- Ralph Gray (politician)
Ralph Gray (ca 1740 –
December 27 1813 ) was a seigneur, businessman and political figure inLower Canada .He was born during or before 1740, probably in
Scotland , and came to North America during theSeven Years' War , serving in Major-General Jeffery Amherst's troops. He was wounded at theBattle of the Plains of Abraham . After the war, he set up shop as a tailor in the town of Quebec. Some time afterwards, he married Mary Ann Scott. In 1774, he purchased the sub-fief of Grandpré from William Grant. Gray expanded into importing and opened a wholesale outlet. He retired from business in 1778. In 1789, he became part-owner of a toll bridge over theSaint-Charles River . Gray was a shareholder of the Union Hotel at Quebec. In 1808, he was elected to theLegislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Quebec; he was reelected in 1809. He opposed measures taken to declarePierre-Amable de Bonne ineligible to sit in the assembly after de Bonne became a judge. In 1810, Gray married Phoebe Wallen, the widow of James Frost, after the death of his first wife. They separated in 1813.He died at Beauport in 1813.
External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2434 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
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