George D. Gray, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of George D. Gray
GEORGE D. GRAY. At this juncture in a volume devoted to the careers of representative citizens of Porter county, Indiana, it is a pleasure to insert a brief history of George D. Gray, who has ever been on the alert to forward all measures and enterprises projected for the good of the general welfare and who has served his community in various official positions of trust and responsibility. He was assessor of Liberty township for eight years, was township trustee for five years and has also been constable. He is now devoting the major portion of his time and attention to diversified agriculture and stock-raising, his fine estate of one hundred and five acres being located in section 22, Liberty township, five miles distant from Chesterton.
George D. Gray was born in Noble county, Indiana, February 8, 1854, and he is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Houser) Gray, both of whom were born in Ohio, the former in Franklin county, in 1818, and the latter in Hardin county, in 1822. Thomas Gray came to Indiana in 1844, locating in Noble county, where he continued to reside until his demise in June, 1911. He was a farmer by occupation. Mrs. Gray passed to the life eternal July 3, 1907. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living in 1912 and concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated: William D. is a resident of Noble county, Indiana; Catherine is the wife of C. Surface, of Whitley county, Indiana; Mary is the wife of Edward Nulf, of Porter county; George D. is the immediate subject of this review; Jennie is the wife of Eugene Garrison, of Auburn, Indiana; Lincoln maintains his home at Seattle, Washington; and Elias resides at Syracuse, Indiana.
To the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the old homestead farm George D. Gray was reared to maturity. He received his educational training in the district schools of Noble county and attended a course of lectures in Valparaiso University. For one term he was engaged in teaching school in Porter county, Indiana, and as a young man he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1882 he turned his attention to farming and located on his present fine estate of one hundred and five acres in Liberty township in 1886. During the long intervening years to the present time he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits and his farm is recognized as one of the finest in Porter county. In his political convictions he is a stalwart Republican and he has long been an active factor in the local councils of that organization. In 1887 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of constable of Liberty township; he has also been township assesor, having served in that capacity for eight years; and for five years he was incumbent of the office of township trustee. He is well known throughout Liberty township and Porter county; is honest and upright in all his business dealings, and is a man well worthy of the unqualified confidence and esteem accorded him by his fellow citizens. He is ever on the alert to forward all measures advanced for the good of the general welfare and he is possessed of a kind heart and a generous spirit, always lending a helping hand to those less fortunately situated in life than himself. He is not affiliated with any religious denomination, although reared in the faith of the Baptist church. In a fraternal way he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, Lodge No. 12, at Chesterton, and he is connected with the National Insurance Company, in which he carries a life policy.
Mr. Gray has been married three times. To the first marriage, with Miss Anna Hubbard, there was one child born, Grace, wife of Benjamin Shane, who is a merchant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To the second marriage, to Miss Alice Alder, there was born another daughter, Verna Lentz Gray, a little miss of twelve years. At present Mr. Gray is a widower.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 793-794
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook