The Grays
Through my grandfather’s Coulter family, I am related to the Grays. More specifically, a Mary Gray (1822-), my 4th g-grandmother, whose parents are listed as ‘James’ and ‘Sophia’. Through some digging I uncovered a James Gray (1783-) and Sophia Sly (1794-1847) who approximately fit the ages and area. This line, similar to my Price-Jones are Roma. The Grays hail from England though, as opposed to Wales (Roma from Wales are known as Welsh Kale, and English are Romanichal).
EDIT: I managed to locate a marriage certificate that had Mary, her husband Francis Coulter and their respective fathers James (Gray) and John (Coulter)
James appears to be the son of John Grey (b. 1757) and Mary Thorpe (b.1763) who appears to have also married a Fowk or Fowkness Gray (likely John’s brother).
EDIT: Upon re-examination - it is entirely unclear whether John or Fowk are the father - however as they were brothers the consistency of the line remains the same as they had the same parents
Sophia’s parents are James Sly (1760-1822) and Sophia Gray (b. 1764).
James Sly was the son of an Ambrose Sly (b. 1730) and that’s as far as I’ve been unable to uncover for that line. Meanwhile Sophia Gray’s parents are Thomas Gray (b. 1740) and Cordelia ‘Cadilla’ Gray (1733-1824). Her parents may have either been cousins of the same familial lineage or Roma often had private and public names often picking aliases that were common enough to hide themselves from authorities (such as Smith and Jones, among others, it often depended on where they lived).
Cordelia’s parents appear to be a Thomas Gray and Elizabeth.
I also found information about Cordelia’s brother Ossory Gray (b.1777), my 6th gr-uncle.
Sometimes called Old Horsery Gray or Sore-eyed Horsery Gray, he was an excellent fiddler. Of his skills, it was said,
when Horsery had heard a tune he could play it off straightway, putting in such ‘variations, grace-notes, shakes and runs’, that none of his confreres could compare with him. He played entirely by ear, and not from notes.
Stradling, Rod. “English Gypsy Musicians.” Boshamengro Book, Musical Traditions Record, www.mustrad.org.uk/pdf/373.pdf.
The only other Gray I was able to find was Cordelia’s spouse’s (Thomas Gray) father, Charles Gray. That is the current extent of my research of this line.