Iowa Family Group Sheet for William RAY Submitted by:Donna Hansen Stene Email: csstene@juno.com HUSBAND: WILLIAM RAY Birth date: 26 Mar 1844 Birthplace: Muscatine Iowa Death date: 15 Sep 1924 Place of death: Defiance, Shelby County, Iowa Burial place:Union Township Cemetery, Defiance, Iowa Other Spouse: none Father: WILLIAM RAY Mother: unknown, possibly CATHERINE maiden name unknown Marriage date: 1865 Marriage place: Muscatine, Iowa WIFE: HELEN JULIA REBECCA LONGENECKER Birth date: 28 Nov 1843 Birthplace: Marietta, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Death date: 24 Aug 1920 Place of death: Defiance, Shelby County, Iowa Burial place: Union Township Cemetery, Defiance, Iowa CHILDREN: Child No. 1: ANNA FRANCES RAY Sex: female Birth date:22 Jun 1866 Birthplace: Muscatine County, Iowa Death date: 23 Apr 1953 Place of death: Dunlap, Harrison County, Iowa Burial place: Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Dunlap, Harrison County, Iowa Spouse's name: WILLIAM HUNTER Birth date:20 Jun 1856 Birthplace: Linn County, Iowa Death date: 3 Sep 1940 Place of death: Dunlap, Harrison County, Iowa Marriage date: 23 Mar 1884 Child No. 2: JOHN ALBERT RAY Sex: male Birth date: 18 Sep 1871 Birthplace: Keokuk County, Iowa Death date: 31 Jan 1919 Place of death: Defiance, Shelby County, Iowa Burial place: Union Township Cemetery, Defiance, Iowa Spouse's name: FLORENCE MAE LONGENECKER Birth date: 11 Aug 1876 Death date: 26 Mar 1923 Place of death: Defiance, Shelby County, Iowa Burial place: Union Township Cemetery, Defiance, Iowa Marriage date: 31 May 1906 Marriage place: Manilla, Iowa Child No. 3: JOSEPH S. RAY Sex: male Birth date: 18 Aug 1875 Birthplace: Greene County, Iowa Death date: 13 Aug 1968 Place of death: Worthington, Nobles County, Minnesota Burial place: Church of the Brethren Cemetery, Worthington, Minnesota Spouse's name: MARY CAROLINE HARNESS Marriage date: 24 Jun 1899 Marriage place: Harlan, Shelby County, Iowa DOCUMENTATION AND SOURCES: Family Resources Death Certificates Obituaries County Histories Census Records HELEN LONGENECKER KLEPPER RAY’S family came from Pennsylvania. After farming in Muscatine County the LONGENECKER family moved to a farm in Washington County. We have been unable to officially document WILLIAM RAY’S birth or who his parents are. His death certificate lists Muscatine as the place of birth, his father as WILLIAM, his mother "unknown." Census records say his parents were "foreign", from Germany or France. An obituary says his family lived near New Era in Muscatine County. The 1870 census lists WILLIAM and HELEN RAY in Muscatine; also their first child ANNA, and a CATHERINE RAY, age 70. Possibly CATHERINE could be WILLIAM’S mother but we cannot find documentation. On the 1880 census WILLIAM and HELEN RAY had moved to Oregon. A CATHERINE RAY, age 80, died that year at the Poor Farm in Muscatine. We have her death certificate which provides no information except that she is a widow. HELEN LONGENECKER RAY’S first husband was WILLIAM KLEPPER. He left for the Civil War after their wedding which was 30 Aug 1862. The marriage is recorded in book A, page 89, Muscatine County. There were no children. He died of illness at Bear Creek, Mississippi, on 8 Sep 1863, while serving in the Civil War. ************************************************** Copyright ©© 2006 by Donna Stene. All rights reserved.