Thornton and his family appear in the 1870 US Census, including his wife, Mary; and 3 children (Laura, age 9; Mary E. Gray, age 5; and David, an infant). Gray is by this time aged about 55 and continues to live in Mount Vernon working as a farm laborer.
This election, consisting of House of Representatives candidates, was mandatory, administered by the military, and the first one in which African Americans could vote. Thornton appears on this list as a voter.
Thornton appears on a list of delinquent property taxpayers. This will be the first in a series of delinquencies (or not paying taxes) for his property that will continue well after his death.
Thornton Gray fails to pay his personal property tax. The Court, recognizing this delinquency (which would not be the last), orders him and other delinquent people of color to be hired out until they earn enough to cover their unpaid taxes.
This image from the G. M. Hopkins 1878 Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, includes Mount Vernon and Taylor Blunts property near Muddy Hole Farm which was sold to him by Lovelace Brown
Marker detailing Lovelace Brown as a member of the Joint Stock Club and a reverend responsible for the creation of the Bethlehem Baptist Church and school
The Chancery Cause tells us that either those who inherited Lewis Quanders land failed to pay off the initial loan in 1869 or that they needed additional funds in order to pay off the late Lewis Quander's debts further.
Census of Persons Between the Ages of Five and Twenty-one in the School District of Mt. Vernon Fairfax allowed us to identify the children of Alcinia and James A. Quander
The Will Book Index did not include a will from James A. Quander but his father Lewis Quander was listed and included only an assessment of his property
