Researching Thomas Gray
Dig into the past of Thomas Gray using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 42755 people with the Gray surname? In that year Gray was ranked number 69 for popularity in the UK. |
Good news! There is already a One Name Study on the Gray surname.

The name Thomas means "a twin" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of Thomas Gray on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Thomas Gray in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Thomas Gray. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Thomas Gray. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Thomas Gray. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Thomas Gray. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Thomas Gray. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Gray ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Gray Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Thomas Gray and the Gray Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Gray Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Gray family tree.
Explore Parish Records for Thomas Gray at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Thomas Gray using the FreeBMD database.
Look at Genealogy Bank for Thomas Gray records.
Look at MyHeritage for Thomas Gray information.
Investigate the LDS Database for records about Thomas Gray.
Research the Gray surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Gray Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 62144 people with the Gray surname in the UK? Gray is now ranked number 66 for popularity in the UK. |
Gray Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Thomas Gray.
Study MyTrees for information on the Gray family and people looking to contact living Gray relations.
Search One Great Family for Gray records submitted by people who are already researching the Gray Family Tree.
Find Thomas Gray from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Gray Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Gray surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 322054 people with the Gray surname in the USA? Gray is ranked number 59 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Gray Databases
Search the Ellis Island Database for information on Thomas Gray. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, published in 1751.
Gray was a self-critical writer who published only 13 poems in his lifetime, despite being very popular. He was even offered the position of Poet Laureate in 1757, though he declined. His writing is conventionally considered to be pre-Romantic but recent critical developments deny such teleological classification.
Source: Thomas Gray, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaThomas Gray (surveyor)
Thomas Gray, C.B. (1832–1890), entered into the British Board of Trade as a boy clerk in 1851, becoming Head of the Maritime Department by 1869, a position he held for over 20 years, becoming deeply interested in everything related to ships and seafaring.
In 1867, as assistant secretary, he wrote a pamphlet entitled "The Rule of the Road" also known as "The Rules in Rhyme", which became famous for its well-known mnemonic verses. e.g.
According to Charles Dickens, Jr., Thomas Gray either owned or at the very least operated a little steam launch going by the name of Midge as a hobby.
A variant of this poem was featured in "The Donkeyman's Widow" by Guy Gilpatric, a Glencannon story which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, 29 January 1938.
He died at his home in Stockwell on 15 March 1890 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.
Source: Thomas Gray (surveyor), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Gray
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Gaar Gahr Gaier Gair Gara Garaway Garay Gare Garea Gareau Garee Garey Garie Garihee Garr Garra Garrah Garraway Garreau Garrie Garrow Garroway Garry Gary Gauer Gawor Gayer Gayre Gear Geare Gearry Geary Geer Geere Geher Gehr Geier Geir Georghiou Gerau Geraw Gere Gereau Geri Gero Geroe Gerow Gerrey Gerrie Gerry Gerwe Gery Gewehr Gewer Geyer Gier Giere Giorio Gire Giurio Goar Goare Gohier Gohr Gohre Goor Goore Gore Goree Goreway Gorey Gori Gorr Gorra Gorrie Gorrow Gorry Gowar Gower Gowrie Gowry Grahe Grau Graue Graw Greehy Gregh Greiwe Grew Grewe Grey Groah Groh Groo Grow Growy Grue Grui Gruy Guara Guare Guarraia Guere Guerra Guerre Guerreau Guerri Guerro Guerry Guier Guierre Guirau Gur Gura Gurey Gurr Gurre Gurrey Gurrie Gurry Gury Guwer Guyer Gwyer Gyer





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