OBITUARY:
G.W. Gray Died In His Eightieth Year Last Evening.
Lived In Salem Since 1865, and Is Survived by Widow and Six Children
Funeral Wednesday. George W. Gray, a resident of Salem since 1865, died about 9 o’clock last evening at his residence on east State street, after a lingering illness covering the major portion of the past three years.
Mr. Gray was in his eightieth year and prior to his last illness was a very active person for one of his advanced years. Mr. Gray was a native of Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he was born on August 5, 1820. He acquired an education by attending the Academy at Wellsboro in the same county. He removed to Marion, Linn county, Iowa, in 1840 where he did his first merchandising. In 1848 he was married to Minerva Berry, who with six children survives him. The children are: Mrs. J. M. Patterson, The Dalles; Mrs. Gertrude Lownsdale, Salem; Wm. T. Gray, Salem; Geo. B. Gray, Salem; Mrs. J. M. Kyle, Salem, and Chas. A. Gray, Salem.
In 1852 Mr. Gray removed to Lansing, Allamakee county, Iowa, where he became prominent as a successful merchant, subsequently being elected president of the National Bank of Lansing. In 1857 he was elected to the lower house of the legislature and in 1859 was elected to the senate from the [missing lines]
Oregon Statesman 24 July 1900 6: 1-2
FUNERAL OF G. W. GRAY.
Laid To Rest With Masonic Rites Yesterday.
A Large Concourse of the Neighbors and Friends Attended - Remarks by Rev. Dr. John Parsons. The funeral of the late George W. Gray was held from the family residence on East State Street, at 3 p.m. yesterday, and the remains were laid to rest in Rural cemetery with Masonic rites, amid a large concourse of the late neighbors and friends of the deceased. A large number of the friends and fellow citizens of the late Mr. Gray gathered at the family residence to show their respect for the deceased.
The funeral services were held at the residence, conducted by Rev. John Parsons, D.D., of the First Methodist church, assisted by Rev. H. A. Ketchum, pastor of the First Presbyterian church. A quartet, composed of Mrs. Boeschen, Miss Lillian Boblin, E. J. Swafford and J. W. Bickford sang with much feeling several selections. Miss Carrie Bradshaw giving the piano accompaniment. Salem Loge No. 4, A.F.&A.M., and Chemeketa Lodge No. 1, I.O.O.F., both of which orders claimed the deceased as an honored member, were present in a body, and the former took charge of the remains after the service, when the funeral procession was formed and proceeded to Rural cemetery, and there the remains were laid to rest with the impressive and beautiful ceremonies of the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows acting as an escort to their sister order.
The honorary pall-bearers were: Hon. A. Bush, Hon. G. P. Litchfield, Dr. C. H. Hall, Hon. Edward Hirsch, Ex-Governor Z. F. Moody, and Prof. T. M. Gatch, of Corvallis. The active pall-bearers, selected from the Masonic fraternity, were: Dr. W. H. Byrd, Chief Justice R. S. Bean; Judge George H. Burnett, Hon. I. L. Patterson, Dr. W. D. McNary and Jos. H. Albert. The funeral procession consisted of about forty carriages, while five streetcars carried a large crowd to the cemetery, three of them being occupied by the two lodges. The floral decorations and offerings were beautiful and profuse, and the grave was fairly covered with sweet-scented flowers. Dr. Parsons, in preaching the funeral at the home, said in part: "George W. Gray was born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, August 5, 1820, and he died in this city July 23, 1900, being 80 years old, lacking thirteen days. He was educated at the Academy at Wellsboro in his native county. But very early in life he entered a business house, and the foundation of his career was said. When he was 20 years old, in 1840, he moved to Marion, Linn county, Iowa, and commenced business for himself; and twelve years later, in 1852, he removed to Lansing, Allamakee county, in the same state. He resided there thirteen years, and became a successful merchant and president of the Lansing National bank. In 1865 he removed to Salem, Oregon. He was married in 1848 to Miss Minerva Berry. Seven children were born to them, six of who survive, and one went on before. Fifty-two years of married life is a rare occurrence, but God gave it to them; and though the widow mourns today, she looks back upon fifty years crowned with felicity and joy. The public life of Mr. Gray was brief, but distinguished. In 1857 he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature in Iowa, and in 1859 he was elected to the state Senate; and in 1863 he was re-elected as Senator. But in 1865, he resigned his seat and came to Oregon. At one time he was mayor of Salem, filling out the unexpired term of T. M. Gatch. Before and during the civil war his dominant political ideas were represented by the Democratic party, but he was opposed to the rebellion, and supported the administration of President Lincoln. When he left Iowa he was attracted to the Pacific coast by its gold and silver as money, and to Salem by its educational advantages. During the time of his residence in Oregon, Mr. Gray was practically retired from active business life; but he invested in property, and engaged in building up the city. For a brief period he owned and operated a linseed oil mill, but this was not entirely to his liking and he developed the rare gift of a man of middle life, of retiring on a competency, and enjoying the results of his toil. By the ancients it was said, "the end of labor is leisure," and this principle was adopted by Mr. Gray. But in the management of his affairs, in the welfare of his family, in books and periodicals, and in the current events of the world, he took a lively interest. About three years ago Mr. Gray’s health began to fall. It was "Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me." Business and politics faded from his vision, and what Max Muller called "the indestructible granite of the human soul," his religious faith, was uncovered and revealed. He lost interest in business; but that which is older than business, and stronger, never failed to interest him, and he could say: "Though from out our bourne of time and place. The flood may bear me far; I hope to meet my pilot face to face, When I have crossed the bar." This hope is not to be despised. John Ruskin was affected similarly to Mr. Gray, and it is mentioned as a beautiful incident that in his last days he was heard saying over and over: "Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me, And may there be no meaning of the bar When I pull out to sea." In Mr. Gray the triumph of religious faith was equally beautiful, and when death came it was like a shadow thrown lightly from a passing cloud. Death to him was a friend and not a foe. His time was come, his work was done, and the silent “opener of the gate” was his friend and benefactor. "Death," said Bacon, "Is a friend of ours, and he that is not ready to entertain him is not at home." But Mr. Gray was at home, and he was ready to entertain his friend. Dying in the evening of life and as the day dies, he reminds us of the fine saying of Coleridge: "That man has three treasures - love, light and calm thoughts; and three friends, more sure than day and night, himself his maker, and the angel of death." But a greater than Bacon or Coleridge, speaking of the death which he must accomplish, said, "I go unto my Father." But great is the mystery of life and death. Tennyson voiced this mystery in the well-known lines: "Thou madest him, he knows not why, He thinks he was not made to die." And he called death a "second birth." In the second book of his "Thoughts," Marens Aurellus considers "the business of dying," without illuminating the subject; but Jesus and his apostles taught that in dying the spirit is born into a wonderful life. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; for wide avenues of intellectual and spiritual enjoyment open to their vision, and in them they shall walk for ever and ever. God made man for himself and his hope is full of immortality. But the angel of sorrow always attends the angel of death. "With drooping head and branches crossed. The twilight forest grieves." And a vine mourns the breaking of its tendrels, when it is torn from the trellis. So these friends grieve in the shadow of death and weep because the associations of years are broken. God does not reprove sorrow, nor rebuke it; but he said "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." And Jesus showed the soul at strife. "A light that gleams across the wave, A rainbow shining o’er the grave." By that light millions have struggled through their grief, and "Learned at last to kiss the rod, And passed through sorrow up to God."
Oregon Statesman 26 July 1900 5: 1&2
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