Dusty D happened across this little tidbit in the Archives. It is a memorandum written in 1952 by onetime city historian (back when this was a paid position) Louis White. He notes the existence of Aray family graves on the Cady farm near the present-day Meijer's on Carpenter Road. As you can see on this Google map, 4280 Ellsworth is now the site of a subdivision. What happened to these graves? Why did Mr. Cady tell Mr. White to "keep [his] nose out"? Dusty D did a bit of checking on the Aray family and saw that there was an interracial marriage in the family, in an era when that was pretty much unthinkable. Is this why? Was Mr. Cady a relative who didn't want this publicized? Where are the graves now? It's one of those mysteries that starts tugging at your sleeve: "Please, tell our story..."
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Mystery of the Aray Graves
Dusty D happened across this little tidbit in the Archives. It is a memorandum written in 1952 by onetime city historian (back when this was a paid position) Louis White. He notes the existence of Aray family graves on the Cady farm near the present-day Meijer's on Carpenter Road. As you can see on this Google map, 4280 Ellsworth is now the site of a subdivision. What happened to these graves? Why did Mr. Cady tell Mr. White to "keep [his] nose out"? Dusty D did a bit of checking on the Aray family and saw that there was an interracial marriage in the family, in an era when that was pretty much unthinkable. Is this why? Was Mr. Cady a relative who didn't want this publicized? Where are the graves now? It's one of those mysteries that starts tugging at your sleeve: "Please, tell our story..."
"Bars of metal one rod (16.5 feet) long were used as standards of length in surveying land in the past. One example of a surveyor's rod is a one piece metal bar encased in a cylindrical canvas tube (to keep the sun from heating it and making it increase in length) with a piece of the semiprecious gemstone jasper at each end of the rod (to prevent wear of the metal bar)."
ReplyDeletefrom "rod" entry on Wikipedia.
Another interesting tidbit from the same page: "Despite no longer being in widespread use, the rod is still used in certain specialized fields. In recreational canoeing, maps measure portages (overland paths where canoes must be carried) in rods[4]. This is thought to persist due to the rod approximating the length of a typical canoe. "
ReplyDeleteHere's a short clip from a Google Books search of the book History of Washtenaw County (Chapman, 1871). It references a Jacob Aray 1767-1839, and an Asher Aray d. 1871 who was "an efficient employe of the Underground Railroad, and always kept a wagon in his stable for the express purpose of conveying the fugitive slaves to the borders of Canada".
ReplyDeleteAs with any books this old you never quite know how much is literary license and how much is true, but this might push a mystery forwards.
And here's more on the Aray family from a contemporary source:
ReplyDeleteOther Voices: Only a few assisted escaped slaves
by Carol E. Mull | conducts research, lectures and teaches on the history of the Underground Railroad
Ed: Some fascinating links there, thank you! I note that the article you linked to, by Carol Mull, is a repudiation of the one written by Susan Oppat.
ReplyDeleteMull, an apparent expert on the subject, in effect says that the Oppat article exaggerates the role of abolitionists and the Underground Railroad.
Fascinating stuff; thanks!
Here's a weblog from some of the descendants of Asher Aray, which tells more of a story:
ReplyDelete"Back in the 1800s, I had an ancestor named Asher Aray. He was a man of mixed race who owned property in Michigan, and who always kept a wagon in his stable for the express purpose of conveying slaves to Canada as part of the Underground Railroad. From this family tale came a long line heroes and villains, but more importantly a group of people who struggled and suffered in the hopes that their children would have better lives than they did."
"To that end, my grandmother took her little family from the ancestral hometown in Michigan to a new town in Washington state, in the hopes that her children would grow up without the difficulties involved in being of mixed race; being light-skinned, she hoped they could pass for white, or at least native American (we are also part Mohawk)."
Please e-mail me concerning your connection to the Bradley-Sherman Family.
ReplyDeleteI am researching the Aray Family and would like to hear from you. I have organized an Aray "Reunification" Reunion and I have some other Aray descendants planning to attend. I would like to invite you as well. The Reunion will be Aug. 1-3 2014.
ReplyDeleteI just revisited the page and read with "comprehension" the post by Mr. Vielmetti.
ReplyDeleteWhen I originally read the post I thought that he was alluding to the fact that he was an Aray Descendant. After rereading it I see that it is a section of a blog from one of my relatives. Please disregard my prior two posts to Mr. Edward Vielmetti.
Mr. Vielmetti, I was so excited to find another potential relative that I "lost my mind". Thanks for commenting on this Blog and the "From Aray to Today" Blog.
If anyone is interested they may email me at: gollaruff@gmail.com
I have done extensive research on this family.