Gray - Thomas W. - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

 

Farming is a delight to such men as Thomas W. GRAY of Sugar  Creek Township, Montgomery County for he never goes about his  work in an apathetic way and half-heartedly, but on the contrary  is always very much in earnest and never lacks enthusiasm so his  tasks therefore seem lighter than they otherwise would and he  gets better resultst han others who seem to have formed a  distaste for this vocation. He makes it a point to keep his  fields clear of weeds, sprouts, and rocks, his fences and  buildings carefully repaired and everything in ship shape order,  and we are glad to give him a conspicous place in the list of  present day progressive tillers of the soil in this county.

Mr.  Gray was born on Feb 23, 1860 in Sugar Creek Township, this  county. He is a son of Thomas and Phoebe Peterson Gray. The  father and mother were natives of Ohio, the birth of the former  1818 died 1868. Th emother was born in 1826 and death in Sept  1876. They devoted their lives to getneral farming and were the  parents of 10 children, 5 of whom are living: Robert F; THomas W;  James B; Martin B and Perry G. Thomas W. Gray grew to manhood on  the farm and he did his share of the general work about the  place. He received his education in thecommon schools.

On Dec  23, 1884, he was married to Vena Mahoy, who was Dec 27, 1861 in  this county. She is a daughter of George and Lydia Daughterty  Mahoy. Here she grew to womanhood and received a common school  education. One child was born to our subject and wife, Zola, who  died in 1899. In 1900, our subject took a child, Lois, to raise  when she was but a few months old. She is now attending school.  Mr. Gray has devoted his life to farming and has met with a large  measure of success and he has raised cattle, including a few  short horns.

He has a fine farm of 320 acres, all tillable but  about 20 acres, which is in groves and good pasture and some  timber. The place is fairly well tiled and otherwise well  improved and a good set of buildings is to be seen ont he land.  He has made these improvements himself and has one of the best  farms in thenortheastern part of the county. Polticially, he is  a Republican and elected a member of the advisory boar din 1910  and he has held the office to the present time and has been very  successful in discharging the duties of the place in a manner  that has won the high esteem and trust of all concerned. He is a  man who, while laboring for his own advancement delights to see  the condition of his neighbors improve and the general upbuilding  of the county - typed by kbz.