Brief Life History of Howard Watson
When Howard Watson Bray was born on 17 July 1871, in California, United States, his father, Watson Augustus Bray, was 55 and his mother, Julia Ann Moses, was 37. He married Elizabeth McAllister on 12 July 1929, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States. He lived in San Francisco, California, United States in 1935 and San Rafael Judicial Township, Marin, California, United States in 1940. He died on 18 April 1964, in Larkspur, Marin, California, United States, at the age of 92, and was buried in Oakland, Alameda, California, United States.
Photos and Memories (3)
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Family Time Line
Sources (24)
- Howard Bray, "United States Census, 1940"
- Howard Watson Bray, "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952"
- Howard Bray, "United States Social Security Death Index"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
Siblings (9)
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World Events (8)
1872 · The First National Park
Yellowstone National Park was given the title of the first national park by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. It is also believed to be the first national park in the world.
1872 · The Modoc War
Hostilities between Modoc Indians and white settlers resulted in the Modoc War during 1872-1873. A Modoc band of nearly 200 people, led by Captain Jack Kintpuash, was fleeing a forced relocation to a reservation occupied by their enemies, the Klamaths. The band had returned to their former land on Lost River, which now had white settlers occupying the area. The conflict erupted on November 29, 1872, when 40 troops were sent to move the Modocs back to the reservation. An argument erupted and shots were fired. Several were killed and the Modocs fled to “The Stronghold,” a large, cavernous lava bed. The holdout went on for months with several clashes. On April 11, 1873, General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby and Reverend Eleazar Thomas were killed by the Modocs during a negotiation. The Modocs lacked resources and supplies and eventually surrendered on July 4. In total, 2 Modocs and 71 enlisted military men lost their lives.
1896 · Plessy vs. Ferguson
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities if the segregated facilities were equal in quality. It's widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history.
Name Meaning
English: habitational name from any of the places in Berkshire and Devon. The former is probably named with Old French bray ‘marsh’, the latter from the Cornish element bre ‘hill’.
English: perhaps a topographic name from northern Middle English bra ‘steep (river) bank’ or ‘brow of a hill’, denoting someone who lived at such a place.
English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of several places in Normandy or Picardy called Bray (Eure, Calvados, Aisne, Somme); see 6.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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