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A friend that visited Ireland was told that people who lived in Queens county, were often there to save up for their passage to the United States. Other Irish families (Purdy, Joyce) in the Brunswick, VA area had stated they from northern Ireland area (Armagh), so Queens county didn't really make much sense any more, as to where John Gray would be from. We now know, that John Gray married Ann Purdy in Armagh, Ireland. We do not know how or if she is related to Nicholas Purdy. John Gray and Nicholas Purdy show up in records in the Seagoe Parish, in Armagh County, Northern Ireland. It is most likely the economic collapse of the linen industry in Armagh in 1837 that led John Gray and Nicholas Purdy to immigrate to the United States.
Elizabeth Gray, was the daughter of John Gray and Ann Purdy. She was born in Ireland, immigrated to Mecklenburg, Virginia as a toddler (age 3), and later married Washington Clary in 1857. After Ann Purdy died, John Gray married his neighbor Sarah Elizabeth Jones. John and Sarah had 9 children, one of which was my ancestor, Alginon Gray. John Gray and Ann Purdy's marriage record is attached. Click to view full screen.