Gray, Samuel

honorific(s): Mr., Esquire
Birth: June 21, 1751 in Windham, CT
Death: December 13, 1836 in Windham, CT
Affiliation

Windham County Courts

Education

BA, Dartmouth College; MA.

Nationality

American

Occupation

lawyer, Clerk of the Windham County courts

Residence(s)
  • Windham, CT (from 1751-06-21 to 1836-12-13)
Marital status

Married Charlotte, daughter of Jedidiah Elderkin of Windham, July 1788.

Biography

Samuel Gray was one of the first four graduates of Dartmouth College. He was the son of Samuel and Lydia (Dyer) Gray, of Windham, CT, and attended Moor's Indian Charity School. He was one of the students, along with David Fowler and Joseph Woolley, who witnessed and signed Jacob Woolley's confesson in 1763. Two years later, The Connecticut Board of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge considered appointing Gray as its "Scribe or Register," which included keeping the books and accounts for the Board and the School. He probably moved to Hanover with Wheelock and attended Dartmouth College as an independent student; along with John Wheelock (Eleazar's younger son), Sylvanus Ripley and Levi Frisbie, he graduated in the first class of 1771, but because of a lack of a quorum of Trustees, did not receive his official diploma until 1773. Because he was not a charity student, he was relieved of the obligation to become a missionary. Rather, he studied law, practiced in Windham, served as the Clerk of the Windham County Courts for more than 40 years, and also served as Commissary General during the Revolutionary War. He was an honored guest at the Dartmouth commencement of 1827, where he pointed out the site of the first College structures, including the place where a bbq was held at his own graduation.

Sources

Chapman, Rev. George T. Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College, from the first graduation in 1771 to the present time, with a brief history of the Institution. Riverside Press, 1897. ebook; Hoefnagel, Dick and Virginia L. Close. "Journey to Hanover, August 1771." Dartmouth College Library Bulletin. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Nov1995/LB-N95-Close.html; Worcester, Jonathan Fox. "Dartmouth College Class of 1827." Centennial Anniversary of the College, 1869. 2nd ed. ebook.