Gray - John Sanford
Source: Family Histories of Montgomery County, Indiana. Paducah, Ky: Turner Publishing, 1988, p 176
John Sanford GRAY, born June 14, 1810 in Butler Co OH came to Ripley Twp by wagon in 1838 with his wife, Mary Kemp Gray, born Dec 24, 1810 also in Butler Co. They were married Aug 2, 1831 in Ohio and brought their four oldest children with them: Annaliza; John Kemp; James Beauchamp and Nancy.
Born after the arrival in Montgomery County were John Sanford; Elizabeth; Mary; Sanford Peter (Polk); Benjamin Taylor Ristine; Ellia and William. (pic of John Sanford Gray with Horse Thief Detective Assoc gavel). The grandparents of John Sanford were John and Elizabeth Johnson Gray. John Gray arrived in Delaware in 1770 from Scotland with his brothers, William and Peter.
The parents of John Sanford Gray were John and Nancy Beauchamp Gray with John S. being the 4th child. Siblings were Elizabeth; Mary; Abner; William Beauchamp and James Banning Gray. Maternal grandparents were Jesse and Leah Heath Beauchamp of Lexington Ky. Leah Heath was the daughter of William Heath of Somerset Co MD. j
John Sanford Gray was apprenticed in the cabinet making trade as a young boy and as a young man made coffins during the Cincinnati plague. During this time, he learned the art of winding sheets around the victims and also performed burial services when no one else was available. Over 20 orphans were cared for in his home. In 1840, John S. Gray purchased a farm two miles east of what is now Waynetown. Some of his land was donated for the Wesley Methodist Church and Cemetery; his mother, Nancy Beauchamp Gray was the first person buried in Wesley Cemetery. "Captain" Gray as he was known organized the Wabash Valley Detective Association in the he 1840s and 1840. This was a unit of the National Horse Thieves Detective Association, a vigilante Group of men sworn to put a stop to horse thievery which had become so rampant that some of the farmers were unable to till their fields due to the loss of their horses.
Capt. Gray was in charge at the time of the capture of the famous Redwood gang. In gratitude, the national Horse Thieve Detective Assoc erected a monument over his grave in Wesley Cem. The national organization achieved its greatest strength during the time he was its president. In 1868 John Sanford Gray supervised the construction of a gravel road form the Montgomery County line to Crawfordsville. It took 3 years to complete. The workers were paid 37 1/2 cents a day plus whiskey. Our subject was financially secure and is said to have offered a Morgan horse to anyone naming their child John Sanford.
He died April 23, 1895 while his wife Died Sept 20, 1870. Their son, James Beauchamp Gray born 1835 married Mary Ann Heath, born 1843, daughter of Abraham and Salome Ball Health, granddaughter of William heath of of Somerset co MD. James Beauchamp was also an excellent carpenter and purchased the farm near Waynetown which is still owned by his two granddaughters, Dorothy and Margaret Gray. James B. and Mary A. Heath Gray had 3 children: Polly, Charles Howard and Cooper Gray born 1876. Cooper was a genial, well-liked farmer in the Waynetown are who married his second cousin in 1902, Alice May Gray of Linn Co Iowa. Three daughters were born to the couple and all 3 were teachers in the Indian Public Schools.