Gray, Barry (1826-1886)

Barry Gray is described as a man with "a peculiar vein of humor" and a writer who composed "a clever sort of doggerel by the yard" (5).

"Deep down in the fat and ancient Pfaff's cellar," Gray used to "hold high wassail with the Bohemians" (5). Gray was remembered as "one of the brightest of that brilliant and witty company [of Bohemians]." He is lauded as "one of the keenest of the company, and his wit was never dull." He was well-known for the "razor-edged repartee in which he engaged with some of the foremost Bohemians" (5).

Gray earned his own literary reputation after succeeding Thomas Bailey Aldrich as editor of the Home Journal . He is the author of such books as "Married Life at Hillside," "Out of Town," "Infelicities of Married Life," and "Cakes and Ale."

At his death, Coffin left behind a wife and two sons. One of his sons was named after the artist Albert Bierstadt. His only daughter had died in 1885, and Coffin never recovered from the "shock" of her death, which contributed to his own poor health (5).

Although Coffin had been employed at a Custom-House, he was forced to resign, and for several months before his death, he was unable to leave his bed. He died in his home in Fordham on Friday, June 11, 1886 (5).