Lavender R. Ray was born in Newnan, Georgia, on December 15, 1842, the son of John Ray (1794-1868), an Irish immigrant, and Bethenia Gilliam Lavender (1803-1867), a native of Virginia. In 1861, he was a student at the University of North Carolina; he left to join the Confederate Army. He served in an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment throughout the war and returned to Newnan in 1865, where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and practiced law in Newnan; he also held several public offices, including seats in the Georgia legislature. After 1891, he lived in Atlanta, Georgia, where he continued to practice law. On June 20, 1871, Ray married Annie Felder, the daughter of Calvin W. Felder and Mary Ann Jackson of Americus, Georgia. They had one daughter, Ruby, who attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens, Georgia, in the early 1890s. Lavender Ray died on May 27, 1916.
From the guide to the Lavender R. Ray family collection, Ray, Lavender R. family collection, 1867-1900, 1877-1892, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
