Born: Unknown (1600s), Ireland (assumed)
Died: 1713 or 1714
Country most active: Ireland
Also known as: Unknown
This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Turlough O’Riordan. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Joseph Ray died in early 1709, leaving his business to his wife Elizabeth Ray (d. 1713/14) and their eldest son John, and had requested that the city transfer the post of city printer to John, to be held in his mother’s trust, which was granted in May. Elizabeth continued the printing business, though John’s name alone appeared on their imprints until his death in 1712, when Elizabeth assumed sole control. She sold prayer books and Bibles to TCD, and in 1713 reissued William Penn’s Treatise of oaths, containing reasons why the quakers refuse to swear, demonstrating that the family remained at least sympathetic to the quaker movement. Before her death in late 1713 or early 1714 she petitioned the city for payment due to her, which was later paid to her executors. She left the now considerable family business to Samuel Fairbrother, who more than likely had served his apprenticeship with the Ray family, having acted as Elizabeth’s foreman. She also left £1,200 among her four daughters, one of whom, Sarah, married the bookseller John Hyde in 1714.