[thatdewd]

Some of the names I am researching are: Byars, Criddle, Gann, Gable, Long, McNeil, McRae, Parke, Ray, Shockley, Walden, and Wooten.

I see you're from Alabama. The Ray family you're researching wouldn't be from Northwest Alabama would it? (Marion/Franklin/Lamar counties)

[MamaB]

The only thing I know for certain is that John {W} Ray married Luvenity Harley and moved or lived in the Chickasaw County area of MS. He was from Alabama but we do not know any other information. There are several of us who are researching his family. Their daughter married a Criddle and lived in MS, too. It is like these Rays just dropped down from space and decided to stay! I think that John was born in the early 1800's.

[MamaB]

Forgot to reply about NW AL. It is very possible that he was from that area since some of the other families were from there. The Ganns lived in that area and I have discovered that all the families I am related to moved from area to area before getting married into the different families. Guess they thought moving with families you knew was a lot safer than trusting strangers back then.