
Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1878-1960 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
2220 photographs. -- 10 cm of textual records. -- 2 microfilm reels
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Henry Gresham Bray, 1840-1923, was born in Worcestershire, England. He served with the 10th Royal Hussars for ten years, then moved to Canada in the early 1870s. He joined the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873, and was stationed at Fort Macleod, Alberta and Fort Walsh, Saskatchewan before his 1882 discharge. He married Jemima McKay, daughter of trader Edward McKay, in 1876 and they had thirteen children, Flora, Elizabeth, Nellie (Crockford), Harry, Reggie, Caroline, Colin, William, Lillian, Louis, Henrietta (Erickson), Bertha and Bertram.
Bray ranched in Alberta near Pincher Creek, 1882-1892, then near Medicine Hat. He was Medicine Hat's brand inspector, ca. 1894-1919, and from 1896 to 1903 was the secretary of the Stock Growers' Association of Medicine Hat. He retired in 1919.
For further information see Ruth M. Daw's article "Sgt-Major J.H.G. Bray, the Forgotten Horseman" in Men in Scarlet / edited by Hugh A. Dempsey. -- Calgary : McClelland and Stewart West, 1974.
His son, Colin Bray, 1888-1964, was born in Pincher Creek. From 1907 to 1913 he worked as a surveyor, and during First World War he served overseas with the Canadian Mounted Rifles. On his return he worked for the Soldier Settlement Board. In 1925 he became a civil servant, working as a civil engineer for the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) and the Water Resources Branch. He became an irrigation expert. He retired in 1958. He and his wife, Dora, whom he married in 1913, had four sons, Colin, Robert, Bernard and Alan. Both Bray Crescent in Medicine Hat and Bray Lake, Alberta are named for Sergeant-Major Bray.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Colin Bray, and Bertha Clark, 1956-1981.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of J.H.G.'s articles and photographs re the NWMP; and a microfilm copy of the Stock Growers' Association minutes, cashbooks and membership lists (1896-1903), and livestock shipment records (1896-1913). Also consists of Colin's article on early Alberta ranches (1960); and his extensive photographs of: surveying and general views of Alberta and Saskatchewan (1910-1913); Eastern, United, and Lethbridge Northern Irrigation Districts (1938-1939); irrigation works on Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company, and Canada Land and Irrigation Company blocks (1938-1939); Bartman Dam (1937-1940); and construction of Currie Barracks (1934-1935). Includes Nellie Crockford's newsclippings about Medicine Hat and the Bray-Crockford families (ca. 1900-1960).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
No finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
The original Stock Growers' Association records are held by the Colin Bray estate.
Existence and location of copies
Digital content is available
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
Note
The NA's are probably all copies of the P's.
Note
Microfilm-Bray
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Bray, Colin (Subject)
- Stock Growers' Association of Medicine Hat (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Thursday, November 09, 2017