Gray, James R. (Grey)

Flourished: 1838-03-22 Springfield, Illinois

Alternate name: Grey

In 1830 and 1831, Gray purchased 320 acres of public land near Springfield, Illinois. In 1838, Gray was among the prominent citizens of Springfield who signed a note for $16,666.67 to pay for the final installment of $50,000 to ensure that the state capital would move to Springfield. In 1840, Springfield voters elected Gray, a Whig, alderman of the first ward in the first election under Springfield's new city charter.

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Sangamon County, 68:91, 96, 97, 113, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 48-49; Proceedings of the Springfield Board of Trustees; History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 566; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL) 24 April 1840, 2:5.