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W.B.D. and Annette B. Gray Papers, 1835-1986

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Gray, W.B.D.; Gray, Annette B.
Title
W.B.D. and Annette B. Gray Papers
Dates
1835-1986 (inclusive)
Quantity
8.50 cubic ft. (24 containers)
Collection Number
01053
Summary
W.B.D. and Annette B. Gray were Congregational missionaries to the people of Wyoming from 1900 to 1918. The collection contains biographical material about them, family photographs and photographs taken by the couple to illustrate their life in Wyoming. Also included are some African artifacts from the 1830s.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

William Bradford Dodge Gray was superintendent of Congregational Missions in Wyoming from 1900 to 1918. He was born in Milbourne, Illinois, in 1846 and named after his grandfather, William Bradford Dodge, the first secretary of the Antislavery Institute at Salem, Massachusetts. After his mother’s death, he was raised by his grandfather and by his maternal aunt, Miss J.D. Dodge, in Lake County, Illinois. In 1867 he married Julia Payne, and they resided in Ivanhoe and in Highland Park, Illinois, where Gray was a farmer and merchant. The couple moved to South Dakota in 1880 and homesteaded in Kingsbury County between Lake Preston and De Smet. In 1890 they moved into Yankton, South Dakota, where W.B.D. Gray was associated with the founding of Yankton College. In 1900 they moved to Cheyenne, when Gray was appointed superintendent of the Home Missionary and Sunday School Society in Wyoming. Julia Gray died in October of that same year. W.B.D. and Julia Gray were the parents of four sons: Burton Payne, a lawyer and judge in Boston; Edward D., a farmer near Yankton; William Steven, who became superintendent of the soldiers’ home in Hot Springs, South Dakota, following a military career; and Charles Nelson of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Gray married Annette Becher, who had previously acted as his assistant, in 1902. Annette Margaret Becher was brought up in Wenona, Illinois. She studied music and attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (1899-1900), where she first met W.B.D. Gray. She was ordained in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in December, 1900, and became pastor of the South Side Congregational Church in Cheyenne. After her marriage, she traveled extensively through the state as a missionary, often acting as temporary pastor in communities which lacked a permanent minister.

The couple’s missionary work was supported by slide lectures given to audiences in the East on conditions in Wyoming. For this purpose they took many photographs of small communities and rural areas of the state, which were exhibited during winter visits to Boston and other eastern cities. Dr. Gray retired from active service in 1918, and, in 1919, the Grays moved to Denver, Colorado, where W.B.D. Gray died on June 21, 1926. Mildred Kenney (Rost), a friend from Wyoming, came to live with the Grays in 1922 and remained with Annette Becher Gray after Dr. Gray’s death. Annette Becher Gray died in Denver in October, 1936.

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Content Description

The bulk of the collection consists of photographs and negatives, primarily taken by W.B.D. and Annette Becher Gray, of churches and communities in Wyoming between 1900 and 1918. Since these photographs were apparently taken for use in the Grays’ fund-raising slide lectures in the East, they tend to emphasize the under-settled and rural aspects of the state. For the same reason, they depict many small communities from which few photographs have survived, as well as the beginnings of larger towns. There are also photographs which depict South Dakota and Wyoming during the 1890s.

The papers include a reminiscence written by Mildred Kenney Rost about her association with the Grays and the years she spent living with Annette Gray after Dr. Gray’s death. Among the correspondence is information about the founding of Yankton College in South Dakota. There is also biographical information and material regarding Congregational Mission work in Wyoming.

Also included are a manuscript by Mildred Kenney Rost and a group of African artifacts which reflect the story of a Gold Coast slave rescued and repatriated by the Dodge family in Massachusetts in the 1830s.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, W.B.D. and Annette B. Gray Papers, 1835-1986, Collection Number 01053, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Alternative Forms Available

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of the negatives from this collection are available at http://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu:8180/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~70~70.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by W.B.D. and Annette B. Gray as of the date of processing. For additional information about them, see the Mildred Kenney Rost Papers, Collection Number 06122, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

The W.B.D. and Annette B. Gray Papers were received from Mildred Kenney Rost in several accretions between 1960 and 1988.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by D.C. Thompson in September 2005.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Congregational churches--West (U.S.)
  • Religion--South Dakota.
  • Religion--Wyoming.
  • Rural missions--Wyoming.

Corporate Names

  • Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society.
  • Congregational Church West (U.S.)
  • Congregational Home Missionary Society.
  • Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
  • Yankton College.

Geographical Names

  • Wyoming--History--1890-1918.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographs.

Occupations

  • Clergy.
  • Missionaries--West (U.S.)
  • Women clergy.
  • Women missionaries--West (U.S.)

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Dodge, William Bradford.
    • Gray, William Dodge.
    • Rost, Mildred Kenney.

Processed by D.C. Thompson
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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