The following are extracts from an article that appeared in the Lewiston Journal on the day of Mr. Bray's death, Jan. 29, 1890:
"Israel R. Bray, the great Franklin County wool merchant, died this morning, aged 82 years. He was the richest man in the county and one of the richest in rural Maine. He made the most of his money in buying and selling wool, of which he hand-led greater quantities in his lifetime than any other man in the state. He rode thousands of miles every year, buying of the farmers from barn to barn, himself, and having many agents in the field; keeping up this strenuous work notwithstanding his great age and unwieldy proportions, until his last illness of a few weeks: As he always had the means to pay cash and enjoyed the confidence of the farmers, he could buy on the most favorable terms. Of large frame and swelling proportions, Mr. Bray weighed over 250 pounds. He dressed more like a poor man than a wealthy trader. He cared nothing for appearance and where he was not known was often taken for a tramp."
"Frequently he used to carry about with him thousands of dollars loose in a hand satchel or in his pockets. He was an unusually brainy man, a vigorous thinker and speaker, quaint and original in these as in all his habits. Indeed, had he chosen to enter public life he might have made his mark as an orator - as those who have heard him speak when excited will admit. He bad a sonorous voice, a quick wit and sometimes delivered himself of saying's worthy of Bob Ingersoll.
"A great interest in politics was always taken by Mr. Bray, although he did not seek office, and he was a power in Franklin County. He was a remarkable man, keen and far-sighted in business matters. He was a thoroughly honest man and despised a cheat more than aught else under the sun. He has been known all over Maine - New England, in fact - as a very large owner of sheep and buyer of wool. "