Peter and Vanessa,
Thanks again for your insights and information concerning Anna Hudson (Gray). I continue to research her and the two most likely Gray/Graye family lines from which she may have come. I now have the Thomas Gray/Graye family back to before the year 1000. It is absolutely fascinating and fun. However, I will leave that potential discussion for another time. I'm writing you provide you with an update on my Anna research.
I have now found about six geneology website listing of Anna as having come from the Thomas Gray/Graye family. I have found no other alternative family lines in any of my extensive reviews. Anna seems to suffer from at least two challenges. First, she was born the year after the 1624 Muster, so she/we missed a chance to see which family would have claimed her. Second, Thomas had up to three wives. Fairly often, their children are linked to different mothers; these mothers are sometimes listed as have other unnamed children. Anna is consistently listed as the daughter of Annis (when she is listed at all).
Annis is listed fairly consistently as having died on Jan 24 1625, the same date on which Anna is sometimes listed as having been born. It would make sense that Annis is Anna's mother. Otherwise, this is quite a remarkable coincidence.
The 1623 massacre must have been quite a blow to every settler-survivor in the Jamestown-Surry (Surrey) (north and south of the James River) region. Anna often shows up in records as having been born in Westmoreland County, and more specifically, in Machodoc (which has been spelled in numerous ways over the years). It seems reasonable that Thomas could have moved to this unsettled but accessible area around 1625. I have even seen a couple of geneology web pages state that he died in Machodoc and/or Westmoreland County. That would help explain the change in location and the "sudden" arrival of Anna in this new area.
Unfortunately, Francis Gray of Maryland moved to the Machodoc area about the same time. He was intent on getting away from Catholic leadership in Maryland that he saw as too dominating. He was well known and there are many references to him in the literature and relevant web pages. However, I have found exactly zero references to any Anne or Anna or Ann or Annis connected to him. I am "fairly sure" he is not part of the explanation of Anna arriving or being born in the Machodoc area.
It is useful to know that there was no Westmorland County in 1625. That name didn't appear until 1653. Northumberland County was the area's original name but it too was organized well after Anna was born - in 1648. Before that, the area was generally known as the "Northern Neck." So, if Thomas went to the Northern Neck after the 1623 massacre (the "LISTS OF THE LIVINGE & DEAD IN VIRGINIA - February 16th, 1623" shows he was in the Jamestown area at that time), he was absolutely among the earliest residents there.
My Hudson family was in the Machodoc area by about 1638. There are references to our family in that period and fairly regularly before the counties were created. I hired a local historical society researcher to help me find such references and to look for the Grays/Grayes. He didn't find the Grays/Grayes until John Hudson married Anna in 1648. My researcher's work (mostly done at museums and county facilities in the immediate area) soon became fruitless so I ceased that avenue of investigation. I did, however, find out some very interesting things about my other Hudson in Virginia, especially William (directly line) and his brother Richard. I won't bore you with that material.
I then focused on Thomas. There are so many interesting references to him. He was "Sir" Thomas and his family line is among the most noble in the history of England. I'll go into that if we find Anna is definitely his daughter. The problem with Thomas is that everybody related to him comes with the baggage of inconsistent, sometimes conflicting, information. His son Francis (not to be confused with Francis of Maryland) is often shown as the son of Annis. He wasn't. He is the son of Rebecca - ok, I'm "almost certain" of that. Francis also had an interesting life, including being a ship captain trading up and down the east coast. But I digress.
Thomas is said to be sometimes confused with one or two other Thomas Grays. The other two - both of whom are genuinely other people and not him by a slightly different data set - are:
Thomas Gray of Wapping, mariner (b. abt. 1595 - d. bef. 1627), son of Thomas Gray of Harwich, co. Essex & Katherine Myles
Thomas Grey of Angerton, co. Northumb. (d. bef. 1656), son of Sir Edward Grey (d. 1632) of Howick and Morpeth, co. Northumb. & Catherine le Strange.
Today, I did a database review of every Thomas Gray/Graye/Grey and every Ann/Anna/Anne/Annis in Wikipedia (great tool). No other Thomas G. had a daughter Ann... anywhere during our time frame for her. Similarly, no other Ann... G... existed in this monumental database during our time frame except my other ancestor Ann Gray (Rush) who is two generations later.
The only two families that have ANY connection to the Northern Neck/Westmorland County/Northumberland County in our time frame are the two I've mentioned. Francis Gray of Maryland is well documented. Thomas Gray/Graye is not. I do find numerous references to an Anna Gray being born to Thomas Gray and Annis Gray in 1625 in the Northern Neck of Virginia. I have found one reference to Thomas Graye having moved to the Machodoc area in our time frame.
Next Tuesday, October 12, 2021, I will call the Surry County Historical Society to see if they can help us. (By the way, Thomas - being one of the first settlers in that area - was from Surrey County, England. Surry County, Virginia, was originally spelled Surrey.) If I find out anything useful, I will post it here. You probably know that the stream upon which he lived near the town of Surry is named Grays Creek to this day.
I hope all is well with you.
Tom Hudson
tjhidaho@gmail.com