Sarah (Yokley) Bray (1744 - 1812)

Born 1744 in Guilford, Colonial North Carolina [uncertain]

Wife of Henry Bray — married about 1761 in North Carolina

Descendants

Died 14 Jan 1812 at about age 68 in Brush Creek, Chatham County, North Carolina, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Alice Ann Fesmire [send private message], Pam Kreutzer [send private message], SJ Baty [send private message], and Debbie Thomas [send private message]

Biography

Sarah (Yokley) Bray was part of a Southern Pioneer Family.

Sarah "Sally" Yokley, may have been born in Maryland or Virginia. She died 1815 or Feb 1818 and is believed to have been buried in the "Bray Cemetery, located on farm of A. T. Bray--Route 1, Bear Creek, Chatham County, NC, near Brush Creek Baptist Church."^[1]

Parents

Her parents may have been: John Yoakley, born abt 1710-1715 Maryland, died abt 1764 Wikes, Rowan, NC, married abt 1732 Rowan, NC, to Mary Sarah 'Sary' Munday, born abt 1715-1720 Maryland, died aft 1797 in Burke 'Alexander County' NC. Sarah isn't mentioned in Mary Sarah "Sary" Munday's will. There isn't any proof that these were her parents.^{[citation needed]}}

Marriage

Sarah "Sally" Yokley and Henry Bray, Sr. (1742-1812) married about 1761, Chatham, North Carolina. In her husband Henry's will dated in 1812, named his wife Sarah: Henry left Sarah a plantation, three slaves, animals, all household items.^[2][3]

Children

Sarah and Henry had eleven children, all mentioned in Henry's 1812 will.^[4][3]

i. Mathias 'Josiah' Bray (1763-1825)

ii. James Bray (1763-1857)

iii. John Bray (1765-1821)

iv. William E. Bray (1766-1846)

v. Henry Bray, Jr. (1768-1854)^[5]

vi. Mary Polly Bray (1770-1816)

vii. Sarah "Sally" Bray (1772-1848)

viii. Jesse Bray (1775-1845)

ix. Eli Bray (1778-1855)

x. Solomon Bray (1780-1824)

xi. Edward Bray (1782-1838)

Death and burial

There is conflicting information as to the year of Sarah's death, either in 1815 or 1818. There are no gravestones with a death date of 1815 but one that has an obscured name and birth date:

Bray, Unknown (b. Unknown - d. 1818)^[1]

There are other tombstones that are obscured and it is also possible that Sarah has a different stone.

Research Notes

Sarah's birth year appears to be an estimate, her year of death is after 1812, and before 1820, neither appears to have a primary source. Sarah's parents haven't been proven by any primary records.

The Website: SHULERS and others, seems to have whatever information is known about the Yoakley family, with some sources.^[6] There doesn't appear to be any primary documents that prove her maiden name was Yoakley.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Chatham County Historical Association. "http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/cem191.htm." Chatham County North Carolina Cemeteries: Bray Cemetery." Accessed 18 February 2019 SJ Baty.
2. ↑ Chatham County, North Carolina Wills, Recorded in Book A, pg 198, Will of Henry Bray written Jan 4, 1812.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Henry Bray's will, ancestry.com, accessed 19 June 2019, WILL
4. ↑ Researcher Jacquie K. Hoggard, provided names of children, as per Henry's will, and information on their marriages and children. Hoggard also provided a copy of original will xeroxed on 1 May 1986, stamped by North Carolina State Archives. Copy in possession of P. Kreutzer
5. ↑ North Carolina Digital Collection: Henry Bray Family Bible Records https://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15012coll1/id/5276/rec/2, son, Henrys' bible: (spelled as it is on the bible page)"Henry Bray senor was borned April the 7 day, 1768 died december the 7 day 1854 my father.
6. ↑ John Yoakley The rootsweb source for Shulers and Others is no longer available on the internet.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58651731/sarah-bray: accessed 17 August 2023), memorial page for Sarah “Sally” Yokley Bray (1744–14 Jan 1812), Find a Grave Memorial ID 58651731, citing Bray Cemetery, Bear Creek, Chatham County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Sherlock (contributor 47426049).