Robert Isaac Dey Gray (ca. 1772 – October 8, 1804) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. He was probably born in New York, but came to Canada with his parents (James Gray and Elizabeth Low) at the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1794. In 1795, he became Solicitor General for the province. He became a district court judge for the Home District in 1796. He was elected to the 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada representing Stormont and the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and 4th Parliament of Upper Canada representing Stormont and Russell. He assumed the duties of the attorney general after the death of John White in 1800 until

Thomas Scott Thomas Scott may refer to: Australia * Thomas Hobbes Scott (1783–1860), Anglican clergyman and first Archdeacon of New South Wales * Thomas Scott (Australian politician) (1865–1946), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Thomas Sco ...

arrived in 1801. On October 7, 1804, he left York (Toronto) aboard to prosecute a murder case at the district town for the

Newcastle District The Newcastle District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was formed in 1802 from the Home District, consisting of the counties of Durham and Northumberland. History The legislature had enacted in 1798 that "as so ...

. The ship sank off Presqu'ile Point in a storm on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

and all hands were lost. Gray was a slave owner and, upon his death, he freed one enslaved woman, Dorinda (or Dorine) Baker, through his will.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Robert 1804 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Canadian lawyers People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada Year of birth uncertain 1772 births Upper Canada judges Attorneys-General of Upper Canada Canadian slave owners