John Bray, II

Birth: 1624 in St Andrews, Plymouth, Devon, England. Alternate: 1620 in Plymouth, , Devon, England. Death: 22 JAN 1689 in Kittery, York, Maine, USA. Alternate: 1693 in Kittery, York, Maine, USA. Parents: John Bray and Grace Genta. John Bray came from Plymouth, Devon, England. He was in Kittery, ME in 1660 & 1663. He was an innkeeper in 1674. He removed to Gloucester, MA 1674 where he worked as a shipwright. He wrote his will 22 Jan 1689. It was witnessed 15 Jul 1690, registered 1 Aug and his goods appraised 31 Jan 1690. Sources: Noyes, GEN. DICT. OF ME & NH Sargent, MAINE WILLS Savage, Holmes & Farmer === Leonard, Lewis Keeler. SEVEN HUNDRED ANCESTORS. Privately Published. 1975, CS71.L58, pp. 15-16 Brays served under William the Conqueror and the name dates back to the time of Charlemagne and is said to have originated near Evereux, Normandy. A Milo de Brai was a crusader in 1096. Our Immigrant ancestor, John Bray, came from Plymouth, County of Devon, England in 1660. He was a man of considerable means and had capital with which he could make investments here. He was born about 1630 and he married Joan Pierce, daughter of John and Eleanor Pierce. She was born in England about 1634. John Bray became a shipbuilder at Kittery Point, Maine but also had other interests. In 1674 he was an innkeeper. His will was dated Jan.22, 1688/9. It is detailed and extensive. A house that he still owned in Plymouth, England was left to his wife as well as part of the house in which he lived at Kittery. She also received several acres of land and some personal property. The rest of his land and personal estate was divided between his son and three daughters. The total value of the estate was 306 pounds and 10 shillings. The will was probated Aug.1, 1690. His wife, Joan, left a will but the record of it has been lost, probably by the York County bookbinders. She died sometime before the will of her daughter, Joan, was made on June 20, 1707. The children of John and Joan Pierce Bray were: 1. Margery, b. 1660 in Plymouth, England. In 1680 she married William Pepperall and was the mother of Sir William Pepperell. She died on Jan.1, 1737. 2. Joan, b. about 1662 in Kittery, Maine. 3. John, b. about 1664 in Kittery, Maine. 4. Mary, b. 1666 in Kittery; m. Joseph Deering. Joan Bray married Clement Deering in 1678/9. She died at Kittery in 1707 after her will was made. It was probated on Jan.10, 1708. See the Deering Lineage. Bibliography: Genealogy of The Burbank Family and The Families of Bray, etc. by George Burbank Sedgley. Devon Parish Register, Vol. I by W.P.W. Fillmore. Americana Vol. XXXV, pages 51-239. York Maine Deeds, Book V, edited by William M. Sargent. Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, Vol. IV and IX. Bray Family Records in the Mormon Genealogical Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. === Lowell, D.O.S., A MUNSEY-HOPKINS GENEALOGY. Boston: privately printed, 1920, R929.2 M97, pp. 71-72 JOHN BRAY came to Piscataqua from Plymouth, England about 1660. He brought with him his wife JOAN, and a daughter MARGERY one year old. He settled at Kittery, Maine, as shipwright; in 1674 he also kept an inn. Savage says he "removed in the war [King Philip's] to Gloucester, perhaps; there married November tenth, 1679, Margaret Lambert, as second wife." It is not known when or where his first wife died. He himself died in 1690. The house of JOHN BRAY at Kittery is still standing. Edward Whitefield, in "Homes of our Forefathers," says:--"This is a very fine old house, built by John Bray in 1660." Will: 22 JAN 1688/9 Kittery, York, ME U. S. A. Death: BET 22 JAN 1689 AND 15 JUL 1690 in Kittery, York, ME U. S. A. Probate: 15 JUL 1690.

---

Brays served under William the Conqueror & the name dates back to the time of Charlemagne & is said to have originated near Evereux, Normandy. A Milo de Brai was a crusader in 1096. Our Immigrant ancestor, John Bray, came from Plymouth, County of Devon, England in 1660. John Bray was the son of John Bray and Grace Genta. The date of birth recorded 1620, baptism records list John at St Andrews or Plymouth, Devon, England 1624. The date of his death recorded. 22 January 1689 both in in Kittery, York,(Maine) Massachusetts Bay Colony. John, a man of considerable means & had capital with which he could make investments here. He was born abt. 1630 & he married Joan Pierce, daughter of John & Eleanor Pierce. She was born in England about 1634. John Bray came to Piscataqua (Kittery, Maine) abt 1660. & brought with him his wife Joan, & a daughter Margery one year old. While in Kittery, John Bray became a shipbuilder at Kittery Point but also owned a tavern & ferry license 1672-79. In the war [King Philip's] in 1674. he removed to Gloucester, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1674 where he worked as a shipwright. He served on a Grand Jury 1665-1686 Kittery, (Maine) Massachusetts Bay Colony & received a land grant from Kittery Proprietors 1667. About 1678 John Bray gave William Pepperell, Sr.,a houselot at Kittery, the marriage of Pepperell with Mr. Bray's daughter having just taken place. On this lot William Pepperell erected the great house which was made still greater by his son. The house of John Bray at Kittery is still standing. Edward Whitefield, in "Homes of our Forefathers," says:--"This is a very fine old house, built by John Bray in 1660." Will: 22 JAN 1688/9 Kittery, York, ME U. S. A. Death: BET 22 JAN 1689 AND 15 JUL 1690 in Kittery, York, ME U. S. A. Probate: 15 JUL 1690. He wrote his will 22 Jan 1689. It was witnessed 15 Jul 1690, registered 1 Aug and his goods appraised 31 Jan 1690. The will was executed by his wife Joan 11 Jan 1693 His will was dated Jan.22, 1688/9. It is detailed and extensive. A house that he still owned in Plymouth, England was left to his wife as well as part of the house in which he lived at Kittery. She also received several acres of land and some personal property. The rest of his land and personal estate was divided between his son and three daughters. The total value of the estate was 306 pounds and 10 shillings. Joan's will was administered 11 Jan 1693 by son=in-law Col. Pepperell. The children of John and Joan Pierce Bray were: 1. Margery, b. 1660 in Plymouth, England. In 1680 m. William Pepperell, mother of Sir William Pepperell. She died on Jan.1, 1737. 2. Joan, b. ca 1678/9 m. Clement Deering son of Roger and Joan d. 1707, will probated on Jan.10, 1708. See the Deering Lineage. 3. John, b. about 1664 in Kittery, Maine. died d.s.p. 4. Mary, b. 1666 m. brother-in-law Joseph Deering.

Bray House is a historic house on Pepperell Road in Kittery Point, Maine. It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Maine.

Long thought by some to be a 17th-century house, the architectural evidence indicates a date no earlier than about 1740. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates fame purchased the house in 2008 & is restoring it! He sold the restored property for $2.0 million; the new owners have demolished all but the original structure, which is now flanked by modernist angular new construction.

(update) In 2014, Jonathan King & Jim Stott bought one of the oldest houses in Maine, 354-year-old Bray House in Kittery Point. The founders of Stonewall Kitchen, a York, Maine-based maker of jams, sauces & other specialty foods, Messrs. King & Stott had previously lived in historic homes & knew the shortcomings, such as low ceilings & wind blowing through old walls in the winter. But they were drawn to Bray House’s rich past & waterfront setting, to Mr. King “the most beautiful view in the world (4thson)