Here's the dope I have on George Gray, immigrant from Scotland and putative progenitor of one of the major Gray families in Maine.







"The remarkable story of George Gray


George Gray is claimed [9] to have been born in Lanark, Scotland, in the 1620s. His remarkable story is recorded in "The Gray Family of Hancock County, Maine" [1]:

George Gray was born circa 1630 at Scotland... In 1650 the town of Dunbar, located on the east coast of Scotland, was the scene of a bloody battle between forces of Cromwell, a pious Puritan leader, with his veterans from Ireland, and General David Leslie who was in command of the Covenanters in defense of the Catholics. Leslie's troops outnumbered Cromwell's army, but they were undisciplined clansmen of the Highland chieftains. Cromwell defeated Leslie's disorganized troops and three thousand Scots fell in this disaster, fighting hopelessly to the last. Ten thousand were taken prisoner, and about half were so exhausted by their fight, and disabled by wounds, that they were released. The able bodied prisoners, five thousand in number, were marched down to Durham and Newcastle-on-Tyne. The Cathedral at Durham was converted into a prison and the Highlanders were destined to spend an indefinite period as prisoners of war. Their food consisted of 'Pottage made with oatmeal, beef, and cabbage, a full quart at a meal for every prisoner. They had also Coals daily brought them, as many as made about 100 Fires both Night and Day, and straw to lie and aced rather like beasts then Men.....As to those that were sick,..... they had very good mutton broth, and sometimes veal broth, and beef and mutton boiled together.....There were also a physician to let them blood, and dress such as were wounded, and give the sick physic.' 'Notwithstanding all this many of them died and few of any other disease then the flux; some were kill'd by themselves, for they were exceedingly cruel one toward another.' 'Sixteen hundred men taken prisoners in a fanatical religious war, died within a period of fifty-eight days, nearly thirty a day. It is a revolting picture of savage cruelty, supplemented by ignorance of elementary hygiene.' Arrangements were soon made to transport Scottish prisoners to New England. In early November, 1650, one hundred and fifty Scottish prisoners were ordered to Augustine Walker, master of the ship 'Unity' to be transported to New England. It usually took six weeks to cross the Atlantic in favorable season and it was late December, 1650, before they arrived in Boston Harbor. They suffered from scurvy on the voyage, but how many died is not known. Some were sent to Lynn, Massachusetts to be employed in the iron works, and others were distributed to numerous towns in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. An interesting fact in connection with the deportation of these Scots is found in Berwick, formerly a part of Kittery, Maine, where a parish was called 'Unity Parish' doubtless from the prisoners who were sent there to work in the sawmills at that place, having come to New England in the ship of that name. In 1656 record was made of grants of land to some of these men, indicating they had been released from servitude. Among those believed to have been a part of the Dunbar prisoners settling in the Upper part of Kittery, now Berwick, Maine, was George Gray, the progenitor of the Gray Family of Hancock County, Maine.

Essential details of his capture and trip to New England are repeated in [2, p. 66]. Some more background concerning the Scots brought to America as indentured servants is given in [3]:

In November, 150 Scottish prisoners were delivered to Augustine Walker, Master of the Unity, to be transported to New England. His order to sail was dated November 11th and it presumed that he weighed anchor immediately. With this cargo of 150 souls, the Unity crossed the wintery seas of the Atlantic, probably landing in Boston harbor in late January. How many died during the voyage is not known, but upon arrival 60 were sold to the Lynn Iron Works, and the rest were distributed to various towns. The going price was between 20 and 30 pounds per man as payment for their transportation. The cost of an Atlantic passage was about 5 pounds so the owners of the Unity cleared about 1500 pounds. The average indenture was for 6 to 8 years. William Furbush and 16 other Scots were sent to the lumber mills of Kittery, Maine where they worked out their indentureship.

Reference [5] lists that "the following settled in what is now Berwick, Maine. Robert Macklaflin, Alexander Tomson, John Ross, Alexander Maxey (Maxwell), Niven Agnew, James Barry, Alexander Cooper, William Furbush, Daniel Ferguson, Peter Grant, George Gray, William Gowen, David Hamilton, Thomas Holme, John Key, John Neal, John Taylor, William Thomson, James Warren, John Carmichael, James Grant, James Jackson, Robert Junkins, Micum MacIntire, Alexander MacNair, Andrew Rankin."

The sawmill, owned by Richard Leader, was on the Piscataqua River [4]. It is said [8] that Leader was opposed to the submission of the local lands to the government of Massachusetts. Some of the inhabitants accused him of the desire and purposes to get the upper hand in government over them. In about 1655, Leader sold all his belongings in the area and eventually moved to Barbados. When Leader left, his Scottish employees, or apprentices, received grants of land from the town. George Gray was granted 60 acres of land at Kittery, York county, Maine in 1671 [6, p. 35]. George is recorded as a signatory to a petition at Kittery in 1679 for direct government. The petition cites the purchase of Maine but complains that Massachusetts is suppressing freedom of religion [6, p. 33, Record 288]. (It shouldn't be surprising that Gray objected to the Puritans of Massachusetts, given that he fought against Cromwell and the Puritans back in Scotland.)

George (aged 47) married Sarah Cooper (aged 16) in July 1672 at Kittery, York, Maine [1]. She was the daughter of Alexander Cooper of Kittery, a fellow exiled Scottish warrior. Alexander incidentally signed the same petition as George Gray asking for Maine to be separated from Massachusetts [6, p. 33, Record 288].

George died circa 1693 [1]. A copy of his will has been recorded [7, p. 40].

In the name of God Amen

I George Gray of Barwick in the province of maine in new England being sick and weake of body yet through gods mercys sound of mind and Memory Doe declare this to be my last

Will and Testament

Impr I Humbly render my soule to god that gaue it and my body to the Earth by decent buriall

Itm I bequeath vnto Sarah my loueing wife for her vse and the vse of her famely for ever and alsoe the one halfe of all my lands so long as she shall Continew in her Widdowhood

Itm I bequeath unto my sone Robert Gray the other halfe of all my lands to receiue them into his own lands at the age of one and twenty yeares and to be & remaine to him and his heirs for ever

Itm It is my Will that my sone George gray, If it ever shall please god to deliver him out of captivity {George was in captivity in Montreal [2, p. 66]} shall haue and Enjoy that halfe of my lands giuen to his mother for the time her Widdowhood or after her Death or Marriage and If my sone George Gray shall not returne from Captivity, then I giue said halfe of my lands to my two sones Alexander Gray & James Gray in equall partnership after the Death or Marriage of their mother

Itm for my cattell I giue them all to my foresaid wife only my sone Robert to haue the vse of the two oxen when he shall haue occasion of them for his own worke

Itm I doe hereby Nominate and appoint for foresd loving Wife Sarah Gray to be the sole Executrix of this my last Will and testament for confirmation whereof I the aforesd George Gray haue herevnto set my hand and seale the one & thirtieth Day of March Anno Domi 1692 George Gray

Sealed Signed & delivered in the presence of vs John Nason Abraham Lord John Wincoll



REFERENCES

[1] "The Gray Family of Hancock County, Maine" by Almon A. Gray, Blue Hill, ME, 1887. Many parts of this have been placed on the internet, and specifics for Joshua Gray can be located at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~drowles/gray/100000...

[2] Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825. Vol. II, David Dobson, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1993. Electronic records found on Ancestry.com

[3] "Descendants of William Furbrush," see http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/u/n/Royce-M-Hun...

[4] Steven Carlson, "The Scots at Hammersmith," see http://graytim.tripod.com/Saugus.htm

[5] "Section TP: Descendants of Alexander Innes," see http://armidalesoftware.com/issue/full/Thaler_706_main.html#...

[6] Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Sybil Noyes et al, originally published in Portland Maine 1928-1939, republished by Genealogical Publishing Company, 1979. Electronic records found on Ancestry.com

[7] "Maine Wills, 1640 - 1760," by William M. Sargent, Clearfield Press, originally published 1887. Electronic records found at Ancestry.com

[8] Everett S. Stackpole, "South Berwick, the First Permanent Settlement in Maine," 1 May 1968, see http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dearle/Stackpole.ht...

[9] Maine Genealogical Trails, York County, see http://genealogytrails.com/maine/yorkco/maine_census_yorkco_..."