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Ellis Bray to Abraham Bray.
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The Bray family were early white settlers of what is now southern Ontario. Members of the family are the descendants of George Bray (1795-1846) who was born in England on December 11, 1795. He married Ann Preston (b. 1796) and the pair had 10 children: Jemima (b.1816-1866), Abraham (1818-1901), Isaac (1819-1837), Sarah (b. 1821), Rebecca (b. 1824), Rachel (b. 1827), Ruth (1832-1837), Hannah (b. 1834), Mary (b. 1839) and Jacob (1840-1920).
Eldest son Abraham immigrated to Canada in the early 1840's where he settled in Zorra Township and began to farm. By 1845 he had married Sarah, also a British immigrant, and the couple had nine children: George (b. 1845), Elizabeth (b. 1847), Robert (b. 1849), James (b. 1853), Mary Jane (b. 1855), John (b. 1858), William (b. 1860), Marie (b. 1862), Joseph (b. 1867).
Abraham's youngest sibling, Jacob, settled in the Listowel area and there married Jane Brown (b.?). Jacob and Jane had son George (1873-1937) who later married Florence Murray (1874-1959).
(George) Murray Bray (1905-1974), lawyer, was born January 12 1905 to Florence Murray Bray (1874-1959) and George Bray (1873-1937) both of Canada. Born in Perth, Murray and his parents later moved to 70 Margaret Ave. in Kitchener. Murray studied law in Toronto and in 1929 he was called to the bar. He began working at his father's law office of Sims, Bray, McIntosh and Schofield in Kitchener. In 1928 Murray married Isabel Treacy (1906-1986) daughter of William (1878-1953) and Francis Crawford Treacy (1875-1929). Murray and Isabel had two children, William George, called Bill (b. 1929) and Judith (b. 1933). The family of Murray Bray lived in the Westmount region, at 145 Union Blvd. and later at 54 Rusholme Ave. Murray died in 1974 and Isabel in 1986.
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One letter from Ellis Bray to Abraham Bray, dated January 21, 1877 from Cheshire, England. Ellis Bray is a cousin of Abraham Bray, son of Uncle James. Ellis gives a detailed account of his life over the last ten years traveling through the United States as a labourer, making reference to Chinese labourers and "troublesome" Native Americans. The letter also includes details of Ellis' life back in England, where he married and became a station master, of his father's death on February 12, 1874, and accounts of Bray family still living in England, including James' siblings Uncle William and Aunt Mary, and Ellis' siblings.
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Tearing along fold lines repaired with adhesive tape.
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Bray uses pejorative language to refer to Chinese labourers and makes reference to the racist caricature "John Chinaman".
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- Bray, Ellis (Author)
- Bray, James (Subject)