Author: Gray, Thomas, Jr.
Biography:
GRAY, Thomas, Jr. (1803-49: Hollis)
Born in Roxbury MA, he was the son of the Rev. Thomas Gray, pastor of the Congregational (Unitarian) Church there, and his wife Deborah (Stillman) Gray. After graduating from Harvard in 1823, he travelled in Europe before returning to Harvard to study medicine. In 1825 he published a novel, The Vestal: A Tale of Pompeii; in 1827 he took his MD degree and set up practice in Boston, eventually switching from a general medical practice to dentistry. In 1834 he married Mary Turell Fales. He was a frequent contributor of hymns and poems to periodicals and magazines, a regular churchgoer, and an occasional organist in his father's church. One of his poems, "The Humming Bird," was set to music by Rossini and published in 1834. He died in Boston. (Alfred Porter Putnam, Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith [1875]; ancestry.com 12 Jan. 2019)
Other Names:
- Thomas Gray, Jr.