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Created by Aimee Reist and John Nemmers. Send comments to FSU Libraries Special Collections
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R.A. Gray Collection
Biographical Note:
R. Andrew Gray (1882-1975) was born on August 2, 1882, near Concord,
Georgia, the second son of a Methodist circuit preacher. The family soon
moved to northern Florida where Gray was raised, educated, and first tried
his hand at teaching in a country school at the age of fifteen. Gray later
attended South Florida Military College in Bartow for four years. Before
dedicating himself wholly to state politics, Gray spent nearly ten years
in teaching, newspaper work, and local government. He then went on to spend
most of the next sixty years, from the beginning of the century until his
retirement in 1961, working in some capacity for the state of Florida.
Gray represented Gadsden County as a legislator in 1910 and over the next
twenty years he held various positions in state agencies including the
State Treasury and the Comptroller's Office. In 1930, he was appointed
Secretary of State to finish William Igou's term and then ran for that
office himself in the next election. Gray served as Secretary of State
from 1930 until 1961 when he resigned. For more details on Gray, see his
autobiography, My Story, Rose Printing Company, Tallahassee, 1958,
and W.T. Cash: History of Florida, American Historical Society,
1938, volume 3, page 5.
Scope and Content:
The four items presented to the FSU Library by the Honorable R.A. Gray,
Secretary of State, Tallahassee, Florida, consist of the following:
1. Civil War letter (1863) written by Secretary Gray's Grand Uncle, W.D.
Howren, while in the General Hospital at Augusta, Georgia, for treatment
after "having a foot shot off in battle." The letter, addressed
to Lieutenant J.C. Blake of 5th Fla. Vols., Richmond, Virginia, relates
to baggage to be delivered to Lieutenant Blake.
2. A three-page World War II letter from another relative of Gray, signed
"Buck," Philippine Islands, A.P.O. 715, (no date) to "Dear
Roy." The letter gives on-the-battle-field information about a campaign
in the mountains, and states: "...our planes bombed the mountains
for several hours...afterwards we cut loose with everything we had, and
the Inf. took the mountains with very little resistance...there were dead
Japs every where. I have been lucky so far. Maybe after one more campaign
I can come home..."
3. This third item is a newspaper clipping from the Tallahassee Democrat,
January 9, 1959, entitled "Letters Tell of Civil War Days in Area,"
and pertains to a talk at a meeting of the Tallahassee Historical Society
by Dr. J. Russell Reaver, Associate Professor of English at Florida State
University. "Dr. Reaver's talk," the article stated, "was
based on a number of old letters written by the Blake and Cromartie families
of Miccosukee, both local pioneer families. The letters, passed between
Joel C. Blake, a lieutenant in the Confederate Army stationed in Virginia,
and his wife and family on the Blake plantation, 'Blakey'. Dr. Reaver was
given access to the letters by two of his students, descendants of the
Blake and Cromartie families."
4. The fourth item of the collection is a letter written by the Hon. R.A.
Gray, January 12, 1959, to Mrs. Virginia J. Edington, Librarian Gifts and
Exchanges, Florida State University Library, which accompanied the gifts.
This letter is treasured by the library for the valuable information it
contains concerning the papers, and also for his autograph.
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Created by Aimee Reist and John Nemmers. Send comments to FSU Libraries Special Collections
|