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James (Rev. Jimmy) Gray Relevant Links

Anna (Annie) Rogers Relevant Links

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James "Rev. Jimmy" & Anna "Annie" (Rogers) Gray

James (Rev. Jimmy) Gray

Born: 07 April 1810 in Tennessee
Died: 10 March 1891 in Webster or Greene County, Missouri
Burial: Roller Cemetery, Christian County, Missouri

Mother: Martha
Father: Henry T. Gray

Married: Anna (Annie) Rogers

Born: June 24, 1808 in Claiborne County, Tennessee
Died: February 19, 1871 in SW Missouri
Burial: Roller Cemetery, Christian County, Missouri

Mother: Mary (Polly) Brawley
Father: John Rogers

Children:

  1. Isaac F.
    b. Abt. 1831, Tennessee
  2. Jehu (Jehew) M.
    b. Abt. 1832, Tennessee
  3. James W.
    b. Abt. 1836, Tennessee
  4. Melinda C.
    b. Abt. 1838, Tennessee
  5. Martha A.
    b. Abt. 1839, Tennessee
    m. ? Wheeler
  6. Gillum M.
    b. Abt. 1841, Tennessee
    m. Nancy; b. Abt. 1839.
  7. William Rogers
    b. March 04, 1844, Greene County, Missouri
    d. February 24, 1930, Christian County, Missouri
  8. Polly E.
    b. Abt. 1847, Greene County, Missouri

Sources and Additional Information:

James Gray was called Uncle by Jesse's children. James' wife, Ann, must have been a sister of Jesse's and therefore a child of John Rogers. The 1938 Susan B. letter states:

"W.M. Rogers (Note: William McKendree Rogers) realized he was facing a New problem already with a large family and hoping to be successful in raising another family. He found it very necessary to change his place of Residence. With these thoughts in Mind He placed the farm in Uncle Jimmie Grays controle (sic) and secured a (sic) traveling equipment and with the entire family, headed west. Father had heard that Wise County and Jack County was (sic) very desireable (sic) land for farming also for grazing purposes.

In the 1850 Greene Co, Mo Census, James Gray was living close to William Mack Rogers. In addition, William Mack's brother Reuben B. Rogers names a son born in 1860 James Gray Rogers.

Thema: Re: Rogers in Christian County
Datum: 28/11/99 12:50:52 AM GMT Standard Time
From: ruf002@mail.connect.more.net (Mabel G. Phillips)
To: JRogers722@aol.com

I'm trying to delete all e-mails off an old computer before bringing in a new one. I couldn't tell whether I ever answered this (I have several computers I commonly use, and the answer may be on another). I suspect you are right about William's mother. These are, it appears, the tombstones you asked about.

ANNIE GRAY 2 Jun 1808 - 13 Feb 1871 Roller m Gray, James
NANCY GRAY 1823 - 16 Sep 1891 Roller m Gray, James
JAMES H. GRAY 6 Apr 1838 - 9 Nov 1913 Roller m , Nancy
JAMES, REV. GRAY 7 Apr 1810 - 10 Mar 1891 Roller m , Annie
W. R. GRAY 7 Jan 1847 - 5 Dec 1888 Pembina
WILLIAM J. GRAY Apr 1871 - Apr 1930 Old Boston
WILLIAM N. GRAY 10 Jun 1859 - 28 Jan 1937 Wise Hill
WILLIAM ROGERS GRAY 4 Mar 1844 - 24 Feb 1938 Roller Son of Gray, James & Nancy ( ) m/1 Roller, Eve; m/2Redfern, Rebecca Jane; m/3 Friend, Julia A.; m/4 Mary F. Melton; m/5 Mary Berry

I wonder if I confused my James & William Rogers? By the way, one of my interests in this line is: LEANDER A. GRAY 1866 - 1929 Roller Son of Gray, William Rodgers & Eve (Roller) m Moore, Sarah Leona. One of his daughters and one of his granddaughters married first cousins of my grandfather - Bessie Gray to Ola Phillips [he died young and she married second a Bloomer & had one surviving son from each marriage, having a son and daughter from the Phillips marriage die young] and Myrtle Roller to Claude Phillips. Ola and Claude were sons of William Lincoln "Bill" Phillips, brother of my great grandfather, Hugh B. Phillips. Ola & Claude were from two different marriages and were more than twenty years apart in age. I have other connections to this family, but those were the easiest to explain. By the way, Ola's mother, Malissa Caroline (Elkins) Phillips, was a full sister of Cullen Bryant Elkins who studied medicine under Isaac Newton Rogers before going to medical school in New York City - and who later married Alice Eva Flagg who the Rogers family raised - and for whom Charles Elkins Rogers was named. C. Bryant & Malissa's other full brother was Euclid S. Elkins whose wife, Sarah Mary "Mollie" Hart was the only surviving daughter from the first marriage of my great grandmother's sister, Laura Ann (Fowler) Hart Parton Wimmer. You may remember that Laura Ann was Isaac Newton Roger's housekeeper on the 1880 census, being at that time twice widowed. Laura Ann's brother, Marion Huntley Fowler had a son Bert Loren Fowler who married Rhoda Ross. Rhoda' mother was a cousin of Eva (Roller) Gray. And Rhoda's double cousin, Eliza Ross married Charles C. Gray, son of Leander & Sarah. They went out to the logging camps in the Pacific northwest shortly after their marriage. They had just celebrated the knowledge that Eliza was to have their first child when he was killed in a logging accident. Eliza returned and raised their daughter Dollie in Leander & Sarah's household. When Dollie was half-grown, Eliza married a McDaniel. She died just a few years ago, a couple of weeks short of her 108th birthday.

At 02:58 AM 10/27/99 EDT, you wrote:Mabel,

I want to thank you again for all the great information you provided earlier this month on the Rogers and Watts families in Christian Co. I found it especially interesting that Robert Doak Rogers performed the wedding ceremony for two of his daughters.

I do have one more thing that I wanted to ask about. Under the "legible tombstones in Christian Co", one of the entries you sent was for William Rogers Gray. That was great. I knew his middle initial was R., but did not know the full middle name. Your email indicated that he was the son of James

Gray and Nancy ( ). I also had his father listed as James Gray, but his mother was Anna Rogers who was the sister of Robert Doak Rogers' father Jesse Rogers (War of 1812 soldier buried in the Watts Cemetery). I have several references to "Uncle" James Gray and his wife, Ann. One in particular is a land transaction dated 29 Jul 1859 that shows "James Gray and Anna Gray his wife"

Do you have any idea "where this Nancy came from"? What I mean is, what is the source of the parents names. I don't think I've ever seen the parents listed on a grown person's tomb stone.

Anna was born in 1808, two years before James Gray. It is certainly possible that she died before him and he remarried. Do you have a marriage for James Gray and Nancy or a tomb stone for Anna Rogers Gray? It is very possible that they lived in Greene Co.

Jerry

Anna Rogers Sources and Additional Information:

The name shows Anna in the 1870 Christian Co, MO Census with husband James Gray.

Mabel,

It is always great to hear from you. You seem to have all the data at your finger tips and it is always interesting.

Let me try to address the James Gray question. Jesse Rogers (1791-1872) was the father of William McKendree Rogers, John Clark Rogers, Robert Doak Rogers, and Reuben Brawley Rogers. Jesse came to SW MO in 1845. William McKendree came with the Watts family in 1834. These Rogers settled in the area where Greene, Christian, and Webster Counties come together.

William McKendree's daughter, Susan Rogers Martin wrote the following in a 1938 letter:

"W.M. Rogers (Note: William McKendree Rogers) realized he was facing a new problem. Already with a large family and hoping to be successful in raising another family. He found it very necessary to change his place of Residence. With these thoughts in Mind He placed the farm in Uncle Jimmie Grays controle (sic) and secured a (sic) traveling equipment and with the entire family, headed west."

William's first wife, Sarah Wilson Watts, died 27 May 1857 and he married Susan Catharine Bowles 31 Aug 1857. Some years ago I found the following Greene Co land transaction recorded on 29 Jul 1857 between "William M. Rogers, James Gray and Anna Gray his wife, and John T. Bowles and Rachel Boals his wife.........on the one part and John Clark, J.R. Guynn, John Redfern, A.T. Graves, and David Mooney trustees" on the other part. This 40 acres of land was to be used as a "camp ground or place of worship for the use of the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South".

Note that John T. and Rachel Boals are the parents of William's second wife who he married the following month. John Boals Susan Martin's letter would indicate that this transaction was about the time that the family moved to Texas.

In the 1850 Findley Township, Greene Co, Mo Census, James Gray and his wife Ann were living close to William "Mack" Rogers. The next entry in the census was Henry T. Gray. James was 40 years old and Henry was 58. Father and son?

In addition, William Mack's brother Reuben B. Rogers named a son born in 1860 James Gray Rogers.

So, I believe that this Anna was the sister of Jesse. This would correspond to the data you provided:

ANNIE GRAY 2 Jun 1808 - 13 Feb 1871 Roller m Gray, James

JAMES, REV. GRAY 7 Apr 1810 - 10 Mar 1891 Roller m , Annie

Here is the 1850 Greene Co Census as I copied it:

947 GRAY: James 40 M Tenn
Ann 42 F Tenn
Isaac F. 19 M Tenn
John M. 18 M Tenn
James W. 16 M Tenn
Melinda C. 14 F Tenn
Martha A. 11 F Tenn
Gillum M. 9 F Tenn
William R. 6 M MO
Polly E. 3 F MO

So, we know that this James and his wife Ann came to MO from TN about the same time as Ann's brother, Jesse Rogers. The question is who is James H. Gray who was born in 1838 who married Nancy (who was 15 years younger than she)? Could James H. and James W. born 1834 be the same person. Could be, I'm sure you have seen several such errors in various census..........but was William Rogers Gray their son?

I do not think so, his mother, Nancy, would have been 21......OK. However, James H or James W. would have been too young. There must be another James Gray.

In addition, note that William Rogers Gray (parents James and Nancy Gray) and William R. Gray (parents Rev James and Ann Rogers Gray) were both born in 1844. Certainly possible, but what a dirty trick on us.

So, the real question you must be interested in is who was the James Gray who was the grandfather of LEANDER A. GRAY 1866 - 1929?

The answer probably can be found in a close examination of the 1850-1870 census records for Greene and Christian Counties.......maybe Webster Co too.

Today, Leander is a very unusual name. I suspect that in the last half of the 19th century, it may not have been too unusual. Some old notes I made there are at least two Leander Rogers buried in Christian Co. The first one was born in 1874 and died in 1942 and the other 1877-1959 married a Luella.

Back to the land transaction above. One of the trustees was John Clark. I have two John Clark Rogers........one (ca 1814-1846) was the son of Jesse Rogers (1791-1872) and the other (1853-1942) was a grandson of Jesse and the father of Charles Elkins Rogers. Did I ever ask you if you have seen "The Rogers Family of Ozark, Missouri"? It was written by Charles Elkins Rogers in about 1975. If you have not seen it, you should it is 22 pages long and has lots of good stories. If you want, I'll send you a copy. Let me know.

So to make this so long, but you raised some tough questions.

Jerry

This page was last updated on: November 17 2008