Pearl Zane (Gray) Grey (1872 - 1939)

Born 31 Jan 1872 in Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Lina Elise (Roth) Grey — married 21 Nov 1905 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 23 Oct 1939 at age 67 in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, United States,

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Biography

Zane (Gray) Grey is Notable.

Zane Grey was the author of Riders of the Purple Sage and many other novels which idealized the American West.^[1] He pioneered Western as a new genre, idealizing the Western lifestyles in novels, many of which later became films.

Pearl Zane (Zane) Grey formerly Gray was born January 31, 1872 in Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, the son of Lewis M. (Gray) Grey and Alice J. (Zane) Grey.^[2] His family changed the spelling of their name to Grey after his birth and he went by the name Zane Grey.^[3] He was the brother of Ella L. Gray, Lewis E. (Gray) Grey, Ida G. K(Gray) Grey and Carl R. (Gray) Grey. ^[4]As a youth, Zane loved fishing, baseball and writing. He was taught basic dentistry by his dad.

Zane's ability in baseball earned him a scholarship to University of Pennsylvania Dental School, where he became a brother of the Sigma Nu fraternity.^[5] His pitching ability helped him get through school. He graduated in 1896. ^[6] Zane played baseball for a while with a minor-league team in Wheeling, West Virginia in the Iron and Oil League. ^[7] His brother, Romer Carl Grey, played briefly in 1902 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[8] Zone's baseball career influenced the stories The Young Pitcher (1911) and The Redheaded Outfield and Other Baseball Stories (1920).

Zane set up dental practice in New York City. He had become a dentist to please his dad and practiced only sporadically. He preferred to visit Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, to fish the upper Delaware River. He eventually met Lina Roth and began to focus more on his writings with her encouragment. He published his first fishing story in 1902.

Zane and Lina married in 1905^[9]and moved to a farmhouse in Lackawaxen. They had the following children:

1. Romer Zane Grey
2. Elizabeth Zane Grey
3. Loren Zane Grey^[10][11]

After marrying, Zane continued to lead an unconventional life full of travel and exotic adventures. He eventually closed his dental practice moved his family to California where he continued to be absent most of the time traveling. His wife tolerated this, considering it a handicap and not a character flaw.

Zane wrote a total of 96 books, about 60 of them Westerns. He was a major force in shaping the image of the West. At one point he bought a film studio which would later become Paramount Pictures and many books were filmed for television or the big screen. As of 2012, 112 films, two television episodes, and a television series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, had been made that were based loosely on Grey's novels and short stories. ^[12] The Lone Ranger is believed to be based on Texas Ranger, Captain John R. Hughes, to whom the book"The Lone Star Ranger" by Zane Grey was dedicated in 1915.^[13] Zane Grey became one of the first millionaire writers. ^[14]

Zane died October 23, 1939 ^[15]in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California. He is buried at Lackawaxen and Union Cemetery in Lackawaxen, Pike County, Pennsylvania, USA.^[16]

Zane Grey is a third cousin once removed to Edgar Rice Burroughs through his mother's McCulloch line.

In his hometown of Zanesville, Ohio, two schools bear his name - Zane Grey Elementary School and Zane Grey Intermediate School.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Zane Grey
2. ↑ Hancks, Larry K., The Emigrant Tribes: Wyandot, Delaware and Shawnee, A Chronology,] 1998, p. 424 (pdf)
3. ↑ NPS Biography of Zane Grey
4. ↑ * "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSVT-41X : accessed 17 October 2020), Charles R Gray in household of Lane Gray, Borough of Manhattan, Election District 23 New York City Ward 19, New York County, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 468, sheet 10A, family 145, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,103.

   Lane [Zane] Gray Head Male 28 Ohio

   Charles R Gray Brother Male 25 Ohio

   L Ellsworth Gray Brother Male 38 Ohio

5. ↑ Notable Sigma Nu Members: Zane Grey, Beta Rho (University of Pennsylvania)
6. ↑ [ Zane Grey Inc. Biography and Timeline]
7. ↑ Old Time Baseball: America's Pastime in the Gilded Age By Harvey Frommer page 19
8. ↑ [Baseball Reference: Reddy Grey]
9. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:249M-WGY : 10 February 2018), Zane Grey and Lina Roth, 21 Nov 1905; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,558,468.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGDT-8FH : accessed 15 October 2020), Lina E Grey in household of Zane Grey, Lehman, Pike, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 134, sheet 3B, family 59, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1415; FHL microfilm 1,375,428. Zane, Lina, Romer.
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC8G-ZG9 : accessed 15 October 2020), Lina Grey in household of Zane Grey, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1266, sheet 1A, line 2, family 1, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 169; FHL microfilm 2,339,904.

    Zane Grey Head Male 55 Ohio

    Lina Grey Wife Female 47 New York

    Romer Grey Son Male 20 New York

    Betty Grey Daughter Female 17 New York

    Loren Grey Son Male 14 New York

12. ↑ Hulse, Ed (2007). Filming the West of Zane Grey. Lone Pine: Museum of Lone Pine Film History. ISBN 978-1880756096 pp. vii–x.
13. ↑ The Lone Ranger
14. ↑ Sweethearts of the West, Zane Grey
15. ↑ "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGTQ-VPFW : 22 October 2019), Zane Grey, 23 Oct 1939. Death Certificate. Cremated at Mt. View Mausoleum.
16. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial

See also:

• Works by Zane Grey at Project Gutenberg
• Guide to Zane Grey's Papers at the University of Oregon
• Family Search has many passenger list entries for him as additional sources