Neill A. Ray was born around 1830 in North Carolina, possibly to Nancy Ray. By 1860, he was living in Moore County, North Carolina, with his uncle Nevin Ray, and he was earning a living as a blacksmith.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on June 3, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company H of the 26^th North Carolina Infantry later that day. He fell ill with typhoid fever in August, and Confederate officials sent him home to recover. But eventually recovered and rejoined the regiment. The 26^th North Carolina took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox campaign. He surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, as part of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

 

Ray settled in McNeills, North Carolina, after the war, and he earned a living as a gunsmith. By 1870, he owned $300 of real estate and $200 of personal property. He married a woman named Mary around 1872, and their son Archable was born around 1875. He died around 1901.

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