Help with a brick wall?

Question

I have had a major brick wall since 2009, my gggrandfather, possible name Bergas Gray.His name only appears on the death certificate of his son, my great grandfather,James Arthur Gray(1893- 1953) in South Carolina and died in Shelby, Cleveland County, NC. James was married to Gertrude M.Overcash(1895-1969).James' mother is listed as Hattie O.Stephens( Kirby) also from South Carolina. Any help would be appreciated!

Comments

I have done a bit of searching for Bergas Gray on ancestry.com and have found nothing more than you have.  He was born 1860 North Carolina, married Hattie and they had James.  Bergas must have died shortly after that as Hattie married Kirby.  Yes I know it's frustrating.  Perhaps someone else will be able to assist.  Good luck.

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Thank you. Hopefully someone out there has the missing info or a family member will remember something passed down.

Answer 1

UPDATE:

The Spartanburg County Indictments of October 1892 (not available online) includes the trial of The State vs. B. E. Gray and his wife Hattie A. Gray for assault and battery of a minor. On 20 October 1892, B. E. Gray was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of two years and with a fine of $250. 

B. E. Gray's identity was soon discovered to be Hoke Calhoun Secrest, and after he served his two year sentence in SC, he was sent back to NC to serve another twenty years for murder.

Hoke Calhoun Secrest
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LVGH-7NB

This historical documentation suggests that James Arthur Gray's father was Hoke Calhoun Secrest.

Comments

Oh my! Well my aunt won't believe me when I tell her that all this time her last name was a lie. Wow. She's old fashioned and does not believe in all this new- fangled technology and all and will probably slap my face. So I'll continue to let her live a lie. Her daughter, my cousin, does believe it to be a lie because of other things that was told by a dying family member not too long ago. Thank you so much for helping me bust this brick wall wide open!

Answer 2

I found a duplicate profile for Hattie Stephens. Requested a merge.

Comments

I have also been adding sources and pecking away at that brick wall. By tracing Hattie I hoped to find some clues. The info on Hattie's death record was given by her son James? (does he give a middle initial..doesn't look like an A.?) Could be her brother James Edward Stephens?

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I've found all sorts of stuff too but still Bergas remains the biggest clue of all. Did he pass away perhaps? Maybe in war? Was his name fictitious to cover up something taboo or unknown?

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I was hoping to find Hattie and James somewhere on the 1900 census. No luck. And Hattie should be in the 1890 but could not find her there either. I wonder if she was still in SC during those years between 1880 and 1910.        

Bergas could be invented for legitimacy. Or James could have been orphaned and taken in by the Kirby's, maybe one of his relatives children?  

Keep searching for Hattie between 1880 and 1910. Something will turn up to solve this. Trace Hatties side of the family, sometimes you find that people will pop up in a household of a relative.

I did categorize both Gray and Kirby in the SC and NC Family Brick Walls for you. The research notes are a good way to let other wikitree genealogists know where you have looked, what the info gaps are and what you suspect.

Answer 3

findagrave ID 78643396

Comments

Thank you but I already have this info on Hattie. Bergas Gray is my brick wall.

Answer 4

On 25 July 1895, Hattie as "Mrs. H. A. Gray" sold 50 acres to W. S. Thomason for $500. Her brother, J. E. Stephens was a witness.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QL-X357?mode=g

The land Hattie sold was previously purchased on 31 July 1888 by B. E. Gray (Bergas?) from W. S. Thomason for $500.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QL-X9T3-S?cat=381052

Newspapers around this time reported that "B. E. Gray" was an alias used by the murderer and fugitive Hoke C. Secrest. Hoke was in South Carolina during the transaction with Thomason. One newspaper account mentions that he had a farm in Campobello, Spartanburg, S.C., and this is where B. E. Gray's property (later sold by Hattie) was located.

Hoke was arrested in late 1892. Hattie's son James was born in April 1893. Could James be Hoke's son?

Bergas' and Hattie's FamilySearch profiles are updated with the transactions and notes.

Hattie Stephens: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GH44-L59

Comments

Holy cow! That is a possibility because of the timeframe and location. I want to look deeper into Miss Hattie's background as well. You may have something here! Thank you!