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- Source of title proper: Title from content of the fonds.
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34 cm of textual records
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Biographical history
The Bray family were early white settlers of what is now southern Ontario. Members of the family are the descendants of George Bray (1795-1846) who was born in England on December 11, 1795. He married Ann Preston (b. 1796) and the pair had 10 children: Jemima (b.1816-1866), Abraham (1818-1901), Isaac (1819-1837), Sarah (b. 1821), Rebecca (b. 1824), Rachel (b. 1827), Ruth (1832-1837), Hannah (b. 1834), Mary (b. 1839) and Jacob (1840-1920).
Eldest son Abraham immigrated to Canada in the early 1840's where he settled in Zorra Township and began to farm. By 1845 he had married Sarah, also a British immigrant, and the couple had nine children: George (b. 1845), Elizabeth (b. 1847), Robert (b. 1849), James (b. 1853), Mary Jane (b. 1855), John (b. 1858), William (b. 1860), Marie (b. 1862), Joseph (b. 1867).
Abraham's youngest sibling, Jacob, settled in the Listowel area and there married Jane Brown (b.?). Jacob and Jane had son George (1873-1937) who later married Florence Murray (1874-1959).
(George) Murray Bray (1905-1974), lawyer, was born January 12 1905 to Florence Murray Bray (1874-1959) and George Bray (1873-1937) both of Canada. Born in Perth, Murray and his parents later moved to 70 Margaret Ave. in Kitchener. Murray studied law in Toronto and in 1929 he was called to the bar. He began working at his father's law office of Sims, Bray, McIntosh and Schofield in Kitchener. In 1928 Murray married Isabel Treacy (1906-1986) daughter of William (1878-1953) and Francis Crawford Treacy (1875-1929). Murray and Isabel had two children, William George, called Bill (b. 1929) and Judith (b. 1933). The family of Murray Bray lived in the Westmount region, at 145 Union Blvd. and later at 54 Rusholme Ave. Murray died in 1974 and Isabel in 1986.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consists of materials from many generations of the Bray family. Includes 26 items of correspondence sent to Abraham Bray, the first Bray family member to settle in Canada, as well as 19 diaries kept by later generations of the Bray family. Includes 18 diaries kept by (George) Murray Bray from the years 1929-1949 as well as one trip diary kept by his mother Florence Murray Bray detailing a variety of trips from 1892-1950.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated in 2014 & 2015 by Chris Bray.
Arrangement
Letters ordered chronologically by archivist.
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Availability of other formats
Letters scanned as TIF files 2015.
Transcriptions of letters available.