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Doug,
I have done some online searches for probate records and now know I will need to go to a FHL. That is on my TO DO LIST. In the meantime I have a few clues that I have addressed in a report which follows. Much of it is a repetative of what we already know but I felt I needed to out line it in this format for any others who would view the information and might find a link. Here is the outline:
Possible John Gray and L. Smith family connection???
Much of this information is a repeat of what I have posted before in my search to find the mother of Martha, Elizabeth and Adolphus Gray and solve the mystery to who their father John Gray married following the death of his wife Sarah Matthews Wood Phillips Gray. Alexander H. Gray is the biological son of John Gray and Sarah and it is believed that John Gray, Jr. is the biological son of Sarah Matthews Wood Phillips and 2nd husband Lewis J. Phillips, but perhaps was adopted or took on the name of his step-father John Gray.
The name Gray appears in the 1870 Census and on the 1867 Voter Registration for Union Parish, Louisiana with the spelling Grey however we know that from Land which John Gray deeded to his son Alexander H. Gray (A. H. Gray as signed on the documents) the surname is spelled GRAY.
I apologize for the receptions in this summary and for my continued postings on this family. Each answer I find brings sheds new light and brings new questions to be answered. My intent is to try to address those new questions and hopefully find some answers. I realize we may never have the answers we are searching for but it is my hope that perhaps there is a remnant in a newspaper article of a birth or death where one of these names and dates fits into the picture.
Any information which someone could provide would be greatly appreciated by many who have labored in researching these questions as to the mother of Martha, Elizabeth and Adolphus Gray and wife of John Gray.
No record has been found of another marriage yet other than the one to Sarah Phillips on 25 Dec 1951, Union Parish, Louisiana Marriages, 1816-1906
1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge Post Office, Louisiana
Dwelling and Family Number : 561
Jno Gray
Age: 58 yrs.
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1802 in Georgia
Occupation: Farmer
Value of Real Estate: 1000
Value Personal Estate: 3155
Sarah Gray
Age: 48 yrs
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1812 in Georgia
John Gray
Age: 17 yrs
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1843 in Alabama (thought to be son of Sarah Phillips Gray and her 2nd husband, Lewis J. Phillips)
Alex Gray
Age: 6 Months
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1854 in Louisiana
Next page of the 1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge Post Office, Louisiana Census record reveals
Dwelling and Family Number: 570
L Smith
Age: 54 yrs.
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1806 in South Carolina
Occupation: Farmer
Value of Real Estate: 400
Value of Personal Estate: 445
Eliza Smith
Age: 53 yrs.
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1807 in South Carolina
Occupation: Housekeeper
J A Smith
Age: 25 yrs.
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1835 in Alabama
Occupation: Housekeeper
Liddy Smith
Age: 18 yrs.
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1842 in Alabama
James Smith
Age: 17 yrs.
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1843 in Alabama
Occupation: Farmer
I find on the 1867 Voter Registration for Union Parish filed September 6, 1867 the following and if I am reading it correctly, are from Cherry Ridge area.
Pg. 3
#74 John Grey, Jr.
Pg. 12
#372 Lazerus Smith
Pg. 14
#440 John Grey
I find Louisiana Land Purchase Records at ancestry.com for Lazerus Smith in Union Parish, Louisiana for years 1858 and 1859
Question…is Lazerus Smith on this voter registration the L. Smith on the 1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge, Louisiana Census Record and therefore the father of Liddy Smith on the 1860 Census
1870 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana Census
John Grey
Age: 60 yrs.
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1810 in Georgia
Occupation: Farmer
Real Estate Value: 4811
Value of Personal Estate: 100
Lilley Grey
Age: 25 yrs.
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1845 in Alabama
Alexander Grey
Age: 17 yrs.
Sex: Male
Born: abt 1853 in Louisiana
Attending School
Julian Grey
Age: 3 yrs.
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1867 in Louisiana
Ardonia Grey
Age: 2 yrs.
Sex: Female
Born: abt 1868 in Louisiana
Question…Is Lilley Grey on the 1870 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana the same person as the Liddy Smith on the 1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge Post Office Census where you find her father L. Smith and you find Jno Gray and wife Sarah Phillips Gray living?
Question…Could Lilley be the wife of John Grey and mother of Julian and Ardonia?
1880 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana Census
Alex H. Gray – Head of Household
Age: 26 yrs.
Born: abt 1854 in Louisiana
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Farming
John Gray
Age: 80 yrs.
Born: abt 1800 in Georgia
Marital Status: Widower
Relationship to Head of Household: Father
Martha Gray
Age: 9 yrs.
Born: abt 1871 in Louisiana
Relationship to Head of Household: Sister
Elizabeth Gray
Age: 8 yrs.
Born: abt 1873 in Louisiana
Relationship to Head of Household: Sister
Adolphus Gray
Age: 2 yrs.
Born: abt 1878 in Louisiana
Relationship to Head of Household: Brother
It seems that Lilley on the 1870 Census could not be the wife of Alexander Gray since on the 1880 census Alexander Gray is listed as SINGLE while his father John Gray is listed as WIDOWER. It would stand to reason that if Alexander had been married and his wife had died then he too would be listed as WIDOWER. Therefore this leaves questions and possibilities to who Lilley is….
Question…Is Lilley Grey on the 1870 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana Census with John Grey and children Julian and Ardonia the wife of John Grey, son of Sarah Phillips Gray and her 2nd husband Lewis J. Phillips?
Question: Is the Liddy Smith being born abt 1842 in Alabama on the 1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge Census with father L. Smith the same person as Lilley Grey on the 1870 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana Census with John Grey and children?
Question: Liddy Smith being born abt 1842 in Alabama and John Gray, born abt 1843 in Alabama and most probably the son of Sarah Phillips and 2nd husband Lewis J. Phillips who was possibly adopted or taken on the name of his step-father John Gray the husband of Lilley in the 1870 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana Census?
What is known is that clearly John Gray remarried and had 3 children on the 1880 Union Parish, 3rd Ward, Louisiana Census and was WIDOWED. These children were Martha born 1871, Elizabeth born 1873and Adolphus born 1878. With the ages of the children Julian born 1867 and Ardonia born 1868 being close in age it would be possible for Lilley to be the wife of John Gray, Sr.
Note there are variations on the age of John Gray, Sr. and he is much older than her but this would not be uncommon in the time period for there to be such an age difference. It is hard to imagine such an age difference, but look around in our world today and you will find the very same age difference occur.
Based on statements made by the youngest daughter of Martha Gray who married James Robert Walkup (though she never met her grandparents and they died when her mother was a girl) she puts forward a name given to her that her mother, Martha's mother's name was Lydia Smith. If this is true then could it be possible that Liddy Smith daughter of L. Smith on the 1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge Post Office Census (possibility that his name is Lazerus Smith who owned property in Union Parish, Louisiana) is the same person as Lilley and at the very least the mother of Martha, Elizabeth and Adolphus with the possibility that Julian and Ardonia are sisters of these 3 children.
Are there any records that show a death for Lazerus Smith or L. Smith in Louisiana as I do not find the family on the 1870 Census where he would have been abt 64 years of age?
Finding these few pieces which may or may not be relevant to who the mother of Martha, Elizabeth and Adolphus is or a connection to the Gray and Smith families on the 1860 Union Parish, Cherry Ridge Post Office, Louisiana Census cause me to ponder whether there could be answers to these questions in finding someone who knew something about this Smith family.
Is there anyone who had knowledge of the Smith family in Union Parish on the 1860 Census?
Debbie Woods
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