I'll send you Thomas McCray's picture ASAP.
I'll try to explain what I know about his burial in Chicago. Thomas left his family in Arkansas before 1880 and moved to Chicago working for McCormick-Deering. He had patents for several small inventions. He was working on a self lubercating chain drive for tractors which he felt would make him wealthy when his health failed. He ended up in the county hospital where he died. No relative claimed his body so he was buried in "Potters Field" at Dunning Cemetery.
What happened afterward in this cemetery is appalling. This cemetery and one more is located on property that included a mental hospital, TB hospital, county hospital. There are approx. 38,000 burials on this location which included Indian Burial Grounds and unclaimed from the Chicago Fire. Cook County used this cemetery between 1850 to 1912. They sold the property to the Sate of Illinois in 1912 and then the state sold to a developer in 1980-1990. As construction began they unearthed many bodies while installing sewer lines for homes, condo's, shopping center, etc. The builder, state and county claimed they had no idea the cemeteries existed. Strange though that the Sanborn Fire Map from the 1920's showing 2 cemeteries on the property. In 1952 bodies were unearthed by costruction workers. There were several people who protested this desecration but Chicago Politics blocked any effort to save these cemeteries. All about money! This information came from the Chicago Historical Society.
I found out about this in 2000 when my husband and I visited Chicago in hopes of locating my gg grandfather. I first went to Oakwood Cemetery across the street from Dunning. The caretakers had no knowledge about the Dunning Cemetery which I have to doubt. We stopped at a convenience store and asked a customer who told us where it was and also he remembered markers being there when he was a young man. I've been contacted by many people looking for their ancestors. I hope I'm able to go back to Chicago this summer and do more research. I understand a memorial may have been built.
Linda