Walter E. Gray
Walter E. Gray, an extensive oil operator in various fields, whose home is in Lima, was born in 1851 at Covington, Kentucky, and is a son of Francis Gray.
Francis Gray was a large woolen manufacturer for 50 years, and during half of this period was located at Piqua, Ohio, where he was very prominent in business and public life. During the Civil War he raised a company of Home Guards which was called upon for service. He was prominent in Masonry for half a century.
When an infant, Walter E. Gray was taken to Cynthiana, Kentucky, where his parents lived during his boyhood and school days. In 1865 they returned to Covington and subsequently located at Piqua, Ohio. In his father's mills at the latter place, our subject first found employment, remaining there for about five years. In 1881 he accompanied his father to Lima, and they founded the handle factory which they sold in 1882 to O. B. Selfridge & Comany. Mr. Gray then embarked in a mercantile business which he carried on until the fall of 1885, when he disposed of it in order to give attention to the oil industry. These interests have been expanded and he is connected with the Planet Oil Company, which operates extensively in various fields the Trenton Rock of Ohio and Indiana, the Canadian fields and also rich California fields. The company is interested in quite a number of productive wells.
Mr. Gray was married October 19, 1881, to Ida N. Dalzell, who is a daughter of Isaac Dalzell, one of the oldest settlers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Gray have one daughter Mary J., an accomplished young lady, who is a graduate of Mount Vincent Academy, of Price Hill, Cincinnati. Mr. Gray and family belong to the Protestant Episcopal Church. Like his father, Mr. Gray is prominently identified with the various Masonic bodies, being a member of Blue Lodge, Council, Chapter and Commandery. He is one of the city's enterprising men of business, takes part in its various public-spirited movements, and assists in upholding Lima's reputation as a great commercial center.