NOBLE COUNTY OHIO - BIO: John Gray (1887)

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Date: 14 July 2002
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From the The Ohio Biographies Project
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~usbios/Ohio/mnpg.html
a part of The U.S. Biographies Project
http://members.tripod.com/~debmurray/usbios/usbiog.html

Transcribed by Deb Murray.

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One of the most remarkable characters that ever lived in Noble County was
John Gray, of Brookfield Township. Although he was an early settler in the
county, it is not to his name as that of a pioneer that most interest
attaches. Far more important are the facts that made him celebrated,
causing his name to be the theme of talented writers both of poetry and
prse, and giving undying lustre to his simple, commonplace life. He was the
last surviving soldier of the American army in the Revolutionary War.

John Gray was born near Mount Vernon, Va., January 6, 1764, and spent his
boyhood in that vicinity. His parents were poor and he was brought up to a
life of toil and hardship. The same poverty was his condition throughout
his long life. The first day that he ever worked out he was employed by
George Washington at Mount Vernon. He seems to have been a favorite with
the Father of his Country, who frequently shook hands with him and
addressed to him encouraging words. He was the oldest of a family of eight
children, and on his father joining the patriot army in 1777 he became the
chief support of the family. Frequently the Grays were obliged to depend on
rabbits caught by John and his brother as their only meat. At one time John
worked a week at ploughing for two bushels and a half of corn. His father
fell at the battle of White Plains, and in 1781, John, at the age of
eighteen years, volunteered and served until the close of the war, being
present at the surrender of Cornwallis. He was in a skirmish at Williamsy
Ragan, at the Flats of Grave Creek. He again married in Ohio, but survived
his wife and all his children except one. He spent the last years of his
life at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Nancy McElroy, and died on the 29th
of March, 1868, being in the one hundred and fifth year of his age. The
records of the pension office at Washington prove that he was the last
surviving pensioner of the Revolution. No pension was obtained for him
until 1867, when, through the efforts of Hon. John A. Bingham, a bill was
passed by Congress giving him $500 per year to date from July 1, 1866, as
long as he lived.

John Gray was a man of spare and bony frame, five feet eight inches hight,
broad-chested, with a head that was well-shaped and massive. He had but one
bad habit - he chewed tobacco for nearly one hundred years. He was a man of
exemplary character and sound religious faith. He was a member of the
Methodist church for nearly eighty years. In the later years of his life
his hearing and sight became impaired and he was obliged to resort to
crutches. He warmly sympathized with the Union cause during the late war,
and lamented the course of his native State. Quietly, peacefully, as he had
lived, the last of the Revolutionary veterans sank to rest amid the rural
scenes which he loved so well. No proud monument adorns his resting place,
but it is to be hoped that the public-spirited citizens of Noble County
will some day see that an appropriate memorial stone is placed there.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by 
L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
Brookfield