Thomas Graves and Mary Bradshaw of Mecklenburg Co., VA

Rev. 22 April 2009, Gen. 281

DESCENDANTS OF THOMAS GRAVES AND MARY BRADSHAW OF MECKLENBURG CO., VA

GENERATION 1

Thomas Graves (1) married Mary Bradshaw in 1795 in VA. (R‑1)

Children - Graves

+2. John Y. Graves, b.c. 1814, m. Mahala B. Jeffries.

3. Sallie A. Graves, b.c. 1824.

GENERATION 2

CHILDREN OF THOMAS GRAVES (1) AND MARY BRADSHAW

John Y. Graves (2) was born about 1814 in VA. He married Mahala B. Jeffries. She was born about 1813 in VA. Marriage records for their son George give George's parents' names and show John's middle initial as T (but census records consistently show the initial as Y, except the 1840 census which shows T). The 1850 census for Mecklenburg Co., VA shows a John Y. Graves with Mahala and a young George of the right age in the household. John was listed in the census as an overseer. There is a marriage record in Mecklenburg Co., VA for John T. Graves and Mahala, but no parents are listed[1]. Living next door to John Y. Graves in 1850 was James Flinn, 27, Peggy (possibly Peggy Graves, daughter of Phebe), 23, Phebe, 2, and John, 4 months, and Phebe Graves (possibly John’s sister-in-law), Sally, 24, Nancy, 22, Martha, 17, Madison, 12, and William, 10.

The 1860 census for Charlotte Co., VA, page 236, lists Mahala Graves, 48, Howell T., 14, Mary J., 12, and Cornelia S., 9. John was apparently not living with the family at that time. The 1860 census for Regt. 22, Mecklenburg Co., VA, Clarksburg P.O., page 216, lists Miranda Jeffress, 50, Mary Jeffress, 86, and James E. Graves, 16. The 1870 census for Bluestone, Mecklenburg Co., VA, page 260, lists John Y. Graves, 53, Mary A., 22, Sallie A., 46, lives with brother, and Mary F. Collier, 17, lives with uncle. In 1870 there was also a Samuel Graves in Bluestone, age 40, living nearby, who may have been a brother of John. Also in the 1870 census for Bluestone, VA, was Miranda Jeffress, 56, and Mary J. Graves, 21, lives with aunt.

According to R‑1, John married Mahala Gibbs, but that does not appear to be correct. The marriage record of John and the census records showing family members living with aunt Miranda Jeffress support Jeffries as Mahala’s surname. The statement by R‑1 that they lived in TN also seems incorrect, since census records show them living in VA.

John Graves was almost certainly descended from Thomas Graves of Lunenburg Co. and Mecklenburg Co., VA (genealogy 152), As discussed in that genealogy, he may have been a son of James Graves and Phoebe Elam, but, if not, was certainly very closely related to them. (R‑2)

Children - Graves

+4. George R. Graves, b.c. 1838, m. Elizabeth Finch Garner, 10 March 1869.

5. Ann Graves, b.c. 1841.

+6. James Edward Graves, b.c. 1844, m. Sally Coleman, d. 1903.

7. Howell T. Graves, b.c. 1845.

8. Mary J. Graves, b.c. 1848.

9. Cornelia S. Graves, b.c. 1851.

GENERATION 3

CHILDREN OF JOHN Y. GRAVES (2) AND MAHALA GIBBS

George R. Graves (4) was born about 1838-1840 in VA. He married Elizabeth Finch Garner on 10 (or 8) March 1869 in Mecklenburg Co., VA[2]. She was a daughter of Samuel R. Garner and Orpha Garner (daughter of James Garner and Mary Smith). George and Elizabeth were listed as the parents on the birth and death certificates of their daughter Louise. Elizabeth was born in Sept. 1848 in VA. The 1870 census for Charlotte Co., VA, roll 1640, p. 23, lists George R. Graves, age 30, farmer, Elizabeth, age 22, and Georgie, age 4/12. They were in the 1880 and 1900 censuses for Bluestone District, Mecklenburg Co., VA. He was listed as a farmer in 1870, a plasterer in 1880, and a brick layer in 1900. George is said to have married a second time, perhaps after his first wife died. All his children were born in Mecklenburg Co., VA.

George R. Graves was a private, promoted and then demoted, in Company E, 14th Virginia Infantry. He mustered in May 12, 1861 at age 21 years, in Clarksville, VA, and was paroled on April 21, 1865 at Burkeville, VA. All records are on file with the National Archives, mirofilm 324, roll 548. (R‑2, R‑3)

Children - Graves, by Elizabeth F. Garner

10. Georgie Graves, b. 1870 (4 months old at 1870 census).

+11. Willie I. Graves, b. Feb. 1870, m. Charles W. Hester.

12. Samuel D. Graves, b. Dec. 1871.

+13. George Finch Graves, b. 26 Aug. 1874, m. Lula Glanville Richards, 24 Feb. 1904.

+14. Marion Ardell Graves, b. Oct. 1876, m. Robert M. Hester.

15. Elizabeth Graves, b.c. 1878, m. Robert Morgan.

+16. Susan D. Graves, b. June 1881, m. Ernest H. Adams.

17. Virginia (“Jennie”) L. Graves, b.c. 1880 (or Dec. 1883, m. Calvin Carden.

+18. Louise Thomas Graves, b. 7 Nov. 1886 (or Nov. 1884), m. Drewry Marshall Brame.

Children - Graves, by 2nd wife

19. H. T. Graves (son)

James Edward Graves (6) was born in 1844 in VA, probably Mecklenburg Co., and died in 1903 in Nutbush, Haywood Co., TN. He married Sally Coleman, daughter of Thomas Coleman and Parthenia Pennington. She was born about 1853 in TN. Their second and third children were born in Tibbs, Haywood Co., TN, and the last 3 in Nutbush, TN. They were in the 1880 census for Dist. 11, Haywood Co., TN, page 271D. He was a farmer. (R‑1)

Children - Graves

20. William Bradshaw Graves

+21. Eula Bradshaw Graves, b. 24 Oct. 1877, m. Edward Taylor Dixon, 17 Feb. 1896, d. 15 Oct. 1955.

+22. Mary Bradford Graves, b. 21 Feb. 1879, m. Robert Moore Dixon, 1 Jan. 1899, d. 19 Feb. 1975.

+23. Thomas Edward Graves, b. 1881, m. Harriet Jane Sangster, d. 20 June 1952.

24. Howell Graves, b. 1885, d. 1953 (Nutbush, TN).

+25. Carrie Graves, b. 28 Feb. 1885, m. Dunaway Rooks, 6 Dec. 1912, d. 11 Sept. 1976.

GENERATION 4

CHILDREN OF GEORGE R. GRAVES (4) AND ELIZABETH F. GARNER

Willie I. Graves (11) was born in Feb. 1870 in Mecklenburg Co., VA. She married Charles W. Hester. He was born in Nov. 1865 in NC. All their children were born in Mecklenburg Co., VA. (R‑3)

Children - Hester

26. Gladys Hester, b. April 1891.

27. Hazelwood Hester, b. March 1893.

28. Inez Hester, b. July 1897.

29. Nat Hester, b. May 1900.

George Finch Graves (13) was born 26 Aug. 1874 in Mecklenburg Co., VA, and died in Wendell, Wake Co., NC. He married Lula Glanville Richards on 24 Feb. 1904 in Chase City, Mecklenburg Co., VA. She was born 14 March 1885 in Chase City, Mecklenburg Co., VA, and died 18 July 1959 in Wendell, Wake Co., NC. They were in the 1910 census for South Hill, Mecklenburg Co., VA, when he was a bookkeeper (as he had been in 1900). They may have been the family in the 1930 census for White Hall, Albemarle Co., VA, but that is not certain. (R‑3)

Children - Graves

30. Elizabeth Graves, b. 26 June 1905 (Chase City, Mecklenburg Co., VA), d. 3 Dec. 1989 (Chapel Hill, Orange Co., NC).

31. Grace Graves, b.c. April 1910.

32. Arthur Graves, b. 2 May 1929 (Johnson City, Moore Co., NC), d. May 1964 (Gaffney, Cherokee Co., SC).

Marion Ardell (“Dell”) Graves (14) was born in Oct. 1876 in Mecklenburg Co., VA. She married Robert M. Hester. He was born in Aug. 1868 in NC. (R‑3)

Children - Hester

33. George F. Hester, b. Sept. 1898 (Mecklenburg Co., VA).

Susan (“Sudie”) D. (or E.) Graves (16) was born in June 1881 in Mecklenburg Co., VA. She married Ernest H. Adams. He was born about 1877 in VA. All their children were born in Mecklenburg Co., VA. (R‑3)

Children - Adams

34. Willie E. Adams, b.c. 1902.

35. Marion A. Adams, b.c. 1905.

36. Sam R. Adams, b.c. 1908.

Louise (or Lula) Thomas Graves (18) was born 7 (or 1) Nov. 1886 in Mecklenburg Co., VA, and died 5 May 1944. She was called Lucy on her birth certificate (Mecklenburg Co., VA, p. 392, line 55) that gives her birth date as 7 Nov. 1886 and her mother and father as E. F. and G. R. Graves. She was listed as Lula in the 1900 census. She married Drewry Marshall Brame, son of James T. Brame and Pattie Susan Loafman (both of Mecklenburg Co., VA). He was born about 1878 in VA. They lived in Mecklenburg Co., VA. (R‑2)

Children - Brame

37. Margaret Graves Brame, b. 27 Oct. 1906 (Skipwith, Mecklenburg Co., VA), m. ‑‑‑‑‑‑ Williams.

CHILDREN OF JAMES E. GRAVES (6) AND SALLY COLEMAN

Eula Bradshaw Graves (21) was born 24 Oct. 1877 in Tibbs, Haywood Co., TN, and died 15 Oct. 1955 in Nutbush, Haywood Co., TN. She married Edward Taylor Dixon, son of Robert Dixon and Louvenia McGee, on 17 Feb. 1896 in Nutbush, TN. He was born 2 Aug. 1878 and died 22 Nov. 1947, both in Nutbush, TN. (R‑1)

Children - Dixon

+38. Graves Edward Dixon, m. Nellie Poindexter.

+39. Lydia Robertson Dixon, b. 25 June 1898, m. Leonard Samuel Smith, 23 July 1921, d. 28 Dec. 1986.

+40. James Arthur Dixon, b. 22 Feb. 1903, m. Allah Jeanette Waddell, 28 Nov. 1923, d. 1 Oct. 1961.

+41. Louvenia M. Dixon, b. 16 Aug. 1917, m. Gilfred Greaves, 28 Aug. 1935, d. Sept. 1979.

Mary Bradford Graves (22) was born 21 (or 22) Feb. 1879 in Tibbs, Haywood Co., TN, and died 19 Feb. 1975 in Humboldt, TN. She married Robert Moore Dixon, son of William Dixon and Nancy Moore, on 1 Jan. 1899 in Nutbush, Haywood Co., TN. He was born in 1848 in NC, and died in 1917 in Nutbush, TN. All their children were born in Tibbs, TN (with the possible exception of the last one). (R‑1)

Children - Dixon

+42. Dora Lena Dixon, b. 22 March 1900, m. George C. Hood, 21 Oct. 1921, d. 1970.

+43. Chester Moore Dixon, b. 29 Oct. 1901, m. Isabel Drake, 31 May 1925, d. 6 March 1994.

+44. Nolen Dixon, b. 15 May 1904, m. Emma White, d. 22 Sept. 1961.

45. Thomas Dixon, b. 25 June 1908, m. Vera Castellaw, d. 24 July 1985 (Brownsville, TN). She was b. 10 Jan. 1907 in Crockett Co., TN, and d. 7 Dec. 1984 in Brownsville, TN.

+46. Edna Dixon, m. Bradford Brown Thomas.

Thomas Edward Graves (23) was born in 1881 and died 20 June 1952, both in Nutbush, Haywood Co., TN. He married Harriet Jane Sangster. She was born in 1882 and died 1 May 1969, both in Nutbush, TN. Their first child was born in Nutbush, and the others in Brownsville, TN. (R‑1)

Children - Graves

+47. Reuben Edward Graves, b. 1904, m. ‑‑‑‑‑‑, d. 1959.

+48. Marjorie Graves, b. 16 April 1913, m. Luke Banks, d. 30 Sept. 1968.

49. Jeanette Graves, b. 3 Sept. 1916, m(1) Bunk Chaney, m(2) Dorris ‑‑‑‑‑‑, d. 1990 (Gulf of Mexico).

50. Carol Graves, b. 25 Dec. 1918, m. Robert Emerson, d. 1991 (Brownsville, TN).

Carrie Graves (25) was born 28 Feb. 1885 in Nutbush, TN, and died 11 Sept. 1976 in Brownsville, TN. She married Dunaway Rooks, son of John Needam ("Ned") Rooks, on 6 Dec. 1912 in Nutbush, TN. He was born 21 Oct. 1887 in Nutbush, TN, and died 23 Jan. 1974 in Brownsville, TN. (R‑1)

Children - Rooks

+51. Frances Rooks, m. Paxton Ray Mann.

+52. Ned Rooks, m. Eleanor Knee.

+53. John Dunaway Rooks, m. Betty Salmon.

Return to Alphabetical Ancestor Listing

Return to Main Page

[1] According to Marriage Records, 1811-1853, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, collected and compiled by Prestwould Chapter, D.A.R., South Hill, VA, p. 70, John T. Graves m. Mahala B. Jeffries (no date). Minister: John B. Smith. Surety: Luther R. Jeffries.

[2] George R. Graves (age 29) m. E. F. Garner (age21) on March 10, 1868. Source: Mecklenburg Co., VA Marriage Records, Book 1, p. 36.

E. F. Garner's parents were listed as Samuel R. and Orpha Garner on the above record. There is a listing of marriage for Samuel P. Garner to Ophelia P. Garner on Feb. 15, 1847. Source: Marriage Records, 1811-1853, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, collected and compiled by Prestwould Chapter, D.A.R., South Hill, VA, p. 65.