|
and lumberman in Cambria County. He was a Democrat, took active part in local politics and was a member of the Catholic Church. He died April 29, 1893. Joseph A. Gray, son of Philip and Susanna (Lantzy) Gray, was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools. He began life for himself as a lumberman on the Susquehanna River and from 1876 until 1886 ranked as one of the leading lumbermen of the state. In 1887 he founded a coal and real estate business. He also gave some attention to agricultural pursuits. In 1906 Mr. Gray erected a distillery in Spangler with a capacity of 100 gallons per day. In 1903 he erected a large feed mill at Spangler which was destroyed by fire in 1904. He was the main factor responsible for the building of the town itself. He is also the owner of several tracts of valuable coal and timber lands in this and adjoining counties, as well as in West Virginia. He was one of organizers of the Spangler National Bank and is one of its directors. In 1885 Mr. Gray was elected sheriff of Cambria County. He represented his party at the National Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1896. He and his family are member of the Catholic Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Gray the following children were born: (1) Clarretta, at home; (2) John W., born March 23, 1874, married Ida E. Link, lives at Spangler, had the following children: Eileen, Grant, and Orville, at home: J. Merle, H. Stanton, Warren, Kathleen, and Charles Allen, all deceased; (3) Iranaeus, born Oct. 8, 1876, lives at home; (4) Archibald R., married Estella Sharabaugh, lives at Wilkinsburg, Pa.; and they have five children: Geraldine, Juniata, Russell, Mary M., and Robert; (5) Bertha R., at home; (6) Joseph A., Jr., the subject of this sketch; (7) Margaret, lives in Philadelphia; and (8) Edwin V., married Martha Holmes, lives at Spangler, have had three children: J. Holmes and Jane, at home, and Earl, deceases.
Joseph A. Gray, Jr., received his education in the public schools of Carrolltown, after which he enlisted in Company F, Fifth Infantry, U.S. Regulars, and served three years in the Philippine Islands, later being transferred to the U.S. Signal Corps. He returned to Spangler at the expiration of his enlistment and entered Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., from which he graduated in 1905. He then read law in the offices of P.J. Little, attorney at Ebensburg, and was admitted to the bar of Cambria County in 1910. He practiced his profession at Ebensburg for five years, when he removed to Spangler, where he has
|
