San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ALBERT A. GRAY
One of the most enterprising
citizens of Tracy is found in Albert A. Gray, the senior partner in the firm of
Gray & Strahorn, doing a transfer and heavy
trucking business. He was nicknamed
“Billy” Gray the days he started school at Linden, and has ever since been
called by that name. He was born at
Linden, just east of Stockton, San Joaquin County, on October 16, 1877, the
only son of the late William J. Gray, a native of Indiana, who was reared in Iowa
and crossed the plains to California with his party in 1862. He located in San Joaquin County and engaged
in farming and in years became very wealthy and an extensive landowner. He married Miss Zula Prather, a native of
Missouri, a daughter of the late Philip Prather, who was a pioneer of ’49. Just before his death, William J. Gray
suffered severe reverses and he passed away in 1890. His wife survived him and now resides in San
Francisco.
Albert A. was only thirteen years
old when his father died. He realized
his responsibility as the main support of the family, and so took up the farm
duties, but through no fault of his, after three years of hard work, he was
forced to give up the ranch. He then
hired out to the McCormick Brothers of Stockton, who were then running a
butcher business and a stock business, and there young Gray, then about
eighteen years old, did everything from butchering to herding sheep, for about
a year. He next went to work for his
aunt, Mrs. Matilda Prather, who was then one of the largest sheep operators in
the county. The next year he served as
foreman on the Conrad Ranch.
After his marriage the next fall, he
rented the Gilman Chase place at Valley Springs. In the fall of 1902 he leased the dairy and
farmed the Sargent Tract, west of Lodi.
He operated extensively as a dairyman and at general farming, and things
were coming nicely his way when the flood of 1904 drowned him out and he was
worse off than broke. He started in
again, moved to Bellota, where he ran 150 milch cows. Feed became short and he was obliged to move
seven times in eight months to procure feed for the stock. About this time he fell
heir to enough money to start him in farming again, from his father’s brother,
Tillman Gray. With this money he then rented
the George Klipple place at Linden but on account of
the dry year following he went broke again.
Almost discouraged, he sold off what stock and implements he had and
moved to Linden and took charge of the Linden Creamery for two and one-half
years and then he went to work for the Associated Pipe Line at Linora until he moved to Tracy in June, 1909. He entered the employ of the S. P. Ry. Co. in
their car department, but lost his job in the strike of 1911. He then went to work around town wheeling
brick, laying sidewalks, doing carpentering, sewing sacks on threshing
machines, anything at which he could make an honest dollar. Those were trying times indeed.
In 1918, in partnership with Mr. J.
F. Strahorn, he bought out the Tracy Transfer, which
they have since operated under the firm name of Gray and Strahorn.
Mr.
Gray’s marriage occurred in Stockton on October 11, 1900, and united him with
Miss Lillian M. Sinclair, a native of Calaveras County, California, and they
have one daughter, Ramona. Mrs. Gray’s
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, are pioneers of California and now reside at
Jenny Lind in Calaveras County. Mrs.
Gray has been the successful proprietor of the Hotel Francis in Tracy since
1917; they also own some desirable property in Roseville, California. The transfer and trucking business has gone
through some hard years, but by persistence and industry, the business has been
brought to a paying basis. Fraternally
Mr. Gray is a member of the Elks, Sumner Lodge of Odd Fellows, Knights of
Pythias No. 118, and Modern Woodmen of America.
In politics he is a progressive Republican, and he was elected trustee
of the city of Tracy in April, 1922.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
988. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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