Robert V. Bray Biography, Tuscola County, Michigan

This Biography extracted from “Portrait and Biographical Record of 
Genesee, Lapeer and Tuscola Counties, Michigan…”, published be Chapman 
Bros., Chicago (1892), p. 1046-1047

This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives.

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ROBERT V. BRAY, the owner and proprietor of the Jewell House at Vasser, 
the best hotel in Northeastern Michigan, was born in County Cornwall, 
England, May 6, 1851. He is a son of Thomas and Frances (Vial) Bray. He 
had but limited opportunities for an education as his labor was needed 
to aid in the family support when only eight years old. At the age of 
thirteen he began working in the tin and copper mines of his native 
place and he left England for America when twenty-two years of age.

   Georgetown, Col., was his first objective point and there he engaged 
in mining and railroading until twenty-eight years of age, after which 
he went to Virginia City, Nev., and worked in the Beltshire Mine, doing 
the final sinking of the shaft which had a vertical depth of three 
thousand and ninety-five feet, and was at that time the deepest in the 
world. From that time on he has occupied the position of Superintendent 
or fore-man wherever he has worked. He left Virginia City in 1879 and 
went to Sheep Ranch, Calaveras County., Cal., and was there engaged for 
some nine months in sinking a shaft for gold, after which he went to 
San Francisco and from there was sent by the Canadian Pacific Railroad 
Company to put a tunnel through the Cascade Mountain in British 
Columbia. He was there over a year and realized during that time $200 
per month. This tunnel was then the longest in the world and on account 
of his skill, another tunnel which had been attempted was turned over 
into his hands and upon its completion he undertook a third.

   Leaving British Columbia Mr. Bray returned to San Francisco and took 
a pleasure trip to England and to the Eastern and Southern States. At 
Birmingham, Ala., he visited the Iron Mines and from there went to 
Cleveland, where he was married December 5, 1883 to Miss Eliza J., 
daughter of Robert Vial, of that city. This lady was born in England in 
1855. They took a trip, to Alabama remaining there until June 1, 1884 
at which time they made a visit to Michigan and about this time he was 
solicited to go both to Birmingham and to Canada and accepted the 
latter proposition. He now built several tunnels for the Canadian 
Pacific Railroad, clearing $10,000 and although he was liberal with his 
employes as will be seen by the fact that he paid his bookkeeper a 
bonus of $250 in addition to his salary.
  During that season Mr. Bray and his men were snowed in all winter but 
carried their work on without cessation. He was urged to take contracts 
in both Australia and Peru, but declined both propositions. For some 
three years he carried on a hotel business at Millington, Tuscola 
County, and began business in the Jewell House in 1888 and as "mine 
host" is a very popular man, no one in the place being more thoroughly 
liked than he.




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