Thomas Ruffin Gray (1800 – died after 1834) was an American attorney who represented several enslaved people during the trials in the wake of Nat Turner's Rebellion.
[1] Later in life, at the age of 21, Gray inherited 400 acres of land at the Round Hill plantation which kickstarted his tentative career as a planter.
[4] In September 1830, less than a year before the outbreak of Turner's rebellion, Gray finally received his license to practice law.
[5] In the following month, October, the magistrates certified his qualifications as an attorney, and in December they admitted him to practice in court; Gray then resigned as justice of the peace.
[8][9] In 1831, for ten weeks following Turner's rebellion, Gray took it upon himself to research the events of the revolt, completely immersing himself in the factual details of the uprising.
Kenneth S. Greenberg, professor, and Chair of the History Department at Suffolk University explains in his book why Gray's pamphlet is not as reliable as one may think, cautioning readers to analyze the source with great care.
Christopher Tomlins, a professor in the Legal Studies department at UC Berkeley's Law School, mentioned in an essay on the Confessions, that despite Gray's indirect transcription of Turner's words the source is a largely accurate narrative based on an extensive interview with the rebellion's leader.