Waxahachie, TX Newspaper - November 21, 1930
Z. T. Wray Is Dead At 83 - Funeral Service Held At Milford At 3 P. M. Friday - Zachary Taylor Wray, aged 83 years, who had been a resident of Ellis County since 1870, died Thursday evening at 5:30 o'clock at the home of his son Lem Wray, on Williams Street. Z. T. Wray was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, February 22, 1847. He moved to Texas in 1870, and located near Milford in this county, where he was entered in farming and mercantile business all of his active life. He was married in 1873 to Miss Texa A. Young of Milford, who preceded him in death in June 1924. The children recall the sweet memories of the golden wedding anniversary of their parents, celebrated at Milford in December, 1923, when every child was present. Their mother died in June of the following year, since that time Mr. Wray has made his home with his children. He was a member of the Baptist Church for sixty-five years. Surviving Mr. Wray are the following children: J. A. Wray of Wichita Falls, Judge W. L. Wray of Hillsboro, F. H. Wray of Granbury, Mrs. L. L. Wilkes of Arlington, Lem Wray of Waxahachie, and George Wray of Waxahachie. The funeral will be held in Milford at 3 o'clock this afternoon. The funeral party will leave the residence of Lem Wray at 1:30 o'clock. Rev. J. A. Hall, pastor of the Baptist Church at Milford, will conduct the services. Interment will be in the Milford Cemetery. *(Z. T. Wray - son of George W. and Frances Gregory Wray.)
Waxahachie Daily Light Newspaper - October 22, 1947
Staley Wray, Veteran, is Buried Mon. - Services for Staley Wray, 77, *(Note from Barbara Owens: Died Oct. 19, 1947) formerly of Milford, were held at 3 p. m. Monday at the home of cousin, A. E. Galbraith, in Milford. Rev. E. C. Cargle, pastor of Italy First Presbyterian Church, officiated and burial was in Milford Cemetery. Rudolph Funeral Home, Milford, Directing. Special music was by a quartet, C. V. Varner, Mrs. Jack Hull and Mr. and Mrs. Manley Branch. Pallbearers were D. B. Hull, L. P. Galbraith, C. C. Warren, Tom McDonald and W. L. and S. R. Goodman. Mr. Wray died at 1:35 a. m. Sunday in Veterans Hospital, Waco, where he had been ill three weeks. He had been in poor health. He was a former restaurant operator in Milford, where he had lived many years. - Born in Tennessee - Born Aug. 27, 1870, at Westmoreland, Tenn., he came to Texas when a young man. He married Miss Anna Florence Robinson at Milford and when she died last year they had celebrated their 52nd wedding date. He enlisted in the Army Nov. 26, 1891, and was in the service three years. Surviving him are a daughter, Mrs. R. R. Warren; a son, Ernest Wray, and a grandson Randolph Warren, all of Waco, and a brother, Tom Wray of Milford. A relative is Lem Wray of Waxahachie. *(Notes by Barbara Owens: Son of M. N. "Pole" Wray & Margaret F. Mason. Waco is in McLennan Co. TX)
Waxahachie Daily Light Newspaper - April 7, 1946
Mrs. Wray Dies At Age 68, Milford Funeral For Ellis County Woman To Be Held Sun. Afternoon - Mrs. Staley Wray, 68, died at her home at Milford at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, after having been ill a short while. Surviving are her husband, a son and a daughter. The body was brought to Rudolph Funeral Home here where it remained until Sunday, when it to be taken to Milford for the services at the Presbyterian Church at 3 p. m. today. Burial will follow in the Milford Cemetery. *(Notes by Barbara Owens: Anna Florence (Robinson) Wray, wife of Peter "Staley" Wray, died April 6, 1946.)
Waxahachie Daily Light Newspaper - Monday, April 5, 1948
E. S. Wray, 52, Dies, McGregor, Burial Is Today - Ernest Staley Wray, 52, died at 2 p. m. Sunday of a heart attack at his McGregor home. He was engineer at an ordnance plant there. Services were set for 3 p. m. today at Milford First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. E. C. Cargle, pastor of Italy First Presbyterian Church, officiating. Interment was to be in Milford Cemetery, Rudolph Funeral Home, Milford, in charge. Surviving are a sister, Mrs. Lois Warren, and a nephew, Randolph Warren, both of Waco; an uncle, W. P. Wray (Note by Barbara Owens: Should be W. T. Wray.) of Milford, and a cousin, Lem Wray of Waxahachie. *(Notes by Barbara Owens: McGregor is in McLennan Co. TX. E. S. Wray - Died April 4, 1948 - was a son of Staley & Florence Wray.)
Waxahachie Daily Light, October 21, 1968
Lem Wray Final Rites Arranged - Judge Lem Wray, 85, Practicing attorney, justice of the peace, Pct. 1, Place 2, and former Ellis County judge, district clerk and county assessor collector, died Monday in an out-of-town hospital. Funeral services at 2 p. m. Wednesday will be held at the Rudolph-Owens Chapel of the Chimes with the Rev. G. W. French, pastor of First United Methodist Church, and the Rev. F. T. Fisher, assistant pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Waxahachie City Cemetery with Masonic rites at the graveside. A native of Milford, Judge Wray had lived in Waxahachie 57 years. He was the son of the late Zachary Taylor and Texanna Young Wray of Milford where he attended school before completing a law course and passing the state bar examinations. On Dec. 1, 1901, he married Miss Jessie Mae Keeler of Milford. Judge Wray was a member of First United Methodist Church and formerly taught the Keystone Sunday school class for 25 years. He served as district clerk and as county assessor-collector before serving three terms as county judge in the 1950's being instrumental in bring county employees under Social Security. Judge Wray was a member of Ioof Lodge No 80 and Masonic Lodge No. 90 in Waxahachie having served in the highest office and received 50 year pins from both. He had served as Grand Lodge officer in the Odd Fellows. He was a member of the Waxahachie Optimist Club and served as Commissioner on the East Texas commissioners Court and Judges Assn. in 1951 and 1952. Survivors include his widow; two sons, Barney J. Wray of Waxahachie and Bundy J. Wray of Warren, Texas; a daughter, Mrs. Bill Turner of Corsicana; a sister, Mrs. Luther Wilkes of Dallas; seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. *(Notes by Barbara Owens: Son of Z. T. Wray.)
Waxahachie Daily Light Newspaper, May 20, 1943
Veteran Newsman, Waxahachian's Kin, Dies At Wichita - J. A. Wray, 68, employed for thirty years on the telegraph desk of the Wichita Falls Daily Times, brother of Lem Wray, well-known Waxahachie attorney, died at Wichita Falls, Tex., Wednesday. Mr. Wray, reared at Milford, Ellis County, for forty years had served as reporter, editor and copy desk man on papers in Texas and Oklahoma. He is survived by his wife, two children, three brothers and a sister. Mr. and Mrs. Wray of Waxahachie left this morning for the Wray home in Wichita Falls. Funeral and burial services were expected to be held in that city. *(Notes by Barbara Owens: Son of Z. T. Wray.)
Waxahachie Daily Light Newspaper, March 11, 1946
Geo. Wray of Italy Dies Sunday Morn. - Heart Attack Fatal for Well-Known Citizen of Ellis County - George Bennett Wray, 55, died at 8:15 a. m. Sunday at his home in Italy, Tex. having suffered a heart attack. Mr. Wray had resided in Italy the past two years. For many years Mr. Wray was a rural mail carrier. He was born at Milford and was a former resident of Waxahachie and Sardis, also. Mr. Wray was a member of the Methodist Church at Sardis. He took part in musical events and sang at many funeral services about the county over a long period of years. He is survived by his wife and daughter, Mrs. Louis F. Cretenoid of Dallas, a sister, Mrs. L. L. Wilkes of Dallas; three brothers, Walter L. Wray of Dallas, Frank H. Wray of Granbury and Judge Lem T. Wray of Waxahachie. The body was in state at Saxon-Boze-Mitchell Funeral Chapel until 2 p. m. Monday, when it was taken to the Sardis Methodist Church where funeral services were to be held at 3 p. m. with the rites conducted by the Rev. E. R. Patterson of Midlothian. *(Note by Barbara Owens: Son of Z. T. Wray. George B. Wray died March 10, 1946.)
The Milford Press - Milford, Ellis County, Texas, Friday, December 4, 1942
Mrs. W. T. Wray *(Sadie Courtney Austin Wray) Passes Away - Mrs. W. T. Wray, 69, passed away at her home in Milford Tuesday morning, December 1st. Mrs. Wray was born at Fort Graham, Texas, January 22, 1873. She moved to Milford in 1900 and had been a resident of this community for 42 years. Funeral services were held from the First Baptist Church at 3:30 p. m., Wednesday, December 2nd, conducted by Dr. J. L. Bell, assisted by Rev. Jack Sutherland. Surviving are her husband, W. T. Wray, Milford; Mrs. Tom R. Wright, Goose Creek; Mrs. P. S. Burton, Amarillo; Mrs. Robert Goodman, Cleburne; Thos. L. Wray; and three grandchildren, Miss Mary Frances Burton, Amarillo; Ralph Austin Wright; Bobbie Goodman, and three son-in-laws, P. S. Burton, Amarillo; Tom R. Wright, Goose Creek and R. L. Goodman, Cleburne and one daughter-in-law, Mrs. Thos. L. Wray, Tacoma, Wash. Children deceased are Staley Austin and Sadie Mae Wray. Mrs. Wray had one sister who lives in Fort Worth, but was unable to attend the funeral. Pallbearers were C. H. Dyer, J. B. Hull, D. C. Tyler, J. Tom Davis, C. V. Varner, and A. F. Rosson. Interment was made in the Milford Cemetery. *(Sadie Courtney Austin Wray's first husband was W. T. Austin. He died 8 April 1899 in Ellis Co., TX)
(My sincerest thanks to Barbara Owens.)
Genealogist's Companion to Research in Sumner County, Tennessee