Famous Connections

Famous Relatives

Richard Petty – NASCAR driver, 7th cousin, 1x removed. His father Lee Arnold Petty, 6th cousin, 2x removed, was also a famous NASCAR driver. The connection is through Sarah Petty, born 1808, wife of Benjamin Brewer and mother of Isaac Newton Brewer (2nd great-grandfather). Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Petty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Petty

General William Childs Westmoreland – 5th cousin, 3x removed. Commander of US forces during the Vietnam War. The connection is through Amelia Westmoreland, born in 1802, wife of Mordicai Thornton and mother of Parthena Katherine Thornton wife of Barkley Martin Gray (2nd great-grandfather). Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Westmoreland

John Henry Gray – 3rd cousin, 2x removed. Filipino Olympic boxer who competed in the 1932 Los Angeles summer Olympics. He was the son of Elihu Wayne Gray who was in the Spanish American War and served in the Philippines. He met and married Ambrosia Perida and stayed in the Philippines following the war. John’s great-grandfather was James Gray, my 4th great-grandfather. I believe he is a 1st cousin 2x removed from my grandfather Silas Gray. John Henry Gray was born in 1906 in Leyte, Philippines. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gray_(boxer)

William Lenoir – 7th great uncle. Revolutionary War officer and hero at the Battle of Kings Mountain, NC. He was also speaker of the North Carolina state senate. He was a member of the North Carolina state convention that ultimately ratified the U.S. Constitution. He was a founder of the University of North Carolina. Lenoir Hall at the University of North Carolina is named in his honor as is the US Navy Cargo ship the USS Lenoir. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lenoir_(general)

President James Knox Polk – 2nd cousin 5x removed. 11th U.S. President. The connection is through grandfather Silas Gray’s maternal grandmother, Ella J. Polk who was married to John A. Mathis (Mathews). Their daughter was Malissa Caledonia Mathis, who married William Dillard Gray (great-grandfather). Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk

Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk – 2nd cousin 5x removed. Confederate General and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. 2nd cousin to President James K. Polk. The connection is through grandfather Silas Gray’s maternal grandmother, Ella J. Polk who was married to John A. Mathis (Mathews). Their daughter was Malissa Caledonia Mathis, who married William Dillard Gray (great-grandfather). Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_Polk

Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch – 3rd cousin 5x removed. He was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a major in the Mexican War and Brigadier General in the Civil War. Was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge, AR. His younger brother was Henry Eustace McCulloch who was also a Confederate General. He was a former neighbor and friend of Davy Crocket and was taught briefly, as a student, by Sam Houston. His mother was Francis Fisher Lenoir born 1780, her great-grandparents were Thomas Lenoir and Mourning Crawley, my 7th great-grandfather. The connection is my third great-grandmother Parthena K. Thornton who married William Gray. Her maternal grandfather was William Westmoreland whose mother was Ann Nancy Lenoir, sister to the famed William Lenoir. Ann Nancy Lenoir’s father was Thomas Lenoir. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_McCulloch