Obituary of Oliver Crosby Gray, Pulaski Co, AR *********************************************************** Submitted by: Bill Bogges Date: 15 Feb 2006 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm *********************************************************** (transcribed: 02/14/06) Copies furnished by: Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and Arkansas History Commission The Arkansas Gazette Eighty-Seventh Year, Little Rock,Sunday: December 10, 1905 COL O C GRAY HAS PASSED AWAY Died at Arkansas School for the Blind, in This City. Superintendent of School for Blind When He Died, and Had Filled Other Po- positions of Prominence. Col O C Gray, superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Blind, and one of the best known citizens of Arkansas died at the blind school yesterday afternoon at 5:30 o'clock, after an illness of about six weeks, of cerebro-spinal meningitis. He had been in critical condition for the past three weeks, and his death was unexpected. The remains will be taken to Fayetteville for internment [Evergreen Cemetery], subsequent to services in the First Presbyterian church, this city, this afternoon at 3 o'clock. Record of a Busy Life. Oliver Crosby Gray was born December 30, 1832, at Jefferson, Me. He attended Colby College, Waterville, Me, and graduated in 1855. He was a classmate of the late Nelson Dingley, who as a member of Congress rose to the leadership of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Last spring Col Gray attended the fiftieth reunion of his class at Waterville. After leaving Colby Col Gray attended Dartmouth College for a short time. He then went west and located in Minneapolis, Minn. where in 1856-57 he was superintendent of the public schools. In 1858 he moved to Arkansas, and in that year and the year following was principal of Monticello Academy. [Records show it was Monticello, Minnesota, then in 1859 to Holly Springs, MS, and 1860 to Princeton, AR]. In 1860 and 1861 he was principal of Princeton [Female] Academy, which was at that time one of the leading institutions of the state. At the beginning of the civil war he enlisted as a private in the Third Arkansas Cavalry and served under Col Solon Borland, and later under Col Hobson. He afterward rose to the captaincy of Troop A of the same regiment, In the later part of 1864, as he was returning to his home on furlough, he was captured and was imprisoned in New Orleans and at Ship Island[MS]. Later he was exchanged and returned to his command and was made lieutenant colonel [highest rank attained was captain] on staff of Gen Armstrong. [appointed Provost Marshall Dec 1863].. All his service during the war was east of the Mississippi river, and served under Gens N B Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and Jos E Johnston[and Gen Hood]. Prominent as an Educator. After the war he returned to Arkansas and returned teaching. In 1866 and 1867 he was principal of Princeton Female Academy, and then came to St John's College, in this city, where he was professor of mathematics from 1868 until 1871. [Ark School for the Blind erected its first brick building in 1869, honoring Col Gray, removed in 1948 for the Governors Mansion, with the old bricks reused]. He was later elected president of St John's College and served in that capacity until 1875, when he went to the university of Arkansas at Fayetteville and served as [first hair of civil engineering till 1879] professor of mathematics from 1875 to 1886. In 1887- 88 he was [Mayor of Fayetteville, -- in 1885-86 was principal of first school built, Washington School with Ella Carnall his able assistant]. He then returned to the chair of mathematics at the state university, which position he held until 1895 [1906 GRAY HALL was built in is honor, removed in 1966]., when he was elected principal of Arkansas School for the Blind. From 1899 to 1901 he was principal of the Speers-Langford Institute at Searcy and in the last named year was re-elected superintendent of the blind school, which position he held until his death. His administrations in every instance were successful, and he brought the state blind school forward until it now ranks with the best institutions of its kind in this country. Col Gray was twice married. His first wife was Miss Virginia L Davis [first chair of university's art department, 1875-1881], whom he married May 27, 1858. She died August 17, 1886, at Fayetteville. He was married the second time to Mrs Mary N Beattie, a daughter of Solon Bourland (sic, Borland), on June 17, 1889, by whom he is survived. By first marriage, Col Gray had two [three] children [first Clyde Leslie, 1859-1861, buried in Princeton with mother's father Capt Geo Davis] both of whom are still living. The eldest is Carl R Gray, one of the most widely known railroad men in the United States [1920, president Union Pacific RR, vice chairman in 1937, Trustee of Colby College 1938 to death]. He is present vice president and general manager of the Frisco system and lives in St Louis. He has been in Little Rock many times recently in attendance at his father's bedside, and arrived last Friday in response to a message announcing the seriousness of his father's condition. The second [third] child is Mrs Leroy [Ethel] Kramer, whose husband is associated with Carl R Gray in the railroad business [later president of world-wide GATX Corp]. Col Gray also has two living brothers, John D Gray, Stockton Cal, and Thomas Gray of Minneapolis. Mrs Gray has two daughters, Misses Grace and Mary and one son Godwin Beattie. Col Gray was a member of Magnolia Lodge, F and AM's Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, and was one of the oldest members of the Scottish Rite bodies of the Valley of Little Rock. He was also a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church. Col Gray Was Widely Known. The news of Col Gray's death will cause widespread sorrow, as his long career in the schools and colleges gave him an extensive acquaintance throughout the state. His numerous pupils, many of whom are among the commonwealth's most prominent citizens, knew him but to love him, and it is doubtful if any educator in Arkansas ever made for himself a firmer friendship among his students than Col Gray. He was for a long time associated with St John's College, which was located in Little Rock and was for many years the leading institution of learning and was later connected with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, at which he passed about twenty years of his life. With the exception of one term, he had been head of the Arkansas School for the Blind for past ten years. He always spent a very active life and despite his seventy-three years he had the energy of a much younger man. Col Gray was prominently connected with Arkansas and its affairs for nearly half a century,and his death removes one of the state's most useful citizens. His nature was as gentle almost as that of a woman. Among the well known citizens of Little Rock who were at St John's College are George B Rose, John M Rose, John W Blackwood, W B Worthen, S U Harrison, J E Williams, Thomas B Martin, L P Gibson, Chas Jennings, Frank Wittenberg, Henry Lesker, Julis Kemper, Horace G Daley and John Piercher, while out of the city Dr W B Lawrence of Batesville, Dr Eberic of Fort Smith, and D I Mills and M N Austin of Pine Bluff are among the number. Burial in Fayetteville. The funeral of Col Gray will take place this afternoon at 3 o'clock from the First Presbyterian church, and the services will be conducted by Rev J Endenburn. The body will be taken to Fayetteville on a special train for internment [Lot 144, Evergeen Cemetery]. The funeral will be under auspices of Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, and he will be buried with Knight Templar honors by the commandery at Fayetteville. The pallbearers this afternoon will consist of Col Gray's former pupils at St John's College and three of his former pupils at the University of Arkansas. The music will be furnished by pupils of the Arkansas School for the Blind. ========================================================================== (Transcribed, 02/13/06) Copy courtesy of Colby College, Waterville, Maine The Arkansas Democrat 34th Year ~ Monday , December 11, 1905 Number103 COL O C GRAY HAS DEPARTED Passing of a Noble Life on Saturday Evening. A GREAT EDUCATOR Under His Tutelage Many of the Leading Citizens of the State Have Been Developed. The funeral of Col O C Gray was held at 3 p m yesterday at the First Presbyterian Church, the services being conducted by the Rev J S Edenburn, the pastor. The funeral was attended by hundreds of leading citizens of Little Rock, evidencing the high esteem in which the deceased was held. The floral offerings were numerous and most beautiful. The incidental music was furnished by the pupils of Arkansas School for the Blind, who looked upon the deceased almost with the veneration due an indulgent father. Mrs Trebing of the school faculty sang a beautiful solo, "Safe in the Arms of Jesus" [title: engraved 44 years earlier on sons gravestone]. Rev Mr Edenburn read the Scripture lesson and made a brief address upon the merits of the deceased as a man and notable relation which he bore to the educational interests of the state. The pallbearers were as follows: J E Williams, John Fletcher, J H Harrod, Jesse Hart, John W Blackwood, Carroll D Wood. The members of High de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, of which the deceased was a member, acted as an honorary escort. Immediately after the services at the church the remains were taken to the Choctow depot, and carried on a special train to Fayetteville, were the funeral was held this morning under the auspices of the Knights Templar. Oliver Crosby Gray, superintendent of Arkansas School for the Blind, died at 5:30 p m [picture] Saturday at the school, after a six weeks' illness with cerebro-spinal meningitis. For half of this period his condition has been critical, and while his death came as shock to the entire state, it was not wholly unexpected, and his family and friends were in a measure prepared for the inevitable end. He was one of the foremost educators of Arkansas, and his life work has left its deep impress upon the youth of the state. Many of those who were his pupils in the old St John's College of Little Rock, and at the State University, are now among the leading men of the state in business and the professions, while for the unfortunates who have had the privilege of his tutelage for many years in the School for the Blind he possessed an abiding affection that has told for their good. He set for them a high ideal in life, in literary, domestic and mechanical pursuits, and has set the standard of accomplishment for those unfortunate wards of the state. His was most active an energetic life for good, and in his death Arkansas witnesses the passing of one of its best beloved and most useful citizens. Possessing an activity know to few of 73 years, fully abreast of the times in educational advancement, his noble nature shrank instinctively from strife and dissension, and he claimed and held indissoluble the loyal friendship of all with whom be came in contact. O C Gray was born Dec 30, 1832, at Jefferson, Maine. In 1855 he graduated from Colby College, Waterville, Maine [where son Carl was a Trustee in 1938], being a classmate of Nelson Dingley who, as Congressman, afterwards became the father of the historic Dingley tariff. Last spring Col Gray attended the jubilee reunion of his class at Waterville. After attending Dartmouth College for a time, Mr Gray located at Minneapolis, Minn., and was superintendent of public schools of that city in 1856-57. In 1858 he came to Arkansas as principal of the Monticello Academy [That was Monticello Academy in Monticello, MN, then 1859 to Holly Springs, MS, and 1860 to Princeton], for two years. He was principal of Princeton [Female] Academy in 1860-61. At outbreak of the war, he enlisted as a private in the Third Arkansas Cavalry, commanded by Col Solon Borland and later Col Hobson and was promoted to the captaincy of Troop A. In 1864, returning home on a furlough, he was captured and held prisoner for a time, until he was exchanged and returned to his command. Later he became lieutenant-colonel [incorrect, captain highest rank obtained] on the staff of Gen Armstrong, and served under Generals Forrest, Wheeler and Johnston [as Provost Marshall]. At the close of the civil strife, he returned to the school room in his adopted state, and was principal of Princeton Female Academy in 1866-67. From 1868 to 1871 he was professor of mathematics in St John's College, at Little Rock, then the foremost educational institution of the state, and for several years was its president. [Arkansas School for the Blind dedicated its first built brick building in 1869 in Col Gray's honor, removed 1948, bricks used in new Governors Mansion]. In 1875 he removed to Fayetteville, and was professor of mathematics [and civil engineering, to 1879] in Arkansas Industrial University until 1886. He was principal of [1st school, Washington School] the public schools of Fayetteville in 1887-88 and then returned to the chair of mathematics in the university for seven years. [Mayor of Fayetteville 1886-87]. In 1895 he was elected superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Blind, which position he held until death, with the exception of Dr John H Dye in 1899 and 1900, when he was principal of the Speers-Langford Military Institute at Searcy. May 27, 1858, Col Gray married Virginia L Davis, who died Aug 17, 1886, at Fayetteville. By this marriage there were two [three] children both survive. [The first, Clyde Leslie, 1859-61, buried Princeton with mother's father Capt Geo Davis] The eldest is Carl R Gray, of St Louis, vice president and general manager of the Frisco system [1920, president Union Pacific RR, 1937, vice chairman], who has been a frequent visitor at his father's bedside during his illness, and who had been with him for over 24 hours preceding his death. The second [third] is Ethel, Mrs Leroy Kramer, of Kansas, whose husband is in the Frisco service. June 17, 1889, Col Gray married Mrs Mary N Beattie, a daughter of his old colonel, Solon Bourland (sic, Borland), and who had two daughters, now living, Misses Grace and Mary Beattie, and one son, Godwin Beattie. Mrs Gray survivies [died 1938]. There are also two surviving brothers, Thomas Gray of Minneapolis, Minn, and John D Gray, of Stockton, Calif. Col Gray has been a member of the Presbyterian church all his life, and was one of the oldest members of the Scottish Rite bodies of the Valley of Little Rock. He was also a member of Magnolia Camp, Masons, Union Chapter, Royal Arch, and Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar. EXPRESSION OF SYMPATHY The following resolutions were adopted by the school this morning: Whereas, God has seen fit in His infinaite wisdom, to take from us our beloved and most worthy superintendent, Col O C Gray: Resolve, That we, the Arkansas [School] for the Blind have sustained an irreparable loss, and we tender to his bereaved family our deepest sympathy in their ad our afflication. EMILE TREBING, N AMANDA MOORE, JOHNIE GARDNER, Committee. ========================================================================== (transcribed: 02/13/06) Copy courtesy of Colby College, Waterville, Maine The Arkansas Democrat's Editorial of 12/11/1905 DEATH OF COL O C GRAY In the death of Col O C Gray, superintendent of the Blind School, Arkansas suffers a severe loss. His long and useful career constitutes one of the most interesting pages in the history of the state. He had lived through more than three score and ten years and there was not a blemish on his life. As a young man he was a close student and a hard worker; he was brave soldier and able educator, a good citizen and a christian gentleman. As a public officer he won the confidence and esteem of the people and was never criticised for a dereliction of duty. He lived indeed an exemplary life and passed to his final reward honored and loved by every one. The great deeds of his life will live for generations and the principles he has instilled into the hearts of the young men who have come within the scope of his influence will never perish. The world is the better for his having lived in it and thousands are stronger and worthier of life for having met and associated with him. Generations yet to come will pay tribute to his memory and there will be cherished for him a tender feeling among all who were honored with his friendship. A grand and noble character has laid down the burdens of life. God rest his soul in peace. ========================================================================== (transcribed: 02/13/06) Copy courtesy of Colby College, Waterville, Maine The Arkansas Democrat Little Rock, Arkansas Monday December 11, 1905 OLIVER CROSBY GRAY (1832ME-1905AR) Hon George B Roses' Tribute Hon George B Rose, the eminent counselor-at-law and litterature of Little Rock, who was a pupil of Col Gray in the historic St John's College, pays his memory the following beautiful tribute: The death of Col Gray has brought a pang of sorrow to countless hearts. He was so long and so honorably connected with the educational institutions of our state, he helped so many young men and women up the steep path of culture, that those who will mourn his loss as a personal grief are many indeed. Of all the benefactors of humanity, the great teacher, he who can inspire in the youth entrusted to his charge a true love of learning and high ideals of manhood and womanhood, is perhaps the greatest. To him the future owes a debit that it can never repay. His work rarely wins brilliant recognition, and its financial reward is usually meagre, often niggardly; but in the quiet of the school-room he is laying deep and strong the foundations of our country's greatness. The sphere of Col Gay's activity was often too narrow, but he was truly a great teacher. In his power to impart his knowledge and to make others understand, he had few equals. His favorite was mathematics, and no youth who has seen him explain a problem in geometry or trigonometry can ever forget it. In is hands it became as lucid as daylight, and the very dunce of the school was made to comprehend. But his extraordinary power exposition was not his greatest merit as a teacher. That lay in his faculty of interesting his scholars, of winning their affection and esteem, of inspiring noble ideals in their breasts. Countless are the young men and young women who sat at his feet in the course of his long and honorable career, and there was not one of them who was not elevated in spirit by his companionship and example. He was so strong, so healthy in body and mind, so noncrable[?] in his conduct, so sane and wholesome, so perfect a gentleman, that association with him was a constant incitement to higher and better thing. He was a splendid disciplinarian. His long and admirable service as an officer in our Civil war had made him every inch a soldier, not merely in appearance but in his comprehension of his importance of discipline and his power to enforce it. But at the same time he was never harsh, and he had a remarkable power of maintaining the strictest order yet inspiring feelings of personal affection in his scholars. Perhaps the time he has the best opportunity to show his capacity was when he was at the head of St John's College in this city; and the numerous men of our state who in the old days attended that institution all regarded him with a love and respect that were only strengthened with the passing of the years, and with a ripened experience that enabled them to appreciate even more fully the value of his services and magnitude of their debt to him. A military school, it gave him an opportunity to display his fine qualities as a soldier; and while he never forgot his dignity as commandant, he took a personal interest in each cadet, and bound them to him with hooks of steal, whose grip time only tightened. In this solemn hour when the guide and instructor of or youth lies cold in death many a strong heart is bowed with grief for his loss, and from every corner of our state there go forth blessings from grateful hearts. Though in order to maintain discipline over a crowd of turbulent youths it was necessary for him at times to show severity, his strongest feeling was ever one of loving kindness and as he mellowed by advancing years this trait in his character became even more conspicuous, and made him finally the ideal head of our Institution for the Blind. There, among those afflicted ones to whom God's most glorious gift is denied, whose days must be passed in a night that knows no dawn, he had the best possible opportunity to grow that noble humanity which was his highest crown; and there he did all that man could do to illumine the darkness that brooded over them and to cheer their gloom. Hard indeed, will it be to supply his place; hard to find one who will be so wise, so kind, so patient and so helpful in dealing with those sorely afflicted ones. It is love that begets love, and the reason that Col Gray inspired so strong an attachment in his pupils was that he felt for them a sincere affection which did not stop at the doors of the college, but which followed them out into the world, rejoicing in their success and grieving for their sins and errors. He was what every teacher ought to be and what so few are, a large hearted man and one who realized that the most essential factor in education is not mere instruction but the building of character, the making of noble men and women, pure in heart, healthy in mind and body, who will do well and conscientiously the task which their hands find to do. And Col Gray was not merely a great teacher; he was a model in every relation of life. Strong as was the feeling of kindness in his bosom, his sense of justice was equally strong. A man could not have been a better husband and father than he, a kinder neighbor, a truer friend. As a citizen he was patriotic, taking an active and intelligent interest in public affairs, and his voice was always on the side of justice, decency and truth. After a long, laborious and most useful life, a life full of kind and gentle deeds and animated by a noble ambition to benefit his fellow and especially the youth of the land, he has passed to his reward, and many are they who were arise and call him blest. ========================================================================== (transcribed: 02/13/06) Copy courtesy of Robert C Knutson, MD The Memphis News Scimitar Memphis, Tennessee Monday December 11, 1905 FRIEND LOST TO BLIND CHILDREN COL O C GRAY PASSES AWAY AT ARKANSAS STATE INSTITUTION HIS LIFE AND GOOD RECORD Head of School for Blind Goes to Rest After Years Ably Spent for Welfare of Others Arkansas Bureau C E Harper, Mgr. LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Dec 11 --- The funeral of Col O C Gray was held at 3 p m yesterday at the First Presbyterian Church, the services being conducted by the Rev J S Edenburn, the pastor. The funeral was under the auspices of the Hugh de Payens Commandery and was attended by hundreds of leading citizens of Little Rock, evidencing the high esteem in which the deceased was held. The floral offerings were numerous and most beautiful. The incidental music was furnished by the pupils of Arkansas School for the Blind, who looked upon the deceased almost with the veneration due an indulgent father. The body was taken to Fayetteville by special train for burial. Oliver Crosby Gray, superintendent of Arkansas School for the Blind, died at 5:30 p m Saturday at the school, after a six weeks' illness with cerebro-spinal meningitis. For half of this period his condition has been critical, and while his death came as shock to the entire state, it was not wholly unexpected, and his family and friends were in a measure prepared. He was one of the foremost educators of Arkansas, and his life work has left its deep impress upon the youth of the state. Many of those who were his pupils in the old St John's College of Little Rock, and at the State University, are now among the leading men of the state in business and the professions, while for the unfortunates who have had the privilege of his tutelage for many years in the School for the Blind he possessed an abiding affection that has told for their good. He set for them a high ideal in life, in literary, domestic and mechanical pursuits, and has set the standard of accomplishment for those unfortunate wards of the state. His life was active an energetic for good, and in his death Arkansas witnesses the passing of one of its best beloved and most useful citizens. Possessing an activity know to few of 73 years, fully abreast of the times in educational advancement, his noble nature shrank instinctively from strife and dissension,and he claimed and held indissoluble the loyal friendship of all with whom be came in contact. His Life. O C Gray was born Dec 30, 1832, at Jefferson, Maine. In 1855 he graduated from Colby College, Waterville, Maine [where son Carl was a Trustee in 1938], being a classmate of Nelson Dingley who, as Congressman, afterwards became the father of the historic Dingley tariff. Last spring Col Gray attended the jubilee reunion of his class at Waterville. After attending Dartmouth College for a time, Mr Gray located at Minneapolis, Minn., and was superintendent of public schools of that city in 1856-57. In 1858 he came to Arkansas as principal of the Monticello Academy [That was Monticello Academy in Monticello, MN, then 1859 to Holly Springs, MS, and 1860 to Princeton], for two years. He was principal of Princeton [Female] Academy in 1860-61. At outbreak of the war, he enlisted as a private in the Third Arkansas Cavalry, commanded by Col Solon Borland and later Col Hobson and was promoted to the captaincy of Troop A. In 1864, returning home on a furlough, he was captured and held prisoner for a time, until he was exchanged and returned to his command. Later he became lieutenant-colonel [incorrect, captain highest rank obtained] on the staff of Gen Armstrong, and served under Generals Forrest, Wheeler and Johnston [as Provost Marshall]. At the close of the civil strife, he returned to the school room in his adopted state, and was principal of Princeton Female Academy in 1866-67. From 1868 to 1871 he was professor of mathematics in St John's College, at Little Rock, then the foremost educational institution of the state, and for several years was its president. [Arkansas School for the Blind dedicated its first built brick building in 1869 in Col Gray's honor, removed 1948, bricks used in new Governors Mansion]. In 1875 he removed to Fayetteville, and was professor of mathematics [and civil engineering, to 1879] in Arkansas Industrial University until 1886. He was principal of [1st school, Washington School] the public schools of Fayetteville in 1887-88 and then returned to the chair of mathematics in the university for seven years. [Mayor of Fayetteville 1886-87]. Elected Superintendent. In 1895 he was elected superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Blind, which position he held until death, with the exception of Dr John H Dye in 1899 and 1900, when he was principal of the Speers-Langford Military Institute at Searcy. May 27, 1858, Col Gray married Virginia L Davis, who died Aug 17, 1886, at Fayetteville. By this marriage there were two [three] children both survive. [The first, Clyde Leslie, 1859-61, buried Princeton with mother's father Capt Geo Davis] The eldest is Carl R Gray, of St Louis, vice president and general manager of the Frisco system [1920, president Union Pacific RR, 1937, vice chairman], who has been a frequent visitor at his father's bedside during his illness, and who had been with him for over 24 hours preceding his death. The second [third] is Ethel, Mrs Leroy Kramer, of Kansas, whose husband is in the Frisco service. June 17, 1889, Col Gray married Mrs Mary N Beattie, a daughter of his old colonel, Solon Bourland (sic, Borland), and who had two daughters, now living, Misses Grace and Mary Beattie, and one son, Godwin Beattie. Mrs Gray survives [died 1938]. Col Gray has been a member of the Presbyterian church all his life, and was one of the oldest members of the Scottish Rite bodies of the Valley of Little Rock. He was also a member of Magnolia Camp, Masons, Union Chapter, Royal Arch, and Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar. ========================================================================== (transcribed: 02/14/06) Copy courtesy of Fayetteville Public Library The Fayetteville DEMOCRAT Fayetteville, Arkansas Thursday Evening -- Dec 14, 1905 COL O C GRAY BURIED A special train arrived Monday morning from Little Rock bearing the remains of Colonel O C Gray. The body was attended by Mr Carl Gray and a number of templars who were intimate friends of the deceased. News of the death of Colonel Gray reached this city yesterday and created a gloom among the hundreds of our citizens who knew and loved him. During the many years that he resided here his quiet gentle life and manly dignity endeared him to everyone and his great intellect had a pronounced influence on the public mind. He was a native of Maine and after his graduation from a leading educational institution at Waterville he attended school at Dartmouth. After that he came to Arkansas [after 4 years in Minnesota, and 1 year in Mississippi] while still in his young manhood and identified himself, heart and soul, with the interests of this state. Soon after he settled here the war broke out and he took up arms with the south. He made a valiant record as a soldier, entering the army as a private and surrendering as a colonel [highest rank was captain]. His whole life was characterized with an earnestness that won all things for him and in whatever business he ventured success went with him. He was a brave director and a wise counselor in war, a patriot always and in civil life a foremost citizen. He was honored with offices of high trust before, during and after the war. Among some of the positions he held are the following: Superintendent of public schools, Minneapolis, Minn, 1856- 57, principal of Monticello Academy, Monticello, Ark [actually Monticello, Minnesota 56-58] 60-61. In the later year was principal of Princeton Female Academy, and after the war returned to this position. Professor of mathematics in St Johns College, 1868-71 [ 1869, Arkansas School for the Blind built their first brick building, dedicating it to Col Gray, to be removed in 1948 with b ricks used in Governors Mansion]; president of St Johns College 71-75; professor on mathematics [first chair of civil engineering, 1875-79] in University of Arkansas, 75-86; principal of [first public school, Washington, 1885] public schools and Mayor of Fayetteville, 87-89; professor of mathematics in University of Arkansas, 89-95 [GRAY HALL dedicated to his memory in 1906, removed in 1966]; principal of the Arkansas School for the Blind, 1895-1905, with exception of two years during which time he was president of the Speers-Langford Institute at Searcy; His seventy-three years were crowned with usefulness and honor. The funeral was conducted today at 2:00 p m , Rev Dr Davies and J J Vaulx officiating. The remains were laid to rest in the Evergreen cemetery [lot 144] with Knights Templar honors. All the immediate family were present. ========================================================================== (transcribed: 02/15/06) Copy courtesy of Arkansas History Commission. Published in The Fayetteville Daily. Saturday Evening January 6, 1906 To the W M Wardens and Brethren of Washington Lodge No,1 A F & A Masons, Fayetteville, Arkansas. [1st Masonic Lodge in Arkansas] We your committee, appointed to draft a suitableexpression of the sense of the Lodge, in view of the death of Brother O C Gray, beg leave to report the following Memorial Resolutions and move to adopt, viz: It is upon occasion such as this that we must allrealize the futility of human language, the utter inadequacy of verbal expression. We have lost a dearly beloved friend, an honored member, a zealous and learned craftsman, a beloved frater, a faithful companion, an ever courteous, valiant and chivalrous Sir Night; yet we have no language to express our sense of loss, or words that will sound the depth of our sorrow. But we know the summons of the Supreme Grand Master found our loved Frater ready; That the message fell upon a stilling ear; and that the loss is our brother's eternal gain. We must be men, before we can become Masons, and, inall the relations of life, Col Gray was, essentially, a man of commanding presence and engaging appearance, he was admired by all with whom he came in contact; his ripe scholarship, his integrity of character, his gentleness of deportment, and the absolute sincerity of his convictions endeared him to his friends and won the cordial respect of is opponents; while the strength of his affections, the purity of is life, ad his engaging qualities of head and heart rendered him peculiarly happy in all his domestic relations. His public life was, mainly, spent in teaching, and death found him at his post. For many years he was professor of Mathematics in ourstate university and for several years of the time, also served as Commandant and the student that did not love and honor Col Gray was a rare exception. Born and reared in the state of Maine, Col Gray came to Arkansas soon after completing his college course, and when war was declared in '61, he abandoned the school room, donned the gray and fought for four years in behalf of his adopted Southland; earning upon many a field the title that he bore throughout the remainder of his life. When, in '74 the re-construction trouble threatened to terminate in war, Col Gray, who was then at the head of St John's College, at Little Rock, upon the call of the governor, mustered his cadets and reported for active service; ready, as ever, to fight in support of his convictions. Another strong characteristic of Col Gray was his unselfishness. He would readily condone a wrong or injury personal to himself; but was ever strong to condemn and quick to resent any injury or injustice suffered by a friend. Yet his counsel was always wise and prudent, and his supply of oil for troubled waters as unfailing as the widow's curse. To his friends he was a friend indeed; the familiar friend in whom the soul trusted and could well trust. As a Mason, Brother Gray was a skillful, learned andfaithful craftsman; renowned throughout the state as a learned and zealous Mason; a co-worker with and the peer of such distinguished Masons as English, Barber, and Henry. During all the years of his active membership in this lodge. Brother Gray was ever primus inter pares. Regular in his attendance, able and we see his face no more; but his life remains with us as a benediction, and his example is ever before us. "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Therefore, Be it Resolved, That in the death ofBrother Gray this lodge, the Masonic fraternity of the City and Masonry throughout the state have suffered an irreparable loss. That the foregoing Memorial be and the same is herebyadopted, as expressing the sense of this lodge, in view of the occasion: That we earnestly and deeply sympathize with the widowand family of our deceased Brother,and commend them to Him who alone can afford comfort and consulation. That our altar, stations, and working tools be drapedin mourning, for the full period of thirty days: and That this Memorial, with appending Resolutions, bespread at full length upon our records; and that a certified copy of same be given the widow and family of deceased. All of which is fraternally submitted. E B Wall, ) Jas J Vaulx, )- Com. J F Reagan. ) ========================================================================== (transcribed: (02/14/06) Copy courtesy of Arkansas History Commission Published in The Fayetteville Daily January 29, 1906. Resolution of Baldwin Commandery No 4 on the Death of Brother Oliver C Gray. To the officers and members of Baldwin Commandery No 4. We, your committee appointed to draft suitable resolutions on the death of our beloved Frater, Oliver C Gray, beg leave to make the following report and more its adoption with the accompanying resolutions: Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in his wise Providence, to take out of this world the soul of our deceased Frater, we bow with reverence and humility to the Divine will and hereby express our appreciation of Brother Gray's character. As a Mason from the first to the thirty-second degree ad from the Blue Lodge to the Asylum, it was not alone or principally the Ritual and the outward ceremonies; he observed and loved those because they embodied and taught the deep principles of proper living. As a lover of Symbolic Masonry he endeavored to circumscribe his actions and keep his passions within due bonds, squaring his actions by the principles of virtue and morality, walking uprightly toward God and men ever remembering that he was traveling on the level of time to that county from whose bourne no traveler returns. As a Caputulor(?) Mason he was clothed with fervency(?) and zeal ever ready to dispense light and knowledge to his less informed brethren and endued with that purity of heart and restitude(?) of conduct that should characterize every one who seeks to enter the sacred Tabernacle above. He was a true Knight Templar who xxxx strove to keep his vows. He was a Knight without fest and without reproach, ever bearing himself courteously, gallantly and knightly. He was a man of unsullied reputation and spotless scutcheon who was ever ready to help the down trodden and oppressed and to draw his sword in defense of destitute widows, helpless orphans, innocent maidens, and the christian religion. Our Frater's pilgrimage ended and his warelare(?) accomplished and he now rests in the Asylum of Peter, the Paradise of God. Peace be to his ashes and may light perpetual shine upon him. Resolved, that , in mourning the loss of our dear Frater, we thank God for his good example and pray to Him to give us grace so to pass the time of our pilgrimage and to accomplish our warfare as to be accounted worthy to enter into the Asylum of Perpetual Rest. Resolved, that a copy of this preamble and these resolutions be sent his widow and family with the assurance that their sorrow is our sorrow. Resolved, that a copy be sent to the city papers to be printed in their daily and weekly issues. Jas J Vaulx, H F Rengan, C H Brough, Approved in open Commanding Jan 25th A D, 1906, A O 7SS. Frank Hill, Recorder. ==========================================================================