Mary Ann Ray

F, #2718, b. Jul 5, 1848, d. Mar 22, 1893

Family 1

William Henry Clark b. Feb 28, 1848, d. Dec 14, 1871

Family 2

Benjamin Essic Olney b. Mar 9, 1826, d. Jul 6, 1884
Children

Family 3

James Willis Whitley b. Jul 11, 1820, d. Jul 17, 1905

Chronological Events

Birth*Jul 5, 1848 Mary Ann Ray was born on Jul 5, 1848 at Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States.1 
Marriage*Aug 2, 1864 She married William Henry Clark on Aug 2, 1864 at Kentucky, United States.1 
Marriage*circa 1875 Mary Ann Ray married Benjamin Essic Olney, son of Ezeck Errick Olney and Betsey Nutting, circa 1875 at Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States.2 
Marriage*Apr 29, 1888 Mary Ann Ray married James Willis Whitley on Apr 29, 1888 at Nezperce, Lewis County, Idaho, United States.1 
Death*Mar 22, 1893 Mary Ann Ray died on Mar 22, 1893, at age 44 at Latah County, Idaho, United States.3 
Burial*Mar 24, 1893 She was buried on Mar 24, 1893 at Fix Ridge Cemetery, Juliaetta, Latah County, Idaho, United States, Find A Grave Memorial# 24564161.4 
Book Excerpt* 
Married at Nez Perce, Little Potlatch County, Indian Territory
"...before leaving Kansas grandpa married his third wife who was a widow women who had 3 teen aged boys. They (the boys) lived with grandpa till they were grown. Born to this 3rd marriage was 4 children. Benjamin Isau, Joseph, Gurturde & Hattie. Hattie was about 2 years old when he died. He died July 6 and buried on July 7, 1884...."

"...The 3rd wife died about 1895. She is buried by my grandfather...."

From reading this account I think that Benjamin and his third wife are buried in a cemetary near Genessee, Idaho.

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=cshakin&id=I14933

The following information sent in a series of communications from Bonnie Ross :

I have a write-up on Mary Ann (Ray) Clark Olney Whitley that appeared in the "Early and Present History of Fix Ridge, Latah County, Idaho; 1877 - 1964, Second Edition, 1966", that I would like to share with you. The write up was done by Mrs. Wallace Clark and the information was supplied by Mrs. Gertrude (Olney) Sprague. You may find some of the dates don't quite match the true date, but I have typed it up exactly the way it appeared in the book. I also have another version of the life of Mary Ann (Ray), the information compiled by Jackie Hope (Clark) Richardson (now deceased), and I will send that to you tomorrow. The info is pretty much the same, but her last paragraph that sums up Mary Ann's life is quite neat. My husband is a descendant of James Edward "Arnold" Ray, brother to Mary Ann Ray. As we collected our information on Arnold Ray and his family, we also gathered some information on Mary Ann Ray Clark Olney Whitley. I hope you find this interesting. It might give you some new clues on your family. Actually the family came west in 1875. The wagon train must have arrived in Boise, Idaho in about Aug 1875, the Ray family settled there and apparently the Olney family traveled on to Oregon. Mary Ann must have been expecting Benjamin Jr. as they traveled the trail. They must have just barely gotten into Oregon when she gave birth. The MARY ANN (RAY) CLARK OLNEY WHITLEY FAMILY Mary Ann Ray was born July 05, 1849, in Kentucky. William Henry Clark was born Feb 28, 1848 in Kentucky. They also married in Kentucky Aug 02, 1864. Louis Haynes Clark, their first son, was born Aug 03, 1865, and their second son, Walter Seymour Clark, was born on June 01, 1868. The family then moved to Polk County, Missouri, where Columbus Napoleon Clark was born on April 28,1870. Columbus was twenty months old when their father, William Henry Clark, died December 26, 1872, with typhoid fever. Later Mrs. Clark met a widower, Benjamin Olney, with four children; John, Jim, Rosetta, and Elizabeth. They were married and came to Oregon about 1874. When they came to Oregon Mrs. Mary Olney's three brothers, Arnold Ray, Henry or Hank Ray, and Bert Ray, and her mother, Mrs. Ray Stickney, came with them. In about 1881 they all came to Fix Ridge and Mr. and Mrs. Olney homesteaded 160 acres now owned by Tom Dennler. However, her mother and three brothers decided to go on and settle in the Salmon River country. Arnold Ray married Almeda Ross; Hank Ray married Sadie Matthorn and Bert Ray married Stella Stickney. Mrs. Olney's other two brothers, Bill and Joe Ray, stayed in the east. Mrs. Ray Stickney lived to be 96 years old and passed away in 1912. Bert Ray returned to Fix Ridge around 1910 and worked for Mr. and Mrs. Walter Clark for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Olney had four children. Benjamin, Jr. was born Sept 20, 1875 in Oregon. He married Dora Weatherby of Fix Ridge. They had four children; Roy, Rosie, Fred and Edward. Benjamin passed away at the age of 63, and is buried in the Lewiston cemetery. All of his family have passed away except Edward. He and his family live in Lewiston, Idaho. Joseph H. Olney was born at Shedstation, Oregon, on March 29, 1878, and was raised on Fix Ridge. When he was grown he moved to Gifford to farm. He married Laura Luper at Gifford, Idaho. They moved to Lewiston, Idaho where he worked as a plumber until he retired in 1949. They didn't have any children but raised several nephews and nieces. Laura passed away in 1939. He married Kate Crook in 1942 and she passed away in 1958. Joe passed away on September 17, 1965. Gertrude Mary Olney was born in Brownsville, Lynn County, Oregon on November 27, 1880. After her mother passed away in 1895 she went to live with Columbus and Fronia Clark. She left Fix Ridge in 1898, worked at Leland for a year, and then went to the Cottonwood Creek vicinity. On August 26, 1900, George Cornelious Sprague and Gertrude Mary Olney were married at Spalding, Idaho. They went to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and lived there four years. Then they returned to Cottonwood Creek again. In 1912 they left there to go by covered wagon to Okanogan County, Washington, where they lived for eight years. George took sick and they moved to Spokane. He passed away January 11, 1920. They had five children; Hazel Gertrude Sprague Boyes born on June 24, 1901; Gladys Sarah Sprague Kratz Gust born on June 19, 1905; Inez Mary Sprague Brown born on January 15, 1907; Vernon George Sprague born on December 9, 1909 and John Henry Sprague born on August 19, 1911; 12 grandchildren, and 39 great-grandchildren. All but three of the great-grandchildren are living. Gertrude Olney Sprague passed away on February 19, 1965. Hattie Prudence Olney was born in April, 1883, on the homestead on Fix Ridge. After her mother passed away in 1895 Hattie went to live with Louis and Ida Clark. She married Lake Fred Sills, November 22, 1902, at Gifford, Idaho. They had five children. Wallace Chester was born on April 15, 1904, and died on February 18, 1908. Bernace Cornelious was born March 19, 1910; Erma Agnes on February 15, 1912; Louis Emory on December 11, 1915, and Opal Mary Sills Kuonen on November 14, 1919. Hattie P. Sills passed away June 25, 1961, at Spokane, Washington. On July 6, 1884, Mr. Benjamin Olney, Sr. passed away. Later Mrs. Olney met and married J. W. Whitley. She passed away March 23, 1895. She and Mr. Olney are buried on Fix Ridge.
This information was found in some family research information of a Ross family researcher who researched the Ross and Ray families for many years. It is typed up on some pieces of paper, so I tend to believe Jackie typed this information to give to the Ross family researcher. They are now both deceased. This is her first paragraph- The story of the Clark, Johnson, Ross, Ray and Olney families of Fix Ridge, Latah County, Idaho, has proven to be an interesting one. Several years ago in the 1960's my mother, Nora Cox Clark, a member of the Fix Ridge Ladies Club, became very interested in having a record of all the families that had ever lived on Fix Ridge. The club sponsored this project and two editions of "The Fix Ridge History" book were made. (first edition-1964 & second edition- 1966). I helped her with getting our family histories together and as we began to get into the stories my interest was fanned into a flame. I have been doing family research ever since and it has proven to be a most enjoyable hobby. The first child of James Henry Ray and Serena (Lacy) Ray The information was compiled by a descendant of Mary Ann (Ray's) second son, Walter Seymour Clark. The compiler's name being Jacquelyn "Jackie" Hope (Clark) Richardson. (Jackie died Oct 1993) Mary Ann Ray was born 05 July 1849, in Kentucky. Her husband, William Henry Clark, son of Charles W. Clark and Narcissa Obedience Butler was born in Hopkins County, Kentucky, 28 Feb 1848. Mary Ann and William Henry married on 02 Aug 1864 in KY, by James H. Clark, Baptist Minister, in the home of M. Rhea. James P. Merrel and W. Rhea present. After they married they remained in KY where their first son, Louis Haynes Clark, was born, 03 Aug 1865 and their second son, Walter Seymour Clark was born 01 June 1868. The family then moved to Polk County, Missouri, which is near Bolivar, where the third son, Columbus Napoleon Clark was born 28 Apr 1870. Columbus was twenty months old when their father, William Henry Clark became ill and died with typhoid fever. (two different death dates are found for William Henry Clark, the family bible shows 26 Dec 1872 and his tombstone shows 14 Dec 1871). He is buried in Mt. Olive Cemetery which is about 2 Ùa miles northeast of Bolivar, Missouri. After William Henry Clark's death, Mary Ann met and married Benjamin Olney, a widower with four children; John, Jim, Rosetta and Elizabeth. After they married, they joined a wagon-train in 1875 that was going to Oregon. Mary Clark Olney's three brothers, Arnold Ray, Henry or Hank Ray, Bert Ray, and her mother, Mrs. Serena (Lacy) Ray went west with them. Whether they left Kentucky to join them going west or whether they had moved to Missouri when William Henry and Mary Ann Clark moved, we do not know. Serena (Lacy) Ray was widowed in Kentucky at the beginning of the Civil War. After arriving out west, she married a Mr. Stickney. Serena M. (Lacy) Ray Stickney died Dec 20, 1911 in Weiser, Idaho, (Washington Co.) while living with her son, Henry L. Ray. She is buried in the Weiser Cemetery. Benjamin Olney and wife, Mary Ann had four children of their own. Benjamin Jr. born in 1875 in Oregon; Joseph H. born March 1878 at Shedstation, Oregon; Gertrude Mary born Nov 1880 in Brownsville, Oregon; and Hattie Prudence born April 1883 on the homestead on Fix Ridge, Juliaetta, Idaho. From this we know that they came to Fix Ridge after 1880 and before 1883. The homestead was located west of the Fix Ridge Cemetery. There are no buildings or roads into it now. Her Clark grandchildren called it "Grandma Olney's home". Mr. Olney died July 06, 1884, so none of her Clark grandchildren would have remembered him. Later, she met and married J. W. Whitley. She passed away March 23, 1895, and she and Mr. Olney are buried in the Fix Ridge Cemetery. From the death certificate of Mary Ann Ray Clark Olney (known on Fix Ridge as "Grandma Olney") we find she was the daughter of Serena M. Lacy, b. Dec 10, 1829 in Illinois, Sangamon Co. (we think), and James Henry Ray born about 1828 in Tennessee. Serena M. Lacy's parents were Jeptha Lacy, born in Virginia. He married Mary Clark, born in Alabama, on Nov 11, 1825, Christian Co., KY, by Archibald Bourland, M.G.. Serena M. Lacy and James Henry Ray were married in Montgomery Co., Tennessee, Aug 25, 1846. by J. Sturdivant, J.P., Bondsman: Thomas C. Steel. Serena's name was spelled "Cerena" on her marriage license, but in all other places it was "Serena". James Henry Ray spelled his last name "Ray" on the marriage license, but in many other places he spelled it "Rhea". It seems that during the late 1860's and early '70's is when they were spelling it both ways. However, the ones that went west used "Ray" while I find in Kentucky that some stayed with "Rhea" and some used "Ray". (written by Jackie) - Just a note in passing - Mary Ann (Ray) Clark Olney was born in 1849 - died in 1895 - age 46 years. She married in Kentucky, moved to Missouri, was left a widow with three boys; married a widower with four children; crossed the plains in a covered wagon train to homestead in Oregon; had three more children; moved to Idaho to homestead again and had one more child; was widowed again; married again and died at the age of 46!!! And we think we have busy stressful lives!! [*note* from Bonnie] - We have a 1878 map of Oregon, it shows Shedstation where Joseph H. Olney was born as being just Shed. It is on the railroad so perhaps it was a station where the train stopped to refuel. Also it is very near the community of Brownsville and Brownsville was a sheep area and there was a big wool processing plant there. Perhaps they took the wool to the station at Shed to load on the train. You might wonder the connection of the families. James Edward "Arnold" Ray, brother of Mary Ann (Ray), married Almeda Emiline Ross; and two of the Clark boys (Mary Ann Ray's sons) married Johnson sisters. Walter S. Clark married Mary Lavonia Johnson and Columbus N. Clark married Sophronia Emeline Johnson.
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From: D Mann [mailto:dmann@sanbrunocable.com] Mary Ann Ray married my great great grandfather, James Willis Whitley, 28 Apr 1888 but she only lived a short time after their marriage. He was born in 1820 and it was his third marriage.
She was married to a Benjamin Eseck Olney before she married him in Idaho. He (Benjamin) was born 9 Mar 1826 in Vermont and died 1884 in Idaho.5
 

Citations

  1. [S802] Site - Ancestry.com, online at http://www.ancestry.com
  2. [S816] Site - International Genealogical Index (R) or Ancestral File, online at http://www.familysearch.org
  3. [S79] Gravestones - Find-A-Grave.com, online at findagrave.com.
  4. [S58] Gravestones - Death Cert, Find-A-Grave, BillionGraves.
  5. [S805] Site - One World Tree (SM), online at http://www.ancestry.com