I finally took the time a few weeks ago to think about something that’s been niggling at my brain for a while now–are the family portraits in The Gray Clan the right people? So many of us have looked at these photos as fact, yet given the dates and the history of photography, there’s no way these photos are connected to the right people.
I feel like the bearer of bad tidings with this post. For myself, I’ve grown accustomed to associating these photos with the ancestors in my mind as I’m researching. It’s a bit of a letdown!
A Timeline of Photography Relevant to the Early Grays
1826 or 1827: The first known photo was created in Burgundy, France and consisted of a very blurry view out a window.
1838: The first known photograph capturing a person is taken in Paris, France.
1839: The first photo of a person is taken in the United States.
Circe 1840-1841: Daguerreotype photography studios begin appearing in U.S. cities
Learn more about the history of photography in America on the Library of Congress’s website
The Gray Clan Photos
Thomas & Mary Gray
If the dates in The Gray Clan are correct, Thomas and Mary were both born about 1761. Mary died about 1830 and Thomas 1853. Based on those dates and the photography timeline above, there’s no way it’s Thomas and Mary in this photo.
James Gray
From The Gray Clan, “The above picture of James Gray, a ver old Daguerreotype, must have been taken about the time of his marriage. We are indeed fortunate to have these pictured faces of our old Pioneers.”
James was supposedly born in 1786, died in 1868 and was married sometime before 1813. Again, given the dates and history of photography, there’s no way this can be James Gray son of Thomas and Mary Gray.
William Gray
According to The Gray Clan, William Gray was born in 1789 and died in 1847 and gives his age in this photo as “about 30.” That would date this photo around 1819 and again that’s just not possible.
John Gray
John Gray was born around 1791 and died around 1853. That would make him at least 50 years old in this photo. Unless we have amazing genetics, there’s no way this gentleman is 50!
Thomas Gray, Jr.
The Gray Clan states that Thomas Gray, Jr. is about 30 years old in this photo and this gentleman could very well be that age, but Thomas Gray, Jr. was born in approx. 1799.
A Theory as to Who These Photos Represent
Thanks to some very helpful people in the Genealogy – Dating Old Photographs group on Facebook, including two people with links to our Grays, I have a theory.
The photo we think of as Thomas and Mary is most likely from the 1860s. I believe this could instead be Thomas Gray, Jr. (1799-1876) and Elizabeth Craig Gray (1799-1866). If the photo was taken in the 1860s before they passed, they both would have been in their 60s which seems plausible ages of the people in the photo. Thomas and Elizabeth had eight children including a Thomas (1832-1864), James (1833-1865), John (1834-1853) and William (1840-1863). These could be the gentleman in the other photos, especially if these photos had been passed down through the same branch of the family.
There are also plenty of other Thomas, James, John, and William Grays among the branches of the family tree in the third generation and right time period.
I’d love to hear what you think. Comment below or send me an email. And I’d really love to find out if there’s an ancestor who still has any of these original photos!
