Representative Joseph Anthony Gray

Joseph Anthony Gray (February 25, 1884 – May 8, 1966) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served two terms in Congress from 1935 to 1939. He was born in Susquehanna Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, where he spent his early years before entering military and later public service.

Gray’s formal education included study at Eastman College in Poughkeepsie, New York, from which he graduated in 1905. Before completing his college education, he entered the United States Army, serving as a private in Company H, Fifth Infantry, from 1900 to 1902. He then served in the United States Army Signal Corps in 1902 and 1903. These early experiences in the military preceded his professional training in the law and helped shape his subsequent career in public life.

After leaving the Army, Gray studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1910. He commenced the practice of law in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, establishing himself in the legal profession while beginning to participate actively in state and local politics. His early public service included election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he served as a member in 1913 and 1914. In addition to his legislative work at the state level, he served as president of the board of health from 1916 to 1920, reflecting an early engagement with public health and local governance.

In 1920, Gray expanded his professional activities beyond the law by becoming a motion-picture exhibitor in Spangler, Pennsylvania. He continued to build his local profile through educational and municipal service, serving as a school director of Spangler from 1930 to 1934. These roles in business, education, and local administration provided a foundation for his later election to national office and kept him closely connected to the concerns of his community.

Gray was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth Congresses, serving in the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from January 3, 1935, to January 3, 1939. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, coinciding with the New Deal era and the nation’s efforts to recover from the Great Depression. As a member of the House of Representatives, Joseph Anthony Gray participated in the legislative process, contributed to national policymaking, and represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents. A member of the Democratic Party, he served two terms in office and took part in the broader democratic process that shaped federal responses to economic and social challenges of the 1930s.

Gray was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938 and again in 1940. After leaving Congress, he returned to private life, resuming the practice of law. He also engaged in publishing, operating The Conservative, a weekly newspaper, which provided him with another platform for commentary on public affairs and community issues. Remaining active in local government, he served as a councilman of Spangler from 1939 to 1943, continuing his long record of public service at the municipal level.

Joseph Anthony Gray died in Spangler, Pennsylvania, on May 8, 1966. He was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, leaving a legacy as a lawyer, soldier, businessman, state legislator, municipal official, newspaper publisher, and two-term Democratic Representative from Pennsylvania during a transformative period in the nation’s history.