Nail-Ray Association

THE NAIL-RAY ASSOCIATION

The Nail-Ray Association is a family history organization founded to research and celebrate the lives and families of Henry Nail & Mary Keller and Thomas Ray & Elizabeth Pearce, pioneers of Shelby County, Indiana. The organization was founded in 1981 and meets each June on the weekend preceding Fathers' Day. Our next meeting will be held in North Carolina on June 8-10, 2007.

The organization publishes two newsletters annually. For more information, contact Janet (Morgan) Ross, Corresponding Secretary/Treasurer, Nail-Ray Association, 7788 Ballston Dr., Springfield, VA 22153, (703) 455-6581, jmorganross@juno.com

Bible Records:
Samuel Nail      Perlina (Nail) Steward Colvin
Gilly (Ray) Byerly      Zebedee Ray
Wiley Wray    Charles Wesley Wray    Tabitha Jane (Wray) Heinzman

Deed Records:
Nails in Shelby County, Indiana Pierces in Shelby County, Indiana

The highlight of our 2004 meeting was the Sesquicentennial Celebration for Old Union Methodist Church, Brandywine Township, Shelby County, Indiana. The color version of the GROUP PHOTO can be downloaded via this link; all individuals pictured are identified in the July 2004 Newsletter.

Jill Knitl's PowerPoint** slide show of the Wray/Ray Cemetery, Shelby County, Indiana.
(**If you don't have PowerPoint, you can download the free PowerPoint Plugin from Microsoft, but you need to be aware that it is not fully accessible.)

The Nail-Ray Association has produced the following publications:

1997, The Families of Henry Nail & Mary Keller and Thomas Ray & Elizabeth Pearce, Pioneers of Shelby County, Indiana, Second Edition. Corrected and updated genealogical history of the Nail-Ray Family. Over 1200 pages; hardback. Prepared by Janet (Morgan) Ross, David Ross, and Julia Sherer. OUT OF PRINT, but available in nearly 40 Libraries Across the Country (PDF*). (*View and print PDF files using Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

1994, Where Are They Now?: Nail-Ray Family Gravestones. Pictures of gravestones of the first three generations of the Nail-Ray family, with maps showing locations of burial sites. Prepared by Charles E. Nail, assisted by Michael Morse and Lolita Guthrie. OUT OF PRINT.

1993, Nail-Ray Family Photo Tree. 169 pages containing more than 500 photographs of members of the Nail-Ray family. Prepared by Billie Lee & Glen Rammelsberg, assisted by Joan Morse, Katy Morse Bruce, and Dori Rammelsberg Dvorak. $25.00 (a few copies still available from Corresponding Secretary at address listed above).

1993, Nail-Ray Family Stories. A collection of biographical sketches, anecdotes and remembrances, newspaper features and obituaries concerning early members and autobiographical sketches of present members of the Nail-Ray family. Compiled and edited by Dorothy Plymate, assisted by Thomas G. Plymate, Richard Weakley, Lucille Goodrich, Rebecca Markel, and James & Clarene Russell. OUT OF PRINT.

1985, Back Through Time with the Nails & Rays. Guidebook for a walking tour of the Brandywine-Center Cemetery, locating the graves of family members of Henry Nail & Thomas Ray, pioneer settlers of Shelby County, Indiana. 14 page pamphlet prepared by Dorothy Plymate. $1.00 (a few copies still available from Corresponding Secretary at address listed above).

1983, Pioneering with the Nails & Rays in Shelby County, Indiana. Roadlog for an automobile tour over the territory settled by our ancestors in the early 1820's. 16 page pamphlet prepared by Dorothy Plymate. $1.00 (a few copies still available from Corresponding Secretary at address listed above).

Webpage maintained by Tom Plymate