Butte County
Biographies
FRED H. GRAY
FRED H. GRAY.--A successful business man, whose influence has never waned since he first came into prominence as a power for progress and the general uplift of society, is Fred Howard Gray, the son of James C. Gray, a sketch of whose interesting life is presented on another page of this volume. The fact is that Fred H. Gray was always more or less prominent in Oroville, for it was here, on October 13, of the eventful year of 1861, that he became a native of California, the fourth eldest of five children born to his pioneer parents. He began his formal education in the (even then) excellent public schools at Oroville, and afterward studied at Heald’s Business College in San Francisco, from which he graduated in 1882.
On completing his studies in the metropolis, young Mr. Gray returned to Oroville and entered his father’s hardware store as clerk and accountant, and there he continued until the incorporation of the Ophir Hardware Company, on December 13, 1901, when he became not only one of the incorporators but also acted as secretary and manager. Largely through his untiring industry and sagacity, the well-known hardware firm has been built up until it is now one of the largest business houses in the county.
Shortly after his father’s death, however, Mr. Gray put his son-in-law, Scott Lawton, in as clerk, and in 1912 he resigned the management of the hardware store, turning it over to Mr. Lawton. He continued the secretarial duties, giving rather a general oversight and the benefits of his experience. This left him considerable time for the improving and subdividing of the Gray tract, by leveling the twenty acres of dredged land, placing soil on the rock, and so reclaiming the area--a work of four years to accomplish. Just what an enterprise this was may be indicated from the fact that electric scrapers were employed to assemble and distribute the earth, and only after four years were horse-teams and wagons used. Then the subdivision was laid out, and several residences were built, and now much of the tract has been built upon.
Mr. Gray and his brother, Frank C., also own a navel orange grove at Palermo. Until recently Fred H. owned a peach orchard in the lava bed district, but he sold it when the land was dredged. As a man of financial affairs, Mr. Gray has been a stockholder in the Rideout-Smith National Bank, since the incorporation of this successful institution. He is also a stockholder in the First National Bank of Oroville and the Bank of Oroville where, in each case, his name has its value in further guaranteeing the solidity of the concerns playing such parts in the commercial activities of Oroville.
In Oroville, Fred H. Gray and Miss Lilian Birmingham were married, the lady being a native of Connecticut, and a musician and soloist of such ability that she has taught both piano and voice, as well as painting with unquestioned success. She is the daughter of Daniel M. Birmingham, D. D., a graduate of Yale College, and a Methodist clergyman, who was for some years professor of Greek in Eastern colleges. When he came to Napa he held the chair of Greek at Napa College, and later he was associated with his son, Ernest F. Birmingham, in The Fourth Estate Publications in New York, and was president of the company. He returned here and spent his last days with Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Gray, passing away in 1915, at the age of eighty years. His son Ernest is also a graduate of Yale College, and is editor of The Fourth Estate in New York City.
Mrs. Gray was educated in music and art in New Haven, Conn., and at Napa she taught both painting and music, coming to Oroville in 1894. But not merely as a teacher or music is she well known; she is also a composer and has written both the text and the score for compositions. She has long been, therefore, a leader in musical and art circles in Oroville. She is a director of the Methodist choir, and is interested in church and temperance work. She is also prominent in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and has served both as a local officer and on the committee on state work. In the Monday Club, too, she is prominent, and in Federation work has been the local secretary and reporter for the club. Critics declare her a writer of ability, both in the field of prose and poetry.
By
a former marriage, Mr. Gray is the father of one daughter, Alita Mabel, who is
Mrs. Scott Lawton, of Oroville. Mr. Gray was superintendent of the Sunday
school for twenty years, and has held office in the church organization. In
fact, he was the prime mover in the building of the new Methodist Church in
1910. Taking a live interest in politics and political reform, Mr. Gray
supports men and measures that in his judgment are most expressive of his own
ideals, and the most likely to lead to high civic attainment.
Transcribed by Vicky
Walker, 1/17/08.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 630-631, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Vicky
Walker.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies