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William Henry Gray (1810–1889) was a pioneer politician and historian of the Oregon Country in the present-day U.S. state of Oregon. He was an active participant in creating the Provisional Government of Oregon.〔Cogswell, Philip Jr. ''Capitol Names: Individuals Woven Into Oregon's History.'' Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1977. p. 44〕 Gray later wrote the book ''A History of Oregon, 1792-1849'' and was instrumental in the establishment of the Oregon Pioneer Society. ==Biography== Gray came to the Oregon Country as a lay member of the Spalding-Whitman missionary group. Resigning his post in 1842,〔 he went to the Salem area to work at the Oregon Institute. Gray later became a farmer and a sawmill operator. In the spring of 1843, Gray's house was the site of the first "Wolf Meeting", as part of the ongoing Champoeg Meetings. At a pioneer gathering on May 2, 1843, the French-Canadians and Americans present were divided about forming a "civil community."〔Grover, Lafayette. (''The Oregon Archives.'' ) Salem: A. Bush. 1853, p. 14〕 Joseph Meek called for the division, and Gray seconded the motion for a division on the question. After voting on each article presented, the basis of the Provisional Government of Oregon was laid. Afterwards Gray was a member of the provisional legislature and of the committee that drafted the First Organic Laws for the provisional government. In 1854 he purchased a sheep flock numbering 400 in Iowa and took them overland across the continent.〔 Using a scow and the assistance of a steamboat, Gray sailed down the Columbia River for the Clatsop Plains. While navigating from Astoria the scow was harangued by a storm and sunk at Chinook Point with all of Gray's livestock.〔Mowry, William A. (''Marcus Whitman and the days of Oregon.'' ) New York City: Silver, Burdett and Co. 1901, pp. 237-239〕 Gray had at eight children, five boys and three girls. The second child was Caroline Augustus Gray, born 1840, who married Jacob Kamm in 1859 or 1860. Both a pioneer and a historian of Oregon, Gray is credited with being the guiding spirit behind establishment of the Oregon Pioneer Society at a meeting held in the hall of the House of Representatives at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem in October 1867.〔Hubert Howe Bancroft, ''The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: Volume XXX: History of Oregon: Volume II, 1848-1888.'' San Francisco, CA: The History Company, 1888; pg. 603.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William H. Gray (Oregon politician)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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