William Gray was an English Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1857 to 1874.

Gray was the second son of William Gray of Wheatfield, near Bolton

Bolton

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

, and his wife Frances Rasbotham, daughter of Dorning Rasbotham of Birch House, near Bolton. He was educated privately and in 1835 was cornet in the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry Cavalry

Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry

The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry has its origins in the various troops of light horse raised in the eighteenth century in the county of Lancaster, the earliest of which was the Bolton Light Horse formed in 1798....

. He was captain in the 4th Royal Lancashire Militia, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the 27th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers. From 1850 to 1852, Gray was Mayor of Bolton. He was a Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 and J.P.

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for Lancaster.

At the 1857 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1857

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

 Gray was elected as a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Bolton

Bolton (UK Parliament constituency)

Bolton was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bolton in the county of Lancashire. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons for the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system....

. He held the seat until he stood down at the 1874 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1874

-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

. He was a liberal Conservative and was in favour of education based on religion.

Gray lived at Darcy Lever Hall, near Bolton and died at the age of 80.

Gray married Magdalene Robin, daughter of William Robin of West Kirby Cheshire, in 1861.

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