GRAVES FAMILY BULLETIN

A Free, Occasional, Online Summary of Items of Interest to Descendants of all Families of Graves, Greaves, Grieves, Grave, and other spelling variations Worldwide

Vol. 11, No. 1, Jan. 23, 2009

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Copyright © 2009 by the Graves Family Association and Kenneth V. Graves. All rights reserved.

Information on how to start a free subscription to this bulletin and how to be removed from the subscription list is at the end of this bulletin. If you received this bulletin directly, then you are already subscribed.

Visit the GFA web site at https://gravesfa.org

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CONTENTS:

** General Comments

** Trip to England in June 2009

** Ken Graves to Speak at the January 2009 Meeting of the GFA Mid-Atlantic Chapter

** Updates to the GFA Website

** Ancestry of Notable Family Members

** Ron Graves of San Antonio Now on YouTube

** To Submit Material to this Bulletin & Other Things

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GENERAL COMMENTS

This is the last issue of the Bulletin before we leave for our annual trip to Florida. We will be back home in Massachusetts in early March.

If you have been thinking about going with us to England in June, sign up now. It’s not too late! Even though you missed the early bird discounts, the exchange rate against the British pound is favorable, so it may not cost as much as you thought.

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TRIP TO ENGLAND IN JUNE 2009

Have you always wanted to go to England but thought it was just a dream? Are you descended from a Graves or Greaves family in England, and would you love to visit the places they lived and meet some of their descendants who still live there? Now is your chance to fulfill your dream.

The tour brochure and the registration form are on the GFA website in PDF format.

Spread the word about the tour. Invite your relatives and any friends who might like to go along. We would really like to have as many people on the tour as possible, especially since it will probably reduce the cost for all participants. Let me know if you want more tour brochures or want me to send some directly to anyone else.

The exchange rate is favorable, since the value of the British pound has been dropping lately relative to the American dollar, so the cost may be less than shown in the brochure. On the other hand, we don’t have as large a group as we hoped for, which could mean we will have to increase the price for those who want to go. Help us avoid this problem by recruiting more people for the tour. Please contact me if you have any questions.

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KEN GRAVES TO SPEAK AT THE JANUARY MEETING OF THE GFA MID-ATLANTIC CHAPTER

This is a reminder that Ken Graves will be speaking at the meeting of the GFA Mid-Atlantic Chapter at the Army Navy Club, Arlington, VA, 3-6 PM, Sunday, January 25. The presentation will cover what we accomplished in 2008 and our plans for the future. Subjects that will be addressed include the potential for research in Britain, connecting families and finding earlier ancestors, and the potential for DNA testing. Contact information and directions can be found on the GFA website. For more information, contact John Graves at 410-867-6758 (home) or at johngtmti@aol.com.

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UPDATES TO THE GFA WEBSITE

Many new genealogies have been added to the website, including some for Lincolnshire families. There have also been revisions to some of the existing genealogies. Other changes and additions are planned and will be announced as they are made.

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ANCESTRY OF NOTABLE FAMILY MEMBERS

It is always interesting to contact famous or notable Graves or Greaves family descendants, or at least discover their Graves/Greaves ancestry. If we can get them involved with the Graves Family Association, that’s even better. If you are interested in helping with this effort, take a look at the GFA website page for notable family members at https://gravesfa.org/notable.html to see who we know something about and which of these people still have unknown ancestry.

MISSOURI CONGRESSMAN SAM GRAVES

Through the efforts of Linda Sue Smith (descended from genealogy 152) and others, we now know the ancestry of U.S. Congressman Samuel Graves of Missouri. Sam, a Republican, was previously elected as State Representative and State Senator before being elected to the U.S. Congress from Missouri’s Sixth District in 2000. He is now in his fifth 2-year term. He is descended from genealogy 270 via John Graves, Thomas (who married Ann Davenport), David, Samuel (b. 1791, Shelby Co., KY), William Edward (b. 1823), John William (b. 1847), Samuel W. (b. 1885), Wilferd Walter (b. 1908, Sam’s grandfather).

BLUEGRASS MUSICIAN JOSH GRAVES

Charlie Purvis (genealogy 558, almost certainly descended from genealogy 270) has figured out the ancestry of bluegrass musician Josh Graves. He was born Burkett H. "Buck" Graves, 27 Sept. 1928 (or 1927) in Tellico Plains, Monroe Co., Tennessee, and died 30 Sept. 2006. He was descended from John Graves and Susan ------ of SC & Carter Co., TN (genealogy 92). He is one of the main people responsible for the acceptance and popularity of the Dobro® guitar in bluegrass and country music, and played with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and many others. His descent from John Graves is: (2) Benjamin Graves and Rachel Asher, (3) Millie Graves, (4) Harrison Graves and Mary Emery, (5) Amanda Graves, (6) Troy Graves and Sarah Elizabeth Thomas, (7) Josh Graves.

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RON GRAVES OF SAN ANTONIO NOW ON YOUTUBE

Ron Graves of San Antonio, Texas, current president of Optimist International (www.optimist.org), has recently established a YouTube site at www.youtube.com/OptimisticDay. (Note that the O and the D in this url are case-sensitive.) He plans to post weekly 1-2 minute motivational and/or inspirational messages on the site. Ron is descended from genealogies 13 and 169, and is head of the GFA southwest chapter.

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ABOUT THIS BULLETIN:

This bulletin is written and edited by Kenneth V. Graves, ken.graves@gravesfa.org. Ken Graves was also editor of the Graves Family Newsletter (no longer published). This bulletin will contain announcements and news of special interest to Graves descendants with Internet access. It will not contain queries, genealogies, photos, and the kind of in-depth articles that used to appear in the Graves Family Newsletter.

TO SUBMIT MATERIAL TO THIS BULLETIN:

Send any material you would like to have included in this bulletin to ken.graves@gravesfa.org. The editor reserves the right to accept, edit or reject any material submitted.

TO JOIN THE GRAVES FAMILY ASSOCIATION:

If you do not already belong to the GFA, you can join by sending $20 per year to Graves Family Association, 20 Binney Circle, Wrentham, MA 02093 (more details on GFA website). Payment may also be sent electronically via PayPal by going to www.paypal.com and sending payment to gfa@gravesfa.org. Benefits include access to the “members only” section of the website, membership directory, and help with learning more about your Graves/Greaves family. The purpose of the GFA is to bring together as many descendants as possible to work toward learning more about the Graves/Greaves families, to help other descendants, and to instill pride in our ancestry.

COPYRIGHTS:

Although the contents of this bulletin are copyrighted by the Graves Family Association and Kenneth V. Graves, you are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re-distribute articles to other parties for non-commercial purposes only. Do not re-distribute the newsletter in its entirety.

TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE TO THIS BULLETIN:

To subscribe to this bulletin, send an e-mail message to ken.graves@gravesfa.org. Please include your full name. Your postal mailing address and information on your Graves/Greaves ancestry would also be appreciated, although not essential.

To remove your name from this subscription list, send an e-mail message to ken.graves@gravesfa.org asking to be removed.