Donald Gray1

(circa 1727 - after 1765)
Father-AssmdJohn Gray (say 1700 - aft. 1749); no official record yet found but John is obviously an important name for Donald and Kathrin, and John & Margaret (FOWLER) GRAY are in the right places, with additional circumstantial evidence from baptismal witnesses between the families2
Mother-AssmdMargaret Fowler2 (say 1705 - aft. 1749)
Relationship6th great-grandfather of Lorna Henderson

BMDB data

     Donald Gray was estimated to have been born cir. 1727 ?Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT, (not found 1725-1733, Watten, but only skim read, date based on gaps in John & Margaret's children, and date of Donald and Kathrin's marriage.)3,4
     Donald Gray married Kathrin Morgan on 27 Dec 1750 Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT, Entry for 4th (or 5th, not terribly legible) Dec 1750 reads: "Matrimonially contracted Donald Gray in South Dun and Kathrine Morgan there accomplished 27 Dec 1750" (the IGI shows date as 20th, but it definitely reads 27th.)1,5
     Donald Gray was estimated to have died aft. 1765 ?Watten, Caithness.
     Donald is assumed to belong to John Gray and Margaret Fowler.
Although no official record has yet been found John is obviously an important name for Donald and Kathrin, and John & Margaret (FOWLER) GRAY are in the right place (Sth Dun).

Additional circumstantial evidence comes from witnesses to various baptisms for Donald and Kathrin's children and those of his assumed siblings.

Given the known/assumed children for John & Margaret, and Donald & Kathrin's marriage, Donald would have to be born around 1727.

It would be good to prove this relationship. Any direct male line GRAY descendants of Donald's still around? And willing to join the GRAY Surname DNA project to see if we get a match (Y-DNA37 or more) to any direct male line descendants of any of the other sons?2,6

Census/Where lived/Occupations

     In Dec 1750 Donald Gray was living South Dun(n), Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT.5
     In Jul 1751 Donald Gray and Kathrin Morgan were living Houstry, Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT.7 By May 1754 Donald Gray and Kathrin Morgan were living North Dun(n), Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT.8 In Jul 1760 Donald Gray and Kathrin Morgan were living Laid of Dun, Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT.9
     Fr Feb 1763 - Aug 1765 Donald Gray and Kathrin Morgan were living at North Dun(n), Watten, Caithness.10,11

All the other info

     Donald Gray and Evander Gray Watten, Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT, in 1729 were possibly related, of an age to be uncle/nephew?12
     Donald Gray and Kaithrin Gray Laid, Par. of Watten, CAI, SCT, in 1758 were possibly related likely to be siblings, given that one of the witnesses for Donald's son Alexander's baptism was a John Manson of the right time/place to be the one married to Kathrin Gray d/o John Gray and Margaret Fowler, and that Donald in Laid (assumed to be this Donald) was a witness for the baptism of John Manson and Katherine Gray's dtr Margaret.13

External links

     Click here to see Donald's page on WikiTree, a (free) collaborative on-line tree.14

Family

Kathrin Morgan (say 1730 - aft. Aug 1765)
Children
  • John Gray15,7 (cir. Jul 1751 - bet. 1751 - 1756)
  • Donald Gray+8,16 (cir. May 1754 - bet. 1800 - 1841)
  • John Gray17 (cir. Nov 1756 - bef. 1765)
  • Alexander Gray+18 (cir. Jan 1758 - bet. 1820 - 1841)
  • William Gray+ (cir. Jul 1760 - Aug 1829); Relationship rather assumes that the Watten baptism of a William of the right age to a Donald is a match for the William in the Halkirk cemetery with a first son named Donald19
  • Margaret Gray10 (cir. Feb 1763 - )
  • John Gray11 (cir. Aug 1765 - )
ChartsMy pedigree chart
Paternal ancestors of Lorna
Paternal timeline
GRAY

My Caithness ancestors

Last Edited11 Aug 2015

Citations

  1. GRAY, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Mar. 1750 Donald GRAY and Kathrin MORGAN, batch M110422 (Watten), extracted 1993.
  2. "Lorna's Family History Musings", Nov 2003, updated Jul 2013.
  3. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, GRAY Baptisms, 1725 - 1733, skimmed Nov 2003.
  4. "Lorna's Family History Musings", Jul 2013.
  5. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Mar 1750 Donald GRAY & Kathrine MORGAN, extracted Nov 2003.
  6. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1749 Margaret GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  7. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1751 John GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  8. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1754 Donald GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  9. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1760 William GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  10. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1763 Margaret GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  11. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1765 John GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  12. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1729 James GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  13. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1758 Alexander GRAY, extracted Nov 2003.
  14. WikiTree online at http://WikiTree.com/, Added Oct 2011.
  15. GRAY, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Bap 1751 John GRAY or MORGAN, Batch C110422-?-990557, searched Nov 2002.
  16. GRAY, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Bap. 1754 Donald to Donald GRAY and Kathrin MORGAN, batch C110422 (Watten), extracted 1993.
  17. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap. John GRAY 1756, extracted Nov 2003.
  18. GRAY, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Bap. 1758 Alexander, to Donald GRAY and Katharine MORGAN, batch C110422 (Watten), extracted 1993.
  19. Birth baptism marriage: Watten, CAI Dist 43/2, Bap 1760 William GRAY, extracted Nov 2003 (identification of this as the baptism of the William who married Margaret Sutherland is based on birth date, and naming pattern only).

E. & O. E. Some/most parish records are rather hard to read and names, places hard to interpret, particularly if you are unfamiliar with an area.