My Genealogy Hound

FRANCIS GRAY, proprietor of Piqua Woolen Mills, Piqua. Mr. Gray, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1821; in his youth, he received only a very common-school education; in 1842, he embarked in the lumber business, rafting down the river to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, at the same time operating a store in Pittsfield, in which he was quite successful; in the spring of 1850, a sudden and violent flood carried off his logs and lumber and placed him in embarrassing circumstances, making it necessary for him to make an assignment, which he did, making one of his creditors his assignee. The assignee, instead of distributing the proceeds, managed to get away with everything, leaving the other creditors to hold an empty sack. After this misfortune, Mr. Gray placed his family on a raft upon which he was employed, and, very much against his father’s wish, went to Covington, Ky., to start anew among strangers; he landed at Covington in September, 1851, having about $150; through his acquaintance with the lumber trade and lumber men, he soon succeeded in obtaining employment for the time being, measuring lumber on the wharfs, and gradually worked into trading by selling shingles, etc., for the raftsmen. The first money he made more than was necessary to keep up expenses, was by selling a 400,000-lot of shingles, for which he received a commission of 50 cents per thousand; this transaction was conducted one morning before breakfast, and Mr. Gray has never forgotten his feelings that morning when he sat down to the table with the $200 in his possession. This small capital he kept turning in different trading transactions until he had accumulated about $1,000 in cash. In the meantime he had taken a regular commercial course at a mercantile college in Cincinnati; he then formed a partnership with an acquaintance who possessed about the same amount of capital, and they started a lumber-yard at Covington, having first received assurance from a large river lumberman who was acquainted with Mr. Gray and his circumstances, that they could have all the lumber they wanted on credit, which showed great confidence by him in Gray’s ability and integrity, for the debts from the Pennsylvania failure were still hanging over him. The lumber business proved successful, and, as soon as he began to feel the way open, he went East and arranged with his creditors, giving his notes, with approved security, and receiving a liberal extension of time for payment. In 1859, he was invited by a Mr. J. D. Patch to come to Cynthiana, Ky., and take a half-interest in a flour-mill which he (Patch) was operating or trying to operate; after investigation, Mr. Gray sold out his lumber interests and went to Cynthiana; on account of having used a considerable amount of money to pay debts, he had only about $2,000 to take to the new enterprise, and still owed about $2,000 on the old debts; Mr. Patch allowed him a half-interest upon the payment of $1,000 cash and his individual notes for the balance of the $5,000, which was the price of the half-interest. Mr. Gray remained in Cynthiana six years, during which time the old debts were all extinguished, the half-interest in the mill paid, and a woolen-mill established, all of which he sold in the spring of 1865. Although he had been robbed twice by raiding rebels, he returned to Covington July, 1865, out of debt and having $3,000 capital; he immediately leased a large building and fitted it up with the latest improved machinery for the manufacture of all kinds of woolen goods; this he operated there until 1869, when, on account of the difficulty of obtaining water in sufficient quantities, he determined on removal, and accordingly visited the Miami Valley, and made arrangements to come to Piqua, Dr. O’Farrell and Thomas L. Daniels being associated with him in the enterprise here; their business was quite successful until the depression of 1873, when it became impossible to manufacture woolens without loss; but here Mr. Gray was equal to the emergency; having previously had his attention directed to the demand for a really good felt paper mills, he succeeded in obtaining the rudiments for their manufacture from an old Englishman who had worked at the business in England; he met with unexpected difficulties, his partner, Dr. O’Farrell, opposed the outlay necessary to perfect the arrangement for the manufacturing of the felts as a useless expense which would only result in disaster. So confident was Mr. Gray that, by the help of some friends East, he perfected the arrangements, bought out his partner, and although the first year or two witnessed many failures, he succeeded in making felts which are now successfully competing with the foreign manufacturer who formerly occupied the field, to the exclusion of all others; he has associated with him now his son William C. Gray and H. C. Nellis; they are now, in addition to their trade in blankets, flannels, yarns, etc., filling orders for felts from all parts of the United States and Canada, and have even shipped some across the Atlantic. Their felt cylinder jackets are pronounced by experienced paper-mill men to be the best in the world, and this industry has become one of the most important in Piqua.