If you have any biographies you can donate, please drop a line to Janine M. Bork.Your information can help others.

GEORGE G. GRAY, a pioneer of this country in the early 'sixties, is to-day one of the heaviest real estate owners of Union county, and holds a prominent place among the enterprising citizens, while his personal qualities of moral worth, energy, stability and good practical judgment, have made him highly respected and esteemed among his fellows and his industry has given him a rich portion of the comfortable and good things of the world.

George G. was born in Granger County, East Tennessee, on April 10, 1840, to Robert D. and Agnes (Chinneth) Gray. His parents came to the Willamette valley in 1853, took up a donation claim and remained there until 1869, then sold and migrated to the Grande Ronde valley, purchasing a farm on Sand Ridge, twelve miles from Cove, and engaged in general farming and stock raising. In 1870 the father died and in 1888, the mother also was called to leave the scenes of earth. Our subject remained at home until 1861, then went to the Oro Fino mining camps and after some experience there in digging for placer gold, he returned to the Willamette valley. In 1862 he drove a bunch of cattle to Walla Walla, where he sold to a good profit and then engaged in packing from Umatilla Landing and Walla Walla to the mines of Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, and for five years he continued at this wearing and dangerous business, having especial hardships and difficulties to endure in Montana. In 1868 he went to Idaho City and for three years he was occupied in buying and selling beef cattle. In 1871 he came to the Grande Ronde valley and bought a farm of three hundred and twenty acres on the Sand Ridge and tilled it for one year, then sold and bought his present place, which is nine miles north of Cove. At first he purchased a quarter section, but to this he has added steadily until he owns a magnificent estate of ten hundred and forty acres. About half of this is now under the plow, and he harvests abundant crops of the cereals, while one hundred acres is used for timber lots, eight acres for fruit and the balance for pasture.Mr. Gray raises many horses and his ranch is a place of thrift and skillful manipulation of the agricultural art.

Mr. Gray was married to Silvina, daughter of Merrell and Nancy (Means) Jasper, on February 22, 1874. Seven children, as follows, have been born to bless this union: Sarah Agnes, wife of Frank Conley; George M., Annie, Bessie, Joseph, Nathan and Dillie, the last six at home. Mrs. Gray's parents were early pioneers to the Willamette valley, arriving there in 1852. Mr. Gray is one of the wide awake and progressive farmers of the county, always on the side of those measures that are for the advancement of all and the welfare of the county.

George Gray of Union County Recalls Privations of Party That Crossed in Southern Part of Oregon

GEORGE GRAY of Lower Cove, Union county, is one of the few remaining pioneers who crossed the plains as early as 1853. He also is a representative of the first train that followed Meek's cut-off and traversed the entire state of Oregon by the southern route.

The Gray family began their westward journey from Tennessee, which state they left when George was 8 years of age. After living five years in Arkansas, they joined a train bound for Oregon. The attempt to make the trip across the trackless desert from Vale to Eugene, where Joe Meek's train in '45' had failed and almost perished, was due to a Mr. Elliot, who had been in Eugene and had come out to meet his family on the plains. People in Eugene had told him that if he could turn part of the emigration across to them, they would come out to meet the travelers with provisions, clearing the road as they came. The shorter distance and the anticipation of better feed for their stock were both strong inducements, and about 50 wagons followed Mr. Elliot.

Guide Almost Hanged

Before many days it was apparent that Elliot did not know the way, thus leaving the train without a guide. Immediately a number of men seized Elliot with the idea of hanging him. The elder Gray was the leader of a group that intervened and convinced the radical crowd that such a hanging would not help the train.

In the meantime word had reached the people in Eugene that no one had attempted the southern pass. The train rallied from their first shock of being practically lost and went on, little dreaming of the hardships they were to meet from lack of provisions and water and lack of a road in the wilderness.

A Dr. Brooks, who later settled in The Dalles, and Taylor, a brother-in-law of Gray, undertook to scout ahead and select a road for the train. The Joe Meek trail of '45' was often crossed and was well marked by broken wagons, discarded ox yokes and other implements familiar to the emigrants.

Indians Away at Time

Gray thinks that the only thing which saved their train from utter annihilation was the fact that practically all Indians of that section were further south at the time fishing at Goose lake. However, Brooks and Taylor were caught in a perilous position on the north side of Harney lake. They were riding around it alone when they were met by some 60 Indians on horseback. The Indians gave chase and penned the men in an arm of the lake. Brooks selected what appeared to be the chief and shot him. During the resulting confusion the two men dashed through the Indian lines. The Indians had only one gun, which they could not handle well, but arrows were flying all about the men. However, they escaped unhurt and joined the train, which had passed south of the lake.

At the first desert near the present location of Burns the train was without water for 48 hours. The first spring they found was named Spoon spring because it was so tiny that all the water had to be dipped up with a tablespoon. Here it was that a man in the train was wrongfully accused of selling water. Young George happened to witness the incident and was able to save the man from being hanged by some excitable members of the train.

At about this time the entire train ran out of provisions and still no relief had come. From the vicinity of Burns to the summit of the Cascades a beef was killed each night, divided among the train, cooked and eaten without salt.

On the high desert south of the present location of Prineville and Redmond the train was without water for three days. Brooks had sent back word for them to camp at a certain spring and to prepare for a dry camp the next night, but that he had sighted a lake in the distance, which they could make on the next night. Water was carried for the one dry camp, but when the supposed lake was reached, it was found to be a glistening bed of alkali. All the men immediately left the wagons in search of water, but none was found. The next day the wagons were left to the women and the men still searched for water. Many of the searchers gave out during the heat of the day but were revived sufficiently at sundown to proceed. However, one man was lost during the time. He had been left on the desert with instructions to wait till his companions should return for him. They did return but no trace was ever found of the man.

On the third waterless day young George was instructed to let the cattle go. He and his older sister, who later became the mother of J. M. Slater of La Grande, hitched four yoke of oxen to a wagon and went on ahead to find water. They, with others who were in advance, reached the Deschutes near the present location of Bend. After all the train had finally reached water, they camped a week to recruit and to recover the scattered cattle and oxen.

Fallen Trees Halt Progress.

Throughout the way the only road they had to follow had been the uncertain trail left by the train of '45'. It had been necessary to cut sagebrush on Harney lake, but the track had been reasonably easy through he desert. However, they were now entering the wooded section of the Cascades, where fallen trees became one of their many obstacles. Smaller logs were pulled up beside the large ones and the teams were then driven over the entire lot.

Many of the travelers were now without shoes. To remedy this they wrapped their feet in portions of the fresh hides of the cattle that had been used for food. This was allowed to dry and could be removed on reaching the Willamette only by using a hammer and chisel.

The train no longer hoped to meet the party that was to have started from Eugene, so a relief expedition was started on foot from the Deschutes camp. As a result they were met at the summit, south of the Sisters, by Charles McClure with a load of flour and other provisions.

The Gray family reached Eugene on November 1, but moved to Corvallis and settled 12 miles from that town.

[A picture of George Grant Gray accompanies the article. A photograph historian from The Oregon Historical Society searched for the picture in their archives but was not able to locate it. In addition, the writer misspelled the surnames Grey [Gray] and Slatter [Slater]. I corrected each throughout the article].

It was in these surroundings that young George grew to man's estate; and his first independent exertions were as a laborer in Corvallis from 1854 to 1860. In 1861 he went to the Oro Fino mines, and in 1862 brought cattle to Walla Walla, selling the beef at the butcher's block until 1863. Early in the spring of that year he went to the granite creek mines on the John Day  river, shoveling his way through snow across the mountains. Purchasing a pony train he was enabled to do a large business in packing, but sold out some time after to Ish & Hailey. For a number of years he was engaged in mining speculations, and enlarged his operations as packer by extending his range to Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, meeting by the way adventures, the recital of which would fill a volume. In 1868 he engaged in mammoth operations in cattle, supplying as many as fifty to eighty beeves per week to the markets in the mines. In all these extensive operations, as was usually the case, the losses and hazards of the business left but little profit.

In 1872 he began real life by locating a beautiful, level and fertile tract of land on the Lower Cove, and making a permanent home. Here he has eight hundred acres of improved land, a hundred cattle and horses, and pleasant surroundings. He was married in 1864 to Miss Levina, a daughter of Merrill Jasper, of Benton county. Their home has been blessed with five children.