John Clinton Gray (December 4, 1843 – June 28, 1915) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

Gray was born on December 4, 1843, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was the son of wholesale dry goods dealer John Alexander Clinton Gray (1815–1898) and Susan Maria ( Zabriskie) Gray (1814–1904). His siblings were George Zabriskie Gray (dean of Episcopal Theological School in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

), and his sister, Katharine Gray (wife of Hackley Bartholomew Bacon) and Frances Susan Gray. He was of French-Huguenot and Polish descent. He was educated in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. He graduated A.B. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1865. Then he studied law at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and graduated LL.B. in 1866. In 1868, he received the degree of A.M. from New York University.

Career

After his graduation from Harvard, Gray went to New York City where he began practicing law becoming a member of the law firm of Davis, Eaton & Taylor. Later, he became the senior member of Gray & Davenport, where he focused on

corporate law Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corpora ...

. In January 1888, he was appointed by Governor David B. Hill to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles A. Rapallo. Until , Gray was a Republican, when he became a Democrat, but reportedly, he was uninterested in politics. In November 1888, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to a full fourteen-year term, was re-elected in 1902, and remained on the bench until the end of 1913 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. In 1913, Harvard conferred the honorary title of LL.D. on him.

Personal life

Gray was married to Henrietta Pauline "Etta" Gunther (1848–1883), a daughter of William Henry Gunther. Before her death in 1883, they were the parents of five children: * Pauline Gray (1873–1954), who married Dr. Burr Ferguson in 1899. They divorced and she married Thomas Franklin Witherspoon in 1906. * Henry Gunther Gray (1875–1954), a Deputy District Attorney in New York County under William T. Jerome; he married Edith Florence Deacon, daughter of Edward Parker Deacon and sister of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, in 1916. * Edith Romeyn Gray (1880–1964), who married Robert Stockwell Reynolds Hitt, a son of U.S. Representative Robert R. Hitt, in 1902. * Albert Zabriskie Gray (1881–1964), who married Marian Anthon Fish (1880–1944), a daughter of Mamie Fish and Stuyvesant Fish, in 1907. They divorced in 1934. * Austen Gray (1881–1954), who married Grace Eaton. After the death of his first wife, he married Grace Townsend ( Hawkshurst) Smith Turnbull (1846–1930), who born on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Grace, the widow of both James R. Smith and Henry Turnbull, was a daughter of William Hawkshurst and Sarah ( Townsend) Hawkshurst. He was a member of the National Academy of Design, the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

, the

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

, the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

, and the Metropolitan Club. In New York, Gray lived at 5 East 56th Street and for many years was a prominent member of the "summer colony of Newport" but sold his estate there a few years before his death. Gray died from "paralysis" and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on June 28, 1915, while spending the summer vacation at the Pinard cottage in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. After a funeral at St. Bartholomew's Church was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. His widow Grace died in 1930.

Descendants

Through his eldest son Henry, he was a grandfather of three granddaughters: Audrey Gray (who married John R. Chapin Jr. in 1950); Beatrice D. Milo Gray (who married Austen T. Gray in 1941); and Alison Evelyn Gray (who married John F. Murray Jr. in 1948). Through his son Albert, he was a grandfather of Marian Stuyvesant Gray (who married Edward Fiedler Livingston Bruen in 1942). Through his eldest daughter Edith, he was a grandfather of Robert R. Hitt (who married Evelyn Bigelow Clark in 1932).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, John Clinton 1843 births 1915 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Politicians from New York City Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Deaths from pneumonia in Rhode Island Lawyers from New York City 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers