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. 7, No. 3, March 28, 2005
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Copyright
© 2005 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
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Visit
the GFA web site at https://gravesfa.org
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CONTENTS:
**
Graves Gatherings in Virginia and Florida
**
Other Scheduled Family Reunions
**
Planning for the Graves Reunion in Virginia in 2007
**
DNA Presentation by Me in Chicopee, Massachusetts
**
Graves/Greaves DNA Study
**
Graves/Greaves Family Books
**
Contribution To GFA In Memory Of Virginia Sue Ogden Bailey Jackson
**
Researcher Wanted for Graves-Eaves Connection
**
To Submit Material to this Bulletin & Other Things
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GRAVES
GATHERINGS IN VIRGINIA AND FLORIDA
VIRGINIA:
On
our way to Florida on Sunday, Feb. 13, a gathering was held in the student
union of Randolph Macon College, 304 Henry St., Ashland, VA, for all interested
Graves descendants. Attending were
Harry Franklin (“Frank”) Graves, John Graves of West River, MD, Pat Griffith,
Laura Curry Loding, Byron Wesley Graves, Jr., his son Byron Wesley Graves, III,
and his grandson Byron Wesley Graves, IV, and Robert E. Hill. Then on Monday evening, Feb. 14, we were
graciously entertained by Edwin Holt (“Ed”) Graves and his wife Tayloe in Jacksonville,
Florida. It was a great pleasure
meeting all these people.
FLORIDA:
While
we were staying in Bradenton, Florida, for a month, we hosted a Graves
gathering at our rented condo on Saturday, March 12. The people attending included Everett (“Steve”) Graves, Lois G.
Reedy, Nancy L. Jones, Peter and Cheryl Graves, Patricia Hefley, and Carol
Bogdasarian.
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OTHER
SCHEDULED FAMILY REUNIONS
Many
descendants of the Coffey family are related to and descended from Capt. Thomas
Graves of VA. The Coffey Cousins
Convention will be April 28-30, 2005, in Nashville, TN. For more information, contact Patsy Burns, pburns105@excite.com, or Bonnie Culley, bculey@aol.com.
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PLANNING
FOR GRAVES REUNION IN VIRGINIA IN 2007
At
the gathering on Feb. 13, 2005, in Ashland, VA, Byron Graves, Bob Hill, Laura
Loding, and Frank Graves volunteered to be part of a committee to plan for a Graves
Reunion in Virginia in 2007. This would
probably be held in Williamsburg, VA, and would be in conjunction with the 400th
anniversary celebration of the founding of Jamestown, VA.
Robert
E. (“Bob”) Hill has already written Dr. Anne Tyler Netick, Governor of the
Jamestowne Society, about coordinating our celebration with theirs. He pointed out that there are 145 of their
members who base their membership on descent from Capt. Thomas Graves, 1608
settler in Jamestown.
I
will try to set up a list of all those who have already volunteered to
help. The names I have so far are
Judith Graves Kreis, Allyson Graves Kreis, Suzie Morris Ball, John Graves of
Bristol, VA, Cecelia Ziff, Byron Graves of Norfolk, VA, Bob Hill of Richmond,
VA, Laura Loding of Hayes, VA, and Harry Franklin (“Frank”) Graves of
Mechanicsville, VA. If you have already
volunteered but aren’t on this list, or if you would like your name to be
added, please let me know.
It
is very important that we move forward with the planning for this event as
quickly as possible. The 400th
anniversary celebration will be a major event in Virginia, and places to stay
will need to be reserved early.
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DNA
PRESENTATION BY ME IN CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS
I will
be making a presentation on the subject of DNA testing for genealogy to the
Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts this Thursday, March 31, 2005, at
6:30 p.m. This will be at Elms College,
291 Springfield St., Chicopee, MA, 3rd floor of Berchmans Hall. This will be an open meeting, and there will
be no charge. Anyone is invited to
attend. Although I won’t be talking
specifically about Graves genealogy, I will use some of our DNA research as
examples, and will be happy to answer any questions about our experience and
results. If any male with the Graves
surname would like to attend and take the DNA test at the meeting, that would
be of interest.
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GRAVES/GREAVES
DNA STUDY
NEW
DISCOVERIES FROM DNA STUDY
The
most recent discovery is that genealogy 78, James Graves and Sarah ------ of SC
& GA (he was born about 1760 in SC), and genealogy 920, William P. Graves
and Louisa F. Goss of SC, GA, AL & TX (he was born 1820 in SC), are part of
the same family as:
Genealogy
48, James W. Graves and Melissa K. Ray of SC, MS & AR (he was born about
1810 in SC)
Genealogy
189, Richard Graves and Polly Lucy ------ of SC & AR (he was born about
1776 in SC)
Genealogy
258, George William Graves of GA, MS & TX (he was born about 1814 in GA)
DNA
analysis has shown that all five of these families share a common ancestor, but
it is not known how they connect. The
test results have all been added to the master DNA summary table on the GFA
website. Any help in connecting these
families will be appreciated.
MORE
PARTICIPANTS NEEDED
If you have not yet returned your DNA
samples, PLEASE do so as soon as possible.
If
your part of the Graves, Greaves, or other spelling, family is not yet included
in the DNA study, it would be very helpful if you could either volunteer to
participate (if you are a male with the Graves, etc.) surname or find someone
else in your part of the family who would be willing to take part.
The
test is very easy to take. It just
involves swabbing the inside of your mouth with 2 plastic applicators, putting
the applicators in plastic vials, and returning them to the testing
company. If you want to take the test
but are concerned that you can’t afford it, let me know and we may be able to
provide the money.
WHO
CAN TAKE PART IN THE DNA STUDY?
Participants
must be males who are descended in a direct male line from a male Graves
ancestor. This means the participant
must have the Graves/Greaves surname unless there was a name change in the
lineage.
PARTICIPANTS
OUTSIDE THE U.S., ESPECIALLY IN ENGLAND
It
is important for families in the U.S. to have participants from England (or
from families in Australia and elsewhere who know their ancestry in England) so
that a link with English ancestors can be made. However, it is just as important for family members in England to
take part in the DNA study so that the various families in England can be
linked with each other. Tradition of
connection with an ancient family is nice, but DNA proof of that connection is
much more meaningful.
HOW
TO SIGN UP FOR THE STUDY
Go
to the GFA website at www.gravesfa.org,
click on the DNA link at the top of the main page, then click on the link in
the red-outlined box near the top of the next page. This will take you to a page on the Family Tree DNA page. Then just fill out the requested
information, and your testing kit will be mailed to you the next day. The 25-marker test is recommended, and the
37-marker test is even better (for most participants).
FINANCIAL
HELP STILL NEEDED
All
contributions toward the DNA study will be much appreciated. Many thanks to those of you who have already
contributed. We especially need funding
for testing of descendants in the British Isles, some of whom may be less
willing or able to pay the cost. You
may also want to consider sponsoring a relative as a way to get a test for your
part of the family. In response to
questions asked about the total amount of money needed over the next couple of
years to sponsor this testing program, the need is in the thousands of dollars,
but any contribution will be appreciated.
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GRAVES/GREAVES
FAMILY BOOKS
The
book on the Graves families of Randolph Co., NC is still not ready, but I am
working to get it published this spring.
The
book on Capt. Thomas Graves of VA will be the next book to be completed, and
will be ready in late 2006 or early 2007 (definitely before the 400th
anniversary celebration at Jamestown, VA).
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CONTRIBUTION
TO GFA IN MEMORY OF VIRGINIA SUE OGDEN BAILEY
Virginia
Sue Ogden Bailey Jackson was born 27 Dec. 1923 and died 25 Feb. 2005. Her sister, Betty Ogden Flora, has made a
generous contribution to the Graves Family Association in her memory. This is much needed and appreciated. Others might want to consider doing
something similar. Both Sue and Betty
went to England in 1995 as part of the GFA tour that I organized, and my wife
and I have fond memories of both of them.
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RESEARCHER
WANTED FOR GRAVES-EAVES CONNECTION
Mrs.
Marilyn W. Warrens, 2190 North Ave., Chico, CA 95926, is looking for a
researcher who would be willing to explore the Graves-Eaves connection in
Virginia. She is descended from William
Eaves of Virginia, father of Graves Eaves (genealogy 329).
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ABOUT
THIS BULLETIN:
This
bulletin is written and edited by Kenneth V. Graves, ken.graves@gravesfa.org. Ken Graves is also editor of the Graves
Family Newsletter, the official publication of the Graves Family
Association. 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 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
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