Finly Hutchinson Gray (July 21, 1863 – May 8, 1947) was an American lawyer and politician who served two separate three-term stints as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the early 20th century.

Biography

Born near

Orange, Indiana Orange is an unincorporated community in Orange Township, Fayette County, Indiana, United States. History Orange was plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of ...

, Gray attended the common schools. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1892 and commenced practice in

Connersville, Indiana Connersville is a city in Fayette County, Indiana, United States, east by southeast of Indianapolis. The population was 13,324 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is the county seat of and the only incorporated town in th ...

. He served as mayor of Connersville 1904 – 1910.

Congress

Gray was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1917). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1916 to the Sixty-fifth Congress and for election in 1917 to fill the vacancy in the same Congress caused by the death of Daniel W. Comstock. He resumed the practice of law and also engaged in lecturing. Gray was again elected to the Seventy-third, Seventy-fourth, and Seventy-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938 to the Seventy-sixth Congress.

Later career and death

Reengaged in the practice of law in

. He and his wife restored the

Canal House A canal house () is a (usually old) house overlooking a canal. These houses are often slim, high and deep. Canal houses usually had a basement and a loft and attic where trade goods could be stored. A special Beam (structure), beam or pulley in ...

and resided there from 1936 to 1947. It later housed the local chapter of the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

and is now a local history museum. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. He resided at Connersville until his death there on May 8, 1947. He was interred in Dale Cemetery. The Canal House was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1973. Finley Hutchinson Gray married Mary Alice Green and they had a daughter Mary Gray. Mary Gray preceded her mother in death. She was born in 1903 and in the 1930 census is a patient at the Madison Hospital for the Insane in Madison, Jefferson County, IN.
Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary
in Fayette County IN: website states: The Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary is owned and operated by the Indiana Audubon Society and is located south of Connersville in Fayette County. Alice Green Gray gave the initial property to the Indiana Audubon Society in 1943 as a living memorial to her daughter’ Mary, who preceded her in death. Congressman Finley H. Gray willed additional property to the society in 1947, bringing the total to more than . Gifts from members have allowed the acquisition of more property so that the Sanctuary now occupies more than .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Finly Hutchinson 1863 births 1947 deaths Mayors of places in Indiana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Politicians from Connersville, Indiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives