston, John Gray Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 31
8. 1775 Colonel John Gray dies and leaves Grayfields to his son-in-law Thomas Hart Colonel John Gray, a former sheriff and assemblyman and one of the first vestrymen of St. Matthew's Parish, died in 1775 and willed his estate, including his large plantation Grayfields, to his son-in-law Thomas Hart, husband of his daughter Susannah. Stokes found that this inheritance gave Hart the capital for his many ventures. People: Thomas Hart Place: Orange County · Also named: Susannah Gray HartSearch the index · Internet Archive: Durward T. Stokes, "Thomas Hart in North Carolina", North Carolina Historical Review 41 (1964), p. 326