Joseph Anthony Gray was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

Joseph Gray was born in Susquehanna Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania

Susquehanna Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania

Susquehanna Township is a township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,198 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

. He graduated from Eastman College at Poughkeepsie, New York

Poughkeepsie (city), New York

Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...

, in 1905. He served as a private in Company H, Fifth Infantry, United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, from 1900 to 1902 and in the United States Army Signal Corps

United States Army Signal Corps

The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...

 in 1902 and 1903. After his service in the military, he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1910 and commenced practice in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania

Ebensburg, Pennsylvania

Ebensburg is a borough located in, and is the seat of, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, west of Altoona and surrounded by Cambria Township. It is situated in the Alleghenies about 2025 feet above sea level. Ebensburg is located in a rich bituminous coal region. In the past, saw mills, tanneries,...

. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1913 and 1914. He served as president of the board of health from 1916 to 1920, and became a motion-picture exhibitor at Spangler, Pennsylvania

Spangler, Pennsylvania

Spangler, Pennsylvania was a town, since merged, and former borough located in the northwest corner of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is nestled in the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River between hills of the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. The...

, in 1920. He was school director of Spangler from 1930 to 1934 and a councilman from 1939 to 1943.

Gray was elected as a Democrat to the 74th

74th United States Congress

-House:Also 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners-Senate:*President of the Senate: John N. Garner *President pro tempore: Key Pittman -Majority leadership:*Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson...

 and 75th

75th United States Congress

The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...

 Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1938

United States House election, 1938

The U.S. House election, 1938 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1938 which occurred in the middle of President Franklin Roosevelt's second term...

 and 1940

United States House election, 1940

The U.S. House election, 1940 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1940 which coincided with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's re-election to an unprecedented third term. His Democratic Party narrowly gained seats from the opposition Republican Party, cementing...

. He resumed the practice of law and also published the The Conservative weekly newspaper. He died in Spangler, Pennsylvania, and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.