Gray, George M.

Born: 1820-XX-XX Kentucky

Died: 1857-XX-XX Massac County, Illinois

Flourished: Massac County, Illinois

George M. Gray was a teacher, farmer, and state legislator. In November 1840, he married Elizabeth Kayler and the pair had at least six children together. Around 1850, Gray moved from his native Kentucky to Illinois, settling with his family in Massac County. At that time, he was described in the census as owning real estate valued at $100. Over the next four years, Gray acquired nearly 470 acres of land in Massac County. From January to February 1855, he represented Pope, Hardin, and Massac counties in the Illinois House of Representatives. Although a Whig, Gray supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading him to vote for pro-Nebraska candidates and against Abraham Lincoln in the 1855 senatorial election. Gray was still living in Massac County when he died.

Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965, 23 November 1840, Calloway County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2016); U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Massac County, IL, 224; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Massac County, 105:64, 65, 112:170, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Illinois House Journal. 1855. 19th G. A., 4; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 220; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 2 January 1855, 2:3 ; 3 February 1855, 3:1; 10 February 1855, 2:5; List of Members of the Illinois Legislature in 1855; Andrew McCallen to Abraham Lincoln; Illinois, U.S., State Census Collection, 1825-1865, 1855, Massac County, 95 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2008); Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999, Massac County Index to Probate Files, (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2015); Jonesboro Gazette (IL), 9 January 1858, 2:6.