Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Gray, James D. 1860 - 1907
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 July 3, 2013, 6:39 pm

Source: See Below
Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher

JAMES D. GRAY.

James D. Gray, who passed away in Ottumwa May 4, 1907, was long numbered among
the prosperous business men of the city, winning success as proprietor of the
Ottumwa Mineral Springs & Bottling Company. He was born in the Wapello county
jail, in Ottumwa, November 6, 1860, when his father was serving as sheriff. His
parents were L. E. and Annie (Carpenter) Gray, whose marriage was celebrated in
Ottumwa. The father, a native of Indiana, came to Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1852. He
followed farming for some years and in 1859 was elected sheriff, serving for one
term. He later acted as alderman from the fourth ward in Ottumwa, being about
the only democratic alderman ever elected from that ward. His wife died in 1876,
aged forty-five years, leaving three children: Mrs. W. A. Carnes, of Ottumwa;
John W. Gray, who formerly served as chief of police in Ottumwa; and James D.,
of this review. For his second wife L. E. Gray chose Eleanor Bedwell, who passed
away in 1894. In 1878 he opened a grocery store near the Ballingall Hotel,
conducting it for two years under the firm name of L. E. Gray & Sons. During
this period he had formed a stock company and prospected for mineral water, and
in 1880 bored an artesian well in East Ottumwa, which supplies an abundance of
water. He had formerly been at Colfax and built the first large hotel there. In
1880, at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, he erected a hotel on the site of
James D. Gray's subsequent bottling works at Ottumwa and conducted it as a
sanitarium. The water is very strongly impregnated with sulphates of magnesia
and iron and is excellent as a remedy for rheumatism and stomach trouble. L. E.
Gray sold out this establishment about 1890, to E. K. Shelton, who conducted it
until it was destroyed by fire in 1892. James D. Gray, who had worked as clerk
in the hotel, then purchased the land and springs. The demise of his father
occurred at Ottumwa in June, 1895, when he had attained the age of sixty-six years.

James D. Gray was reared in Ottumwa, and his first work was as partner in the
grocery firm of L. E. Gray & Sons. He subsequently went west to Kansas, was
later married at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and immediately thereafter removed to
Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he engaged in the livery business for about one
year. After living in various towns in New Mexico and Kansas, he returned to
Ottumwa and engaged in the bottling business. He purchased the hotel site after
the destruction of the hotel by fire in 1892, cleared up the debris and built a
house. In 1894 he erected a building thirty-four by forty feet in dimensions,
the upper part being used for a residence and the lower portion as a bottling
works. It was located on Vernon avenue, one block from Main street, and the
artesian well water flowed into the building. During the season a large amount
of pop was manufactured,— about twenty-five hundred bottles daily,—and three
wagons were kept busy delivering the goods. Mr. Gray also erected a good barn
and other outbuildings. He did his own traveling in the interest of the firm and
enjoyed a very extensive patronage.

On May 24, 1887, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Mr. Gray was united in marriage to
Miss Nellie Bedwell, a native of Ottumwa, Iowa, and a daughter of Thomas and
Eleanor (De Ford) Bedwell, who were born in Indiana, came to this county in an
early day and here spent the remainder of their lives. They had six children,
four of whom survive. Mr. and Mrs. Gray had a daughter, Irene S., who was born
on the 14th of Feburary, 1890, and is now the wife of Fred W. Lang, of Ottumwa.

Mr. Gray gave his political allegiance to the democracy and for one term held
the office of sheriff in Wapello county, making a highly creditable record in
that connection. He was identified fraternally with the Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks, in which he served as esquire for two years, and also belonged to
the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Woodmen of the World,
the Foresters of America and the Eagles, being worthy president of the last
named. His religious faith was that of the Congregational church, the services
of which his widow also attends. His demise occurred in 1907, and his remains
were laid to rest in the Ottumwa cemetery. He had won many friends in both
business and social circles of the city, so that his loss was deeply felt and
his memory is still enshrined in the hearts of many who knew him. His widow, who
owns a residence and business property in the east end of Ottumwa, is also well
known and highly esteemed throughout her native city for her many excellent
traits of heart and mind.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914


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