Person Page - 57

     Walter Heatherington Mitchell was born on 30 October 1902 at Arkansas.^1,2 He was the son of Walter Mitchell and Margaret Mitchell. Walter Heatherington Mitchell married Bessie (Gray) Mitchell, daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray, before 1920; pr/1920 census - lvg w/parents.¹ Walter Heatherington Mitchell died on 31 August 1978 at Stanislaus Co., California, at age 75.² He was buried at Mountain Shadow Cemetery, Tuolumne Co., CA.³
     He was New Tag. He appeared on the census of 1910 as a son in the household of Walter Mitchell at Chant, Haskell Co., Oklahoma.⁴ Walter Heatherington Mitchell lived with Bessie (Gray) Mitchell between 1920 and 1988 at Main Street, Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.⁵ Winkleman Twp. Arizona is in the hills southeast of Phoenix and north of Tuscon. The two Walter Mitchells of this 1930 census record appear to be Walter Lester Mitchell, born Arkansas in Dec 1879, and his son Walter Hetherington Mitchelll, born Oct 1902, also in Arkansas.⁶ Walter Heatherington Mitchell lived in 1935 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA; pr/1940 census. He appeared on the census of 1940 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA.⁷

     Doral (Gray) McDowell was born on 29 June 1908 at California.^1,2 She was the daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.¹ Doral (Gray) McDowell married Thomas Lester McDowell circa 1925; Guestimate.¹ Doral (Gray) McDowell died on 28 October 1996 at San Mateo Co., California, at age 88.^1,2
     She was educated at Wards Ferry School, Tuolumne Co., CA; Attended Wards Ferry School; Mrs. Berger was her teacher. Doral (Gray) McDowell was also known as Doral Evelyn Gray.¹ She Dorel's school mates at Wards Ferry School included Lean and Amelia

Dorel's family home was near Deer Creek Bridge. The house sat on a knoll with a surrounding picket fence.

Grandma Gray lived with them

She refers to Grandma & Grandpa Acker

Aunt Ada & Uncle Will McColloch & cousin Lee McColloch. Doral Evelyn Gray appeared on the census of 1910 at Twp 3, Tuolumne Co., CA, as a daughter in the household of John Rufus Gray.³ Doral (Gray) McDowell appeared on the census of 1920 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA, as a daughter in the household of John Rufus Gray.⁴

     Thomas Lester McDowell was born in 1902.¹ He married Doral (Gray) McDowell, daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray, circa 1925; Guestimate.¹ Thomas Lester McDowell died in 1961.¹

     Vernon Dale McDowell was born on 13 September 1928 at California.^1,2 He was the son of Thomas Lester McDowell and Doral (Gray) McDowell.¹ Vernon Dale McDowell died on 21 February 1981 at San Francisco, San Francisco Co., California, at age 52.^1,2

     Eva Geraldine Gray married William Schultz.² Eva Geraldine Gray was born on 22 May 1912 at California.^1,3,4 She was the daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.¹ Eva Geraldine Gray died on 30 July 1977 at Contra Costa Co., California, at age 65.^1,3,4,5 She was buried after 30 July 1977 at Divide Cemetery 3:272 Gray Family Plot, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.⁶
     Her married name was Geraldine (Gray) Schultz.^2,5 Eva Geraldine Gray appeared on the census of 1920 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA, as a daughter in the household of John Rufus Gray.⁷ Eva Geraldine Gray appeared on the census of 1930 at Twp 3, Tuolumne Co., CA, as a daughter in the household of John Rufus Gray.⁸

     Leo Lester Gray was born in 1914.¹ He was the son of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.¹ Leo Lester Gray was born circa 1915 at Tuolumne Co., California. He died in 1937.¹ He was buried in 1937 at Divide Cemetery 3:27, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.²
     He appeared on the census of 1920 as a son in the household of John Rufus Gray at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA.³ Leo Lester Gray appeared on the census of 1930 as a son in the household of John Rufus Gray at Twp 3, Tuolumne Co., CA.⁴

     Mabel Maud Gray was born in 1917.¹ She was the daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.¹ Mabel Maud Gray was born circa 1918 at California. She died in 1921.¹ She was buried in 1921 at Divide Cemetery 3:271, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.²
     Mabel Maud Gray appeared on the census of 1920 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA, as a daughter in the household of John Rufus Gray.³

     Lloyd Charles Gray was born on 14 December 1919 at Tuolumne Co., California.^1,2 He was the son of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.¹ Lloyd Charles Gray married Margaret (Ellwanger) Gray circa 1940; Guesstimate.³ Lloyd Charles Gray died on 28 July 1978 at Tuolumne Co., California, at age 58.^1,4,5 He was buried after 28 July 1978 at Divide Cemetery 3:267A, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.¹
     He CA Death Index @ rootsweb.com
GRAY LLOYD CHARLES
12/14/1919
M
CALIFORNIA
TUOLUMNE
07/28/1978
546-12-3605
58 yrs.
He appeared on the census of 1920 as a son in the household of John Rufus Gray at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., CA.⁶ Lloyd Charles Gray appeared on the census of 1930 as a son in the household of John Rufus Gray at Twp 3, Tuolumne Co., CA.⁷

     Merval (Gray) Lavasse was born on 30 July 1923 at Tuolumne Co., California.^3,4 She was the daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.³ Merval (Gray) Lavasse married John Lavasse on 15 February 1947 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.^1,5 Merval (Gray) Lavasse died on 25 June 1983 at Martinez, Contra Costa Co., California, at age 59.^3,6,2 She was buried after 25 June 1983 at Divide Cemetery Plot 3:354, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.⁷
     Merval (Gray) Lavasse was also known as Merval Elma Lavasse.^6,5 Merval (Gray) Lavasse was also known as Merval Emma Gray.³ Merval (Gray) Lavasse appeared on the census of 1930 at Twp 3, Tuolumne Co., CA, as a daughter in the household of John Rufus Gray.⁸

     John Lavasse was born on 10 July 1913 at Utah/Colorado?;
Note: CA Death Index says Utah but findagrave shows Colorado.^2,3 He married Merval (Gray) Lavasse, daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray, on 15 February 1947 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.^1,4 John Lavasse died on 20 January 1974 at Alameda Co., California, at age 60.^2,3 He was buried after 20 January 1974 at Divide Cemetery Plot 3:355, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.⁵
     He Info on children & grandchildren provided by Elizabeth (Soleyman) LaVasse 28 April 2015.

From: Elizabeth Soleyman-LaVasse [mailto:perfecteli@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 11:53 AM
To: carrie-gm@mlode.com
Subject: Gray Family History
Hi, I noticed that the family tree for the Gray family is incomplete on one side. I wanted to give you some of that information, as well as some of the photographs I have.
John LaVasse and Merval Gray had 3 children; Daryl Wayne LaVasse, Marvin LaVasse, and Ava LaVasse. Ava had no children. Marvin married Maria and had 2 boys; John & Alan. John has 2 daughters. Alan has 3 sons. Daryl married Marsha Winton; they have 2 children; Justin Wayne LaVasse (1977) & Lara Nadine LaVasse. Lara has a daughter; Mazzy Mendez. Justin has 2 sons, Leonardo Gaetano LaVasse (2005) & Logan Wayne LaVasse (2006).
I'm attaching the following pictures:
John LaVasse & Merval Gray at their wedding.
John LaVasse on the USS Stover.
Yearbook photos.
Fayma White (later Gray) with Marie Eley
A Christmas card from John & Merval.

     William Schultz married Eva Geraldine Gray, daughter of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray.¹ William Schultz was born on 5 January 1914 at Illinois.^1,2 He died on 10 October 1977 at Contra Costa Co., California, at age 63.^1,2 He was buried after 10 October 1977 at Divide Cemetery 3:263 Gray Family Plot, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.³
     William Schultz was also known as William Charles Schultz.³

     Rodger Ronald Tidball died on 2 September 1952 at Tuolumne Co., California.^1,2 He was born on 2 September 1952 at Tuolumne Co., California.^1,3 He was buried at Divide Cemetery Plot 3:275-a, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.⁴ He was the son of Eva (Gray) Tidball Buckman.¹

     Louise Marie Tidball was born on 24 August 1953 at Tuolumne Co., California.^1,2 She was the daughter of Eva (Gray) Tidball Buckman.¹ Louise Marie Tidball married an unknown person on 27 September 1970 at Tuolumne Co., California; Name: Louise M Tidball Gender: Female Birth Year: abt 1953 Age: 17 Marriage Date: 27 Sep 1970 Marriage Place: Tuolumne, California, USA Spouse Name: Larry A Easacker Spouse Age: 20. She died on 1 April 1977 at Murdered by husband, Tuolumne Co., California, at age 23; Publication: The Times Standard
Location: Eureka, California
Issue Date: Wednesday, June 15, 1977
Page: Page 2

Man convicted of killing wife
Sonora (AP)

An Escalon man has been convicted of first degree murder for killing his wife and will be sentenced June 30 in Tuolumne Superior Court.

A 3-man 9-woman jury returned the verdict Tuesday after 5 hours of deliberation at the end of a month long trial of Larry Basacker, 27.
- - - - -
Larry died at San Quentin Prison in 2002
Name: Larry Arden Basacker Birth Date: 17 Feb 1950 Birth Place: Sonora, Tuolumne County, California, USA Death Date: 1 Jul 2002 Death Place: San Quentin, Marin County, California, USA Cemetery: Altaville Protestant Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place: Angels Camp, Calaveras County, California, USA.^1,3 She was buried at Divide Cemetery Plot 5:276-1, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.⁴

     Josephine (Williams) Harris was born on 28 April 1901 at California.² She was the daughter of Eugene Williams i and Susan (Ennow) Williams. Josephine (Williams) Harris married Carl Edward Harris, son of Thomas Harris and Mrs. Jennie Harris, in November 1928.³ Josephine (Williams) Harris died on 14 June 1987 at Tuolumne Co., California, at age 86.⁴ She was buried at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.¹
     Her married name was Josie Harris.⁵ Josephine (Williams) Harris was also known as Josephine Mary Williams.² She and Carl Edward Harris appeared on the census of 1930 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.⁶ Josephine (Williams) Harris was a witness to conducted business in Oakdale with Carl Edward Harris on 4 December 1931.⁷ Josephine (Williams) Harris and Carl Edward Harris appeared on the census of 1940 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.⁸ Josephine (Williams) Harris Florence Egger says there is link between the Grays and Josie Harris, perhaps through the Kenny family. Josie may have been a foster child in the Kenny home while Florence's mother was growing up. CONFIRM THIS WITH FLORENCE EGGER!!!!! In 1980.

     The official record says that Gabby was born on 10 May 1893 in Oklahoma. He says when he was born it was still designated as "Indian Territory". Some say that he was born as early as 1885, making him more than 100 years of age at his death; Based on the ages of his two elder brothers, this is a reasonable birth year for Carl. The census taker may have reversed his year of birth and his age, recording that he was 3 years old and born in May 1897 rather than 7 years old and born in May 1893.^4,5,2,3 Carl Edward Harris was born on 10 May 1897 at Indian Territory, Oklahoma.³ He was the son of Thomas Harris and Mrs. Jennie Harris.³ Carl Edward Harris married Josephine (Williams) Harris, daughter of Eugene Williams i and Susan (Ennow) Williams, in November 1928.⁶ Carl Edward Harris died on 9 May 1986 at Tuolumne Co., California, at age 88.^7,6,8 He was buried after 9 May 1986 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.⁶
     Carl Edward Harris also went by the name of Gabby Harris.⁹ Carl Edward Harris was also known as Carl E. Harris.⁶ He Brief Bio:

CARL EDWARD HARRIS.Carl Edward Harris appears in various records as Carl. Carl E. and, with great affection in Groveland, as Gabby Harris. He undoubtedly earned the nickname “Gabby” because he loved to talk, especially to customers who were captive in his barber chair! The official record says that Gabby was born on 10 May 1893 at Fort Cobb in Oklahoma. He says when he was born it was still designated as "Indian Territory". Some say that he was born as early as 1885, making him more than 100 years of age at his death. In fact, Carl Harris first appears in the US census as Carle (sic), the 3-year-old son of Thomas Harris and Jennie Harris living on the Wichita Indian Reservation in the Oklahoma Territory. Because this census is the available document created nearest his actual birth date, it is likely Gabby was actually born about 1897. By the 1910 census Oklahoma had become a state and the Harris family was living in Caddo Co. where Thomas was a Government employee working as a carpenter. This record supports the 1897 birth date, for it lists Carl as a 12-year-old who worked as a farm laborer on the family'shome farm when he was not in school. Carl went to work at a lumber mill before World War I. About 1917 he joined the US Army, and was sent to California where he was stationed at Fort McArthur at San Pedro, California. He also saw duty in Europe. He married EDITH EMILSTER, probably in 1918. They appeared on the census of 1920 at San Pedro, Los Angeles Co., California. By this time Carl was out of the Army and supporting his wife, their son Delmer, and Edith’s mother by working as a laborer in a lumber yard. The marriage didn’t work, and Carl left the Los Angeles area, moving north to Plumas Co. where he worked as a carpenter building a stamp mill similar to the one at the Longfellow Mine in Big Oak Flat. When that job was finished, he went down to Grass Valley in Nevada Co. where he took a job as a ladies’ barber. Josie Williams, daughter of an unidentified Mr. WILLIAMS and SUSIE ENNOW, was sent from Tuolumne Co. to attend a Catholic girls school in Grass Valley. This was undoubtedly St. Mary’s Academy, founded in 1859 and by 2010 the oldest continuously operating Catholic school west of the Mississippi. Josie came to Carl for her haircuts. They were married in Grass Valley in Nov 1928, and their daughter Juanita was born there in Sep 1929. Carl, Josie and Juanita arrived in 1929 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California, in 1929, where Carl hired on as a carpenter on the Longfellow Mine. They are on the census of 1930 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California. After the US entered World War II, all men ages 18 to 65 were required to register for the draft. Carl registered in Apr 1942 at Tuolumne Co., California, part of what is sometimes called “the Old Men’s Draft” specifically targeting those age 45 to 65. He declared that he was 48 years old and 5'5" tall. His complexion was fair, his eyes blue, and he had a long scar on back on
__________________________________________________________________________ Page 2right arm. He did not serve in the US military in World War II, but he did get a job with Hetchy Hetcy "in Security". He tells about his experiences in a 1975 oral history collected by Grace Williams and on file in the Columbia Junior College Oral History Project. In 1932 Carl bought the barbershop in Groveland. He was a fixture in Groveland town until his death in 1983. The family lived between 1933 and 1986 at house across from Laveroni Park, Groveland, where his son and daughter-in-law live today (2010). Carl never slowed down. In his barber shop, and in other gathering places around town, he’d tell stories of his early days in Groveland. One little lady who came to Groveland about 1948 told how he’d talk about “those Tar Heels and tunnel stiffs”, workers who came from North Carolina specifically for the raising of San Francisco’s dam at Hetch Hetchy Valley, then moved on, following the work around the country. At least in his last decade, no matter the weather, you’d find Gabby on Main Street first thing in the morning, with a plastic garbage bag and a grabber, picking up both garbage and aluminum cans. Carl “Gabby” Harris died on 9 May 1986 at Tuolumne Co., California. He was buried in Grave No. 6 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California. Carl’s wife, Josie, (1901-1987) is buried next to him in Grave No. 7. Josie’s brother, Eugene Francis Williams (1899-1962) is buried in Grave No. 8, next to his sister. Juanita (Harris) Puckett, Carl and Josie’s daughter, is buried in Grave No. 9. The tombstone gives her dates as 1930 to 1955. Her death date is correct, but her birth date is incorrect. She was born in September, 1929, and was 7 months old when the census taker came around in April, 1930. Prepared by: Bonnie P. Stevens, tutubonnie@earthlink.net Printed on: 14 Feb 2010. Carl Edward Harris was also known as Carl Harris.¹⁰ He began military service on 14 May 1917 US Army during WWI.^2,8 He was released from military service on 29 March 1919.⁸ He appeared on the census of 1920 at Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA.^11,12 He lived in September 1929 at Nevada Co., California.¹³ He was mine construction before 1930 at Plumas Co., California.² He and Josephine (Williams) Harris appeared on the census of 1930 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.¹⁴ Carl Edward Harris was (an unknown value) between 1930 and 1962 at barber of Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.² He was conducted business in Oakdale on 4 December 1931.¹⁵ He lived between 1933 and 1986 at house across from Wayside Park, Groveland, California.² He and Josephine (Williams) Harris appeared on the census of 1940 at Groveland, Tuolumne Co., California.¹⁶

     Melinda (Kraus) Kiest was born on 30 September 1958 at Stanislaus Co., California.¹ She was the daughter of Gerald Dean Kraus and Elaine (Gray) Kraus Nickley.¹ Melinda (Kraus) Kiest died on 3 July 1989 at Riverside Co., CA, at age 30.^2,3 She was buried after 3 July 1989 at Divide Cemetery 3-276-2 Gray Family Plot, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Co., California.²
     Melinda (Kraus) Kiest also went by the name of Moochie Kraus.⁴ Melinda (Kraus) Kiest was also known as Melinda Sue Kraus.¹

     Margaret (Ellwanger) Gray was born in 1923 at Sacramento Co., CA.^1,2 She married Lloyd Charles Gray, son of John Rufus Gray and Maud (Acker) Gray, circa 1940; Guesstimate.¹ Margaret (Ellwanger) Gray died in 2001 at CA.³
     She was New Tag. Her married name was Margaret (Elswanger) Gray.¹ Margaret (Ellwanger) Gray was also known as Margaret Leona Elswanger.¹