One of Ari’s 8x great-grandmothers was called Christian Gray. She was born in 1702 in Corfe Castle, Dorset, and baptised there on 17 May.
The baptism record shows her parents as Samuel Grey (a labourer) and Margaret.
In the year that she was born, King William III fell off his horse in Richmond Park after it stumbled on a molehill. He broke his clavicle and died in March. Queen Anne was crowned in April. Also that year, the Daily Courant was founded in Fleet Street. This was the first national newspaper to be published regularly.
On 28 December 1731, Christian married John Welch at the church in Corfe Castle.
Christian and John had five children: Mary in 1733, twins Elizabeth and Ann in 1736, John in 1738, and Dorothy in 1740.
Christian died in September 1775, at the age of 73, and was buried at the church “in woolen”.
Extract from Sepulture: Its History, Methods and Sanitary Requisites by Stephen Wickes, 1884.
Ari, this is how you are related to Christian:
