Joseph Gray of Athens, Solon, and Brighton, Maine

JOSEPH GRAY is said to be my 5th Great-Grandfather, the father of Elmira (aka Elmyra, Almyra) Gray, who was married to Joseph Leavitt. This information was passed down to me many decades ago, and I am still looking for the original sources of this. That Elmira was a Gray is shown in records of her children, and at least one says that she was born in Athens, Maine (circa 1813-1817, by her age on census records). Joseph does live with her by 1870, so he could very well be her father, but I would like to be certain of this.
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I first find Joseph Gray in the census records of ​1830, living in Athens, Somerset, Maine: "Joseph Gray: 1 male 5-10; 1 M 40-50; 1 female 10-15; 1 F 40-50". Elmira could be the female, born ca 1815-1820. There is also a male, born ca 1820-25, that is in the household, but I know nothing about him.

​In 1836, he purchased a 40 acre lot of land in Solon from Elisha Coolidge, the "north half of lot 18 in the north half of town" [Somerset County Deed 37-210]. Joseph was "of Athens" at that time, a yeoman. He purchased another 10 acres of this same lot from a Timothy Eaton [I did not see this in registry], the deed saying "same where I now live", so it seems that piece had the homestead built on it. 

​Joseph was seen in Solon for the 1840 census, with only himself (aged 50-60) and a female (aged 50-60, likely his wife Abigail, seen years later on a land deed).

In August of 1847, Joseph (with Abigail relinquishing dower) sold the 50 acres of lot 18 for $250. to Rebecca Berry of Brighton, a married woman [Som. Deed 61-509]. She, in turn, for the same dollar value, sold to Joseph the "south east corner of lot 5, second range" in Brighton, 20 acres [Som Deed 65-9].  
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Lot 18 in Solon, Maine (1883 map)

​In the 1850 census, he was in Brighton, Maine, with Abigail, as well as a pauper child, Granville Grant, living with them.

1850 Brighton, Somerset, Maine census

The Gray properties in Brighton (outlined on 1883 map)

Shown here on the two maps are the locations where Joseph Gray had property in Brighton, ca 1847-1868. Below is an 1860 map of the town with "J Gray" highlighted.

Current topo map of Brighton, showing where the 3 properties were located.

The 1860 census of Brighton, Maine is very light and hard to read, and not worth posting a clipping here. Joseph (household 65/109) was listed at age 73, a farmer, born NH., while Abigail was age 75, born Maine. Estate value was $350/150. The Agricultural Schedule for 1860 shows Joseph in Brighton, with 40 acres of improved land and 130 acres of unimproved, with a $350. value (as seen on census).

The Somerset County Deeds show that Joseph mortgaged his 20 acre Brighton property in 1862 and again in 1863. In 1864, he sold to William Corson of Brighton this property, as well as another piece of land (the north-west 1/4 of lot 5 in third range) containing 50 acres [Som Deed 105-518]. I did not find the deed where Joseph had previously obtained the latter property. Following this sale, he moved back to Athens, Maine. His wife may have died around this time, as she didn't sign any of these deeds. In 1868, he sold 100 acres of land in Brighton to Elias H Hammond, which was the eastern half of lot in the third range [Som Deed 121-48]. Again, I did not find reference to when Joseph had acquired this land but he had all 170 acres by the time of the 1860 Agriculture Schedule.

​Whether it happened just after his 1864 property sale, or perhaps soon after that, he moved in with (his daughter?) Elmira and her husband Joseph Leavitt. 

1870 Athens, Somerset, Maine

Joseph Gray was not found in the 1880 census, so I suspect that he had died prior to that. No burial place, or a record of his death, has been found as of yet.

UPDATE DEC 2016

As I was finishing up this blog entry, I continued searching for more information on Joseph. I began looking into a Thomas M Gray who had lived in Athens, and died there in 1904. His parents were listed as Joseph of Wakefield, NH and Betsey Plaisted. His death record said he was born in Newfield, ME. Using these parents in a search, I also found a Sarah Tibbetts, who had died in Madison, ME in 1894. Her death record listed her as born in York, Maine, the same for father Joseph, and said Betsey was born in Kittery (nothing matched that of Thomas, except for parents names). 

In the 1820 census for Newfield, Maine, I see a Joseph Gray there, aged 26-44. With him were 3 females under 10, a female aged 16-25, and a female aged 26-44. Thomas M hadn't been born yet, but Elmira and Sarah could be two of the females. Newfield also borders Wakefield, NH, where Joseph was apparently from, according to Thomas' death record.

​Then I found this, a War of 1812 pension index card:

There was Joseph Gray, with his 1871 residence listed as Athens, Maine, and also listed was his 1811 marriage to Betsey Plaisted in Wolfeboro, NH. His pension file [on Fold3.com] only mentions the wife Betsey, with nothing said about a remarriage to an Abagail. Being 84 when he filed this in 1871, it matches a ca 1787 birth year, as the census ages show, not to mention him being the only Joseph Gray in Athens at that time. 

Within the pension file is a paper showing a Joseph Gray receiving a bounty land, but this does NOT belong to my Joseph. There was another person of this name who served in the War of 1812 AND served in the 33rd US Infantry, but he was from Sedgwick, Maine and was about 7 years younger (the ME Archives index also shows they were two different men). The ME Archives does list Joseph's birthplace as Swansey(sic), NH. A search through Swanzey vital records and history book did not find anyone with the Gray name.

The pension file does not list a death date for Joseph, and does not list any family members, other than wife Betsey, and it also doesn't list a death date for her either. So, I still have no source for Joseph being Elmira's father, so I continue my search.