Display Patriot - P-276162

Joseph RAY/REA

SAR Patriot #: P-276162

The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.

State of Service: MA Qualifying Service: Captain / Patriotic Service

DAR #: A093563

Birth: 29 Jul 1736 Salem / Essex / MA
Death: 13 Jun 1798 Beverly / Essex / MA

Qualifying Service Description:

1773, he was made a member of the Beverly Committee of Correspondence and Safety
1776, commissioned a Captain of the 6th company of Colonel Henry Herrick's Essex County, Massachusetts, Regiment
1779, served as a Captain in the regiment of Colonel Timothy Pickering Jr

Additional References:

Hurd, Duane Hamilton, History of Essex County, Massachusetts, With Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1888, pg 699-700, 762
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Volume XIII, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, pg 2

Spouse: Mehitabel Thorndike
Children: Mary; Joseph; Ebenezer; Isaac; Gideon; Molly; Mehitabel; Joseph; Ruth; Lydia; Anna H;

Members Who Share This Ancestor
None^*

^*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar.
There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.

Burial:

Central (aka Beverly Central, Dane Street, Hale Street) Cemetery_(C-0052650)

Location:

Beverly / Essex / MA / USA

Find A Grave Cemetery #:

90861

Grave Plot #:

Grave GPS Coordinates:

42.550300 / -70.874340

Find A Grave Memorial #:

63848794

Marker Type:

SAR Grave Dedication Date:

Comments:

Photo used with permission of Compatriot Mitchell Anderson, 229001, KYSSAR

Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:

Photo: 1 of 1

Author: John Roscoe Ray Jr.

Joseph Ray or Rea was born on 29 July 1736 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, the son of Gideon and Mary (Herrick) Ray.

He was commissioned as a Captain in the Massachusetts Militia on 2 April 1776 and commanded the 6th company, Colonel Henry Herrick's eighth Essex County regiment. His company was sent to the aid of General George Washington in New Jersey. On 25 July 1776, he entered service "in defense of the seacoast," where he served at Beverly and was discharged on 28 October 1776. In 1779, he was Captain of a company commanded by Colonel Timothy Pickering Jr., which was ordered to march to Danbury, Connecticut, by way of Providence, Rhode Island.

On 24 Sep 1755, Joseph married Mary Thorndike in Hampton, New Hampshire. She was born on 20 June 1734, and their known children were:

Mary was born on 24 May 1756 and died young.
Joseph was born on 30 January 1758 and died young.
Ebenezer was born on 27 May 1760 and married Mrs Elizabeth "Betsey" Haskell.
Isaac was born on 30 March 1762 and married 1) Dorcas Hovey and 2) Lydia Symonds.
Gideon was born on 12 March 1764 and married Abigail "Nabby" Thorndike.
Mary "Molly" was born on 22 May 1766 and married Samuel Ober.
Mehitabel was born on 26 March 1768 and married Nicholas Thorndike.
Joseph was born on 29 January 1776 and married Lucy Groves.
Ruth was born on 20 November 1773 and married William Lovett.
Lydia was born on 29 January 1776 and married Ebenezer Smith Jr
Anna H. was born in 1783 and died unmarried.

Joseph was listed as a cordwainer in a deed. He owned 14+ acres in 4 plots in Beverly, which was listed on the Massachusetts and Maine Direct Tax List in 1798. He is listed in the 1780 census in Beverly. He also served almost 14 weeks in the French and Indian War in Captain John Lane's company.

The Patriot died on 13 Jun 1798 in Beverly, Massachusetts, and was buried in the Central Cemetery.

Sources:

Ray, Joseph D, Descendants of Daniel Ray of Plymouth and Salem, Volume I: Generations One through Six, Baltimore, MD, Gateway Press, 2005
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Salem, MA; Higginson Book Company, 2000 reprint (13:2 & 368)
Stone, Edwin M., History of Beverly, Civil, and Ecclesiastical: from its settlement in 1630 to 1842, Nibriem, 1843.
Lineage Books, Daughters of the American Revolution, Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, quarterly 1896-1921. (60:320)

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