Born: January 14, 1753, in Voluntown, New London, Connecticut, (family tree on ancestry.com) or sometime before 1756 (1800 census)
Died: no record, but estimated as 1816
Married: Rachel Ray; Lydia Gay (later Marshall) (1774-1865)
Children: With Rachel, Abel Ray (probably born in Schaghticoke, New York, in 1788, and died in 1862). With Lydia, William Ray (born in Keene, Essex County, NY, 1803, and died in 1888 in Keene, Essex County, New York); Mariah Ray Badger (born in 1809 in Keene, Essex County, New York; died May 21, 1881, in Barnet, Caledonia County, Vermont); and Rosetta A. Sterling (born in Jay, Essex County, NY April 27, 1812; died May 13, 1901, in Monroe, Grafton County, New Hampshire). There are other children who may be Daniel Ray's as well; these four are commonly agreed upon in the family trees on ancestry.com.
The stream and the hamlet of Ray Brook are named for Daniel Ray, Jr., an early settler in the Town of North Elba, Essex County, New York.
Text below and most names and dates above are from Find A Grave (website):
Daniel Ray, founder of Jay, Essex County, New York, and namesake of Ray Brook, New York, was born sometime before 1756 (according to the 1800 census).
Solomon Soper, 7 October to 20 November 1778. Colonel John Spafford's and Colonel Thomas Lee's Regiment. Captain Orange Train's Company 1780. The Levies, Regiment under Colonel Albert Pawling, Captain John Burnet's Company, 19 December 1781.
Daniel again appears in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, in 1790, shown as owning land on the south bank of the River Ausable in 1795 which he sells [that year] to John Cochran, Jr., of Peru, Clinton, New York.
He lived in Jay, Essex [County], New York, in 1800 and Keene, Essex [County], New York (now Ray Brook and North Elba, New York) in 1810. In 1816, "The Year Without a Summer" catastrophically hit the entire region very hard. Since there is no gravestone or record of Daniel dying, it is assumed that he is buried on his land and before 1820 as his daughters were split amongst others nearby. [Source of this information is unknown.]
From Mary MacKenzie, Lake Placid and North Elba: A History, 1800-2000, page 5:
Following the formation of Essex County in 1799, North Elba was part of the town of Elizabethtown until 1808 and then of Keene until 1850.
From 1800 U.S. Federal census:
Daniel Ray's home was Jay, Essex, New York. There were 4 "free white persons" in his household, three males (one age 45 and over; two ages 10-15) and one female, age 26-44. We can surmise that Daniel himself was over 45, thus he was born before 1756. The female was likely his wife, who might have been Rachel, who signed on the sale of property in Jay in 1795. Or if she had died and he had remarried, it might have been Lydia Gay. The two boys, ages 10 to 15, certainly included Abel (born in 1788, likely to Rachel), but the other is unknown (possibly another son or a brother of Daniel or his wife), but he is too old to be William, Daniel's known second son, born in 1803.
From 1810 U. S. Federal census:
Danl Ray's home was Keene, Essex, New York, [which had just been partitioned off from Elizabethtown in 1808, and would be partitioned again to become North Elba in 1850]. In 1810 Daniel had 9 "free white persons" in his household, 4 males and 5 females. The males were likely himself (over 45); one 16-25 year old (Abel); and 2 males under 10--William, and probably a son named Herman A. Ray, born in 1808. Females in the household included one age 26-44 (Lydia, the mother of William); one age 10-15 and 3 under ten. Daniel had no known daughters ages 10-15 years old that year. The three under ten must have included Mariah, born in 1809, but the other two are unknown. All the unknown children could have been more distant family members they had taken in, helpers on the farm, or children who later died.
Sources:
Ancestry.com for 1800 and 1810 Federal censuses, which--under the name of the head of household--list only the numbers of persons there, not their names. Also Public Family Trees on Ancestry.com.
Find A Grave for Daniel Ray, Jr., and his grown children, Abel Ray, William Ray, Mariah Ray Badger, and Rosetta A. Sterling.
Mary MacKenzie, Lake Placid and North Elba: A History, 1800-2000, page 5
