History of Wexford County, MI. Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 183 - 184

TAYLOR W. GRAY

Those men who have devoted their lives to the development and extension of the agricultural interests of northern Michigan are deserving more than praise at the hands of the present generation and an indebtedness still heavier is due them from coming generations. It is their labors that have lightened the burdens of the present rural resident and made a garden spot instead of a wilderness for posterity. The subject of this review, Taylor W. Gray, is one of those whose good work as a woodman and agriculturist accomplished so much for the section of Michigan in which he resides and where he has resided for many years. He is a resident of Liberty township, his farm being a part of section 28. Taylor W. Gray was born on his father's farm in Morgan county, Indiana, January 6, 1839. His parents were David W. and Elizabeth (McCampbell) Gray, both now dead. She died at the family residence at the age of fifty years, while her husband died many years later, at the age of seventy-four years. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom the subject of this review was the third. He was reared in Indiana and engaged in agricultural pursuits until August, 1861, when he became a soldier in the United States army, enlisting in Company A, Thirty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war. His regiment was a part of the Army of the Cumberland and he participated in a number of the hottest battles of the war, among them that of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 19 to 25, 1864, and Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, July 19 and 20, 1864. At Springfield, Tennessee, November 26th and 30th, with his regiment, he was captured by the Confederates and incarcerated in Libby prison, where they languished for about two months, or until they were exchanged. The regiment was in the thick of the fight in most of the engagements from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and was with Sherman on that memorable march through Georgia to the sea. Mr. Gray was mustered out at the close of the war, in 1865, and returning to Morgan county, Indiana, he again engaged in farming, which has been his business since. In the fall of 1870 he came to Michigan and after taking a look over some portions of Wexford county, decided to locate there. He took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 28, Liberty township. Returning to Indiana he spent the winter there and in the spring of 1871 moved to the homestead he had entered. Mr. Gray was twice married. On the 10th day of April, 1854, in Owen county, Indiana, he was united in marriage to Miss Emerilla Nichols, a native of that county, born about 1848. They were the parents of three children, only one of whom, Savannah, is now living. She is the wife of Frank Moore. Emery grew to manhood and still resided at home, when he was stricken with illness and died at the age of twenty-one years. Mary was the wife of Sheridan G. Long, and they had not been long married when she died, at the early age of twenty years. Mrs. Gray had preceded her children into eternity several years, expiring at the family home in Liberty township in April, 1873. In March 1874, after being a widower for one year, Mr. Gray was again married, his bride on this occasion being Mrs. Jane Yeomans, widow of William Yeomans. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Bassett, of Allegan county, Michigan, and is a native of New York, where she was born in 1845. To this union six children were born, viz: Robert J., David W., Estella, Alice, Nettie and Henry M. Alice is the wife of James Robinett. Of the original one hundred and sixty acres upon which the subject located, he still retains ninety-one acres, fifty-eight of which are cleared, well cultivated and splendidly improved. The kind of farming that is best adapted to the conditions which prevail in northern Michigan makes it impossible for a farmer without large capital or much help to cultivate large tracts. A well cultivated small farm there is much more profitable than a large one which cannot receive proper care. It was this fact that influenced Mr. Gray in disposing of sixty-nine of the broad acres of his original homestead. The subject has been honored by the people of his township with various local positions, such as supervisor, treasurer and member of the school board. Ever since his residence in the county he has been very much interested in every local public enterprise and in everything that pertains to the township's welfare. While a Republican, he has no ambition to become a politician and has no desire for political preferment. He is interested in religion and church work, both he and his wife being members of the Christian church, the members of which are known as the Disciples of Christ. His life has been a very busy and useful one and because of his genial disposition, courteous manner and genuine worth he has won for himself a host of warm personal friends.