#4 Henry Bray7,10 was born in 1715 in London, England. He signed a will on 17 June 1790 in Chatham County, North Carolina. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:
Sue Ashby canova@tstar.net
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Will of Henry Bray, dated 17 June, 1790 - no probate date.
Chatham Co., NC, Record of Estates, pg. 4b, 5
NC State Archives film # C.002.500In the Name of God amen I Henry Bray of the County Chatham and State
North carolina being weak and inform of Body but of perfect mind and
memory thanks be God Calling to mind the mortallity of my Body and
knowing that it is appointed once for all men to die do make and ordain
this my last Will and Testament, that is to say, principally and first
of all I give and recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God that
gave it and my Body I recommend to the earth to be burried in a decent
christain Burial at the discression of my Executor and as touching such
worldly Estate wherewith it has please god to bless me in this life I
give and dispose in the following manner_____
Item I give and bequeath to Mary Bray my dearly beloved wife one Bed
and furniture and her Saddle as her own property and the third part of
all the rest of my household goods Chattles and moveable Estate as her
own property and the use of my home Plantation so long as she continues
to be my widow or as long as she pleases to live thereon except she
marries__
Item I give and bequeath to my son Edward Bray the sum of Twenty
Shillings to him and his Heirs forever; ___ Item I give and bequeath to
my son Henry Bray my Land and all the remaining two thirds of my Estate
with his paying out of my Estate the sum of five pounds to each of my
Daughters Vix. Sarah Ramsour, Mary Johnson, Catharine Jones & Elizabeth
Poe) to him & his heirs forever_ I hereby constitute make and ordain my
Son Henry Bray Sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament and I
do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannull all and every other
former Testaments, Wills, Legaces, bequests and Executors by me in any
wise before named willed and Bequeathed ratifying and confirming this
and no other to be my last Will and testament In Witness whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and seal this seventeenth day June one Thousand
seven hundred and ninety
Signed Seal'd and pronounced
in presence of
Thos Ragland
Henry Bray Signed Henry (his "H" mark) Bray
A Copy Test
John Ramsey C.C.
---------------------------------------------------- Henry Bray, Jr. and his wife, M. Sarah Yokley, inherited the bulk of the
estate of his father in Chatham Co, NC. There is no record that they
were Quakers. The other son, Edward Bray and wife, Sarah Maynard, settled in Surry Co,
NC.
Apparently Sarah was Quaker and Edward was not at the time of their
marriage,
since she was condemned in VA for "marrying out of unity." Their son, Henry Bray, b 22 Aug 1755, and wife, Keziah Jones, settled in
Morgan Co, IN and belonged to the White Lick Meeting. Son, Joseph and wife, Elizabeth Lindsey, may have settled in Morgan Co,
IN
also.
Son, Richard Bray, may have gone to Monroe Co, KY. Son, Edward, and wife, Ann Dowdy, are thought to have settled in Monroe
Co,
KY.
Son, John Bray, and wife, Jane Unknown. Possible daughter, Sarah Bray, who married Elijah Graham.
He died on 11 February 1794 in Chatham County, North Carolina. Henry granted 300 acres in Orange County, North Carolina on 30 June 1762. The land was surveyed by his sons Henry and Edward on 26 November 1761. Henry was probably recruited to Orange County by Herman Husbands, a quaker and leading figure in the Regulator movement of the 1760's in Orange County. The grant was witnessed by William Lacy and Joseph or James Watson. Henry signed the grant HB and it is noted as "his mark". This could indicate that he was illiterate. Henry's death probably occurred between 1790 and 1794. Records from the Chatham County Court minutes show that in 1790 he was appointed administrator of the estate of Elizabeth Herrin and Phillip Herrin. In November of 1791 the Court minutes indicate that Henry Bray, Junr submitted an account of payments to creditors in the estate of the Herrins. This probably means that Henry Sr was dead or unable to complete the administration of the estate. Burial: 1794 Chatham County, North Carolina The following is all from Amelia Morrow: From Brooks and Kindred Families by Ida Brooks Kellam, 1950: "Gentleman" Henry Bray came to Chatham County, North Carolina, about 1754 and built his first residence in Matthews Township about 150 yards slightly northwest of the house where Richard Bray and Matilda Schmidt Paschal live. S. W. Paschal has said, 'I can first remember the lot was enclosed and had a fine lawn of short English lawn grass near the house site, and around for some distances were walnut trees, apple trees, some of the said to have been brought from England, as were all the old perennial garden vegetables, which were transferred to Mother's vegetable garden when Gentleman Henry moved, such things as horseradish, comfrey, rhubarb and garlic.' About 1783 he lift his first home and moved to a new place a mile or two south of Brush Creek Church." Siler City, NC history: The land on which Siler City eventually appeared was first mentioned in a request for a deed in 1754 by Herman Husband, a resident of the Sandy Creek community of Randolph County. The deed awarded him in 1757, was for 640 acres in the fork of Love's Creek entitled "The Desolate Tract". In 1769, Henry Bray purchased the tract and unlike Husband, probably settled somewhere in the vicinity; the Bray name still exists today as a prominent family name in the Siler City area. (Chatham Online) According to Mahala Bray Brown, in a letter dated 20, Aug 1891, she said, "Henry Sr. was her great-grandfather and he came to America sometime before the Revolutionary War. Henry Jr. was her grandfather and he served in the seven-year war (French and Indian War). She said her great-grandmother's name was Wilson." There's some confusion about just how many Henry Brays there were and which ones did what. There is a family legend that this Henry was the immigrant, coming to America in the late 1600s as a young man, having run away from being an apprentice in London. He quarreled with the tailor he worked for and hit over the head. Fearing he had killed him, he got passage to Maryland telling them that his uncle Dr. Thomas Bray would pay for the passage. There is record that money raised under the name of Dr. Thomas Bray was used to pay for passage of a Henry Bray in 1698, but there is no record found yet of a brother of Thomas who could have been the father of Henry. This same legend says Henry lived to be 113. Hard to believe, but oft-repeated. A Henry Bray shows up with land in North Carolina in the 1720s. From there on there are usually several Henry's owning and trading land in the area, complicating efforts to sort them all out.
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