John Clinton Gray (December 4, 1843 – June 28, 1915)[1] was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
John Clinton Gray | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Gray, c. 1913 | |
| Judge of the New York Court of Appeals | |
| In office January 1888 – 1913 | |
| Preceded by | Charles A. Rapallo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 4, 1843 |
| Died | June 28, 1915 (aged 71) |
| Relations | George Zabriskie Gray (brother) |
| Parent(s) | John A. C. Gray Susan Maria Zabriskie |
| Education | University of Berlin |
| Alma mater | New York University Harvard Law School |
Early life
editGray was born on December 4, 1843, in New York City. He was the son of wholesale dry goods dealer John Alexander Clinton Gray (1815–1898) and Susan Maria (née Zabriskie) Gray (1814–1904).[2] His siblings were George Zabriskie Gray (dean of Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge),[3][4] and his sister, Katharine Gray (wife of Hackley Bartholomew Bacon) and Frances Susan Gray. He was of French-Huguenot and Polish descent.[5]
He was educated in Paris and at the University of Berlin. He graduated A.B. from New York University in 1865. Then he studied law at Harvard University and graduated LL.B. in 1866. In 1868, he received the degree of A.M. from New York University.[2]
Career
editAfter his graduation from Harvard, Gray went to New York City where he began practicing law becoming a member of the law firm of Davis, Eaton & Taylor. Later, he became the senior member of Gray & Davenport, where he focused on corporate law.[2]
In January 1888, he was appointed by Governor David B. Hill to the New York Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles A. Rapallo.[6] Until c. 1884, Gray was a Republican, when he became a Democrat, but reportedly, he was uninterested in politics.[7] In November 1888, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to a full fourteen-year term, was re-elected in 1902, and remained on the bench until the end of 1913 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years.[8] In 1913, Harvard conferred the honorary title of LL.D. on him.[2]
Personal life
editGray was married to Henrietta Pauline "Etta" Gunther (1848–1883), a daughter of William Henry Gunther. Before her death in 1883, they were the parents of five children:[2]
- Pauline Gray (1873–1954), who married Dr. Burr Ferguson in 1899.[9][10] They divorced and she married Thomas Franklin Witherspoon in 1906.[2]
- Henry Gunther Gray (1875–1954),[11] a Deputy District Attorney in New York County under William T. Jerome; he married Edith Florence Deacon, daughter of Edward Parker Deacon and sister of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, in 1916.[2]
- Edith Romeyn Gray (1880–1964), who married Robert Stockwell Reynolds Hitt,[12] a son of U.S. Representative Robert R. Hitt, in 1902.[2]
- Albert Zabriskie Gray (1881–1964),[13] who married Marian Anthon Fish (1880–1944), a daughter of Mamie Fish and Stuyvesant Fish,[14][15] in 1907.[16] They divorced in 1934.[17]
- Austen Gray (1881–1954), who married Grace Eaton.[18][19]
After the death of his first wife, he married Grace Townsend (née Hawkshurst) Smith Turnbull (1846–1930), who born on Staten Island. Grace, the widow of both James R. Smith and Henry Turnbull, was a daughter of William Hawkshurst and Sarah (née Townsend) Hawkshurst.[2]
He was a member of the National Academy of Design, the American Museum of Natural History, the New-York Historical Society, the New York State Bar Association, and the Metropolitan Club.[2] In New York, Gray lived at 5 East 56th Street and for many years was a prominent member of the "summer colony of Newport" but sold his estate there a few years before his death.[1]
Gray died from "paralysis" and pneumonia on June 28, 1915, while spending the summer vacation at the Pinard cottage in Newport, Rhode Island.[1] After a funeral at St. Bartholomew's Church was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.[20] His widow Grace died in 1930.
Descendants
editThrough his eldest son Henry, he was a grandfather of three granddaughters: Audrey Gray (who married John R. Chapin Jr. in 1950); Beatrice D. Milo Gray (who married Austen T. Gray in 1941); and Alison Evelyn Gray (who married John F. Murray Jr. in 1948).[2]
Through his son Albert, he was a grandfather of Marian Stuyvesant Gray (who married Edward Fiedler Livingston Bruen in 1942).[2]
Through his eldest daughter Edith, he was a grandfather of Robert R. Hitt (who married Evelyn Bigelow Clark in 1932).[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c "JOHN CLINTON GRAY, EX-JUDGE, DIES AT 71. New York Court of Appeals Jurist Expires in Newport After Five Days' Illness. WAS APPOINTED BY HILL. Governor Afterward Vainly Sought His Removal Because of His Action in Upholding Patrick's Conviction" (PDF). The New York Times. June 29, 1915. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "John Clinton Gray". history.nycourts.gov. Historical Society of the New York Courts. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Yale University Class of 1896 (1907). Decennial Record of the Class of 1896, Yale College. De Vinne Press. p. 673. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "DR. GEORGE ZABRISKIE GRAY" (PDF). The New York Times. August 5, 1889. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Lawrence, William (1890). George Zabriskie Gray, D.D.: A Memorial Sermon Prepared at St. John's Memorial Chapel, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the Feast of All Saints, November 1, 1889. Printed for the Family. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "FOR THE COURT OF APPEALS.; THE GOVERNOR ASKED TO NOMINATE JOHN CLINTON GRAY". The New York Times. 7 January 1888. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "JOHN CLINTON GRAY NAMED; TO SUCCEED JUDGE RAPALLO IN THE COURT OF APPEALS. THE GOVERNOR FORCED TO DISREGARD POLITICS IN ACTING IN THIS MATTER--MR. GRAY'S STRENGTH". The New York Times. 21 January 1888. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Times, Special to The New York (23 November 1913). "QUITS BENCH THIS WEEK.; Judge Gray Retiring from Court of Appeals After 25 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "MARRIED. Ferguson--Gray". The New York Times. 1 May 1899. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Ferguson--Gray". The New York Times. 30 April 1899. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "HENRY G. GRAY DEAD; A LAWYER 54 YEARS". The New York Times. 16 July 1954. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (17 April 1938). "R. S. R. HITT DEAD; RETIRED DIPLOMAT; U. S. Minister to Guatemala From 1910 Until 1913 Is Stricken in Washington HE ALSO SERVED IN EUROPE Started Career in Paris Where His Father Once Was First Secretary of Legation". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Albert Z. Gray Dies at 83". The New York Times. 30 August 1964. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Obituary 1 – No Title". The New York Times. 31 January 1944. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "MRS. MARION FISH GRAY; Daughter of Late Stuyvesant Fish, Illinois Rail Head". The New York Times. 30 January 1944. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "ALBERT Z. GRAY WEDS MISS MARIAN FISH; 5,000 Guests Invited to the Ceremony at St. Bartholomew's in Madison Avenue. CRUSH AT THE CHURCH Guests Present from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Elsewhere – MacCracken-Dodd Wedding". The New York Times. 13 June 1907. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ Times, Special To The New York (5 December 1934). "DIVORCES ALBERT Z. GRAY.; Wife Waives Alimony in Obtaining Decree at Newport". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ Berns, Photo by David (16 December 1931). "MISS LAURA HOLMES TO WED A.T. GRAY; Betrothal of Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Argyll Holmes Is Announced. KIN OF SAMUEL J. TILDEN Her Fiance, a Harvard Graduate, is a Grandson of the Late Mrs. John Clinton Gray". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "TEN LIEUTENANTS; TWO CAPTAINS WED; Otis L. Guernsey Marries Miss Margaret C. Henderson in Church of Heavenly Rest. BRIDE OF LIEUT. MILLER Miss Evelyn Witherbee Weds In Grace Church--Lieut. J.C. Gray Marries Mrs. Grace Schoonmaker. Miss Witherbee a Bride. Weds Lieutenant John Clinton Gray. Carll-Eilbeck. Lieutenant Gorham Takes a Bride. Married at the Biltmore. Captain Stanleigh Greene Weds. Lieut. C.H. Halsted Marries. Seligman-Jaretski. Kidde-Banta. Mitchell--Stoddard. De Bevois--Crosby". The New York Times. 17 August 1917. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "JOHN CLINTON GRAY BURIED.; Many Jurists Attend the Services In St. Bartholomew's Church". The New York Times. 2 July 1915. Retrieved 4 March 2022.