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.
9, No. 8, Nov. 19, 2007
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Copyright
© 2007 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
**
More about the Trip to England in 2009
**
Graves Family Reunions/Meetings In the Next Several Months
**
More About GFA Regional Chapters
**
Another Presentation by a GFA Member in Virginia
**
People Needed to Publicize and Promote the Graves Family Association
**
New Discoveries from Our DNA Study
**
Expansion of the DNA Study
**
Special Discount Offer for New DNA Tests
**
Changes to the GFA Website
** How to Find a Person or Place in Genealogies
by Using Search Capability
**
Ordering and Upgrading DNA Tests
**
Alex Haley May Not Have Graves Ancestry
**
Our Yahoo Discussion Lists
**
To Submit Material to this Bulletin & Other Things
===============================================
GENERAL
COMMENTS
I
always want to publish this bulletin more often, but life’s many activities and
responsibilities keep interfering. New
genealogies need to be compiled; existing genealogies need to be revised; the
website needs to be maintained and upgraded; our DNA study needs to be managed;
correspondence needs to be answered; and the many other activities of life need
to be given time. However, here is the
latest issue with (I hope) something of interest to most of you. If you would like for me to include anything
of special interest to you in future issues, please let me know.
One
of the most exciting things that are happening is that, as a result of your
contributions of information, research, and our DNA study, we are making great
progress in grouping genealogies that share a common ancestor. You can see those results by going to the
charts page by way of the link in the DNA section on the main page of the GFA
website. In the future, by more
research and DNA testing, we expect to be able to find the specific connections
between most of these families. Your
help is needed and very much appreciated.
To
those of you in the U.S. who will be celebrating Thanksgiving this coming
Thursday, we wish you happiness and health.
===============================================
MORE
ABOUT THE TRIP TO ENGLAND IN 2009
It
was announced in the last Bulletin that there will be a tour of England in
2009, probably in May of that year. This will be about 12 days, starting from
and ending in London. The cost will
probably be only slightly more than the trip in 1995, which was about $2,400
per person (not including air transportation to and from England). More information about that trip can be seen
on the GFA website under Activities/Recent Events.
For
any of you who may have looked at the website but failed to see the link for
the form to indicate preliminary interest, it is now easier to find. It is in the first paragraph in the “What’s
New” section of the main page. There is
also a link at the end of the sidebar section for “Next Events”. If you have any problem with the form, just
send me an email with your name, address, likely number in your group, and
whether you might be interested in an optional add-on tour of Ireland and/or
Scotland.
If
you live in the U.K. or Ireland and would like to join us, that would be
great! If you live there and might like
to help organize a meeting with local Graves/Greaves/Grieve family members as
part of our tour, please let me know.
No matter where you live, if you have any strong feelings about places
we should visit, let me know that also.
We
will be visiting places of scenic and historical interest, as well as places of
significance to your ancestors. This
will not be a research trip, and we do not plan to schedule time in archives
and libraries, although you always have to option to go off on your own for a
day. The present plans are for the 2009
tour to include Keswick and the beautiful Lake District, the Hertford/Nazeing
area, York, Lincolnshire, and London.
We are also considering visiting other places including King’s Norton
and Moseley Hall (now part of Birmingham), Mickleton, Beeley, and Buckingham.
GRAVES
FAMILY REUNIONS/MEETINGS IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS
There
are several meetings scheduled for the next several months, all of which I will
be speaking at. For more information,
see the GFA website. The first is the
meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the GFA on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, at
the Army Navy Club in Arlington, VA.
The next day, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, there will be a meeting in
Yanceyville, Caswell Co., NC. Then, in
March 2008, there will be a Graves gathering in Auburn, AL, probably on March
8. More details will be announced on
the website and in this bulletin.
MORE
ABOUT GFA REGIONAL CHAPTERS
SOUTHWEST
GFA CHAPTER: The coordinators are Ron Graves (gravesronn@cs.com),
Richard Graves (rwgravy@aol.com), and
Eddie Graves. For more information,
contact any of them. They are planning
on creating a website for their chapter that will link to the Graves Family
Association website. This is a big step
forward, since it will allow them to post information quickly without having to
depend on me to put it on the GFA website.
OHIO
VALLEY GFA CHAPTER: Jim Graves is the main organizer of this chapter. He is looking for 10-12 people who will be
committed to making this a success. He
expects to be holding the next meeting within the next several months. It is expected that each future meeting will
be at a different location within the Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee region, and all
Graves and Greaves descendants will be welcomed. If you are interested or would like to help, contact Jim at jwgravesi@aol.com. (I put the wrong email address in the last
issue of the Bulletin.)
===============================================
ANOTHER
PRESENTATION BY A GFA MEMBER IN VIRGINIA
Doug Graves of Graves Mill, Virginia,
(descended from Capt. Thomas Graves of VA) spoke at the Saturday, Nov. 18
meeting of the Madison County Historical Society. The subject of his talk was his research into the historic Graves
Mill and surrounding area and the renovation of the Graves Mill gristmill. The talk included interesting photos and
relics relating to the mill. The
meeting was at 2 p.m. in the auditorium of the Madison County Administration
Building and was followed by refreshments in the Kemper Residence next
door. (I had hoped to let everyone know
about this before the meeting, but didn’t quite make it.)
===============================================
PEOPLE
NEEDED TO PUBLICIZE AND PROMOTE THE GRAVES FAMILY ASSOCIATION
In
spite of the Graves Family Association having been in existence for over 30
years, most Graves/Greaves/Grieve family members probably don’t know that we
exist. It would be very helpful to
initiate an ongoing program and publicize the Association in the U.S., Canada,
England, Australia and elsewhere. This
would include stories in newspapers and magazines to tell what we do and how we
can help people. It could also discuss
some of the great success stories we have had, connections with famous people,
unusual events in the lives of descendants, and other things that might be
considered newsworthy. We would very
much like to hear from any of you who have experience with publicity and
promotion, or who know people who might be able to help.
===============================================
NEW
DISCOVERIES FROM OUR DNA STUDY
We
recently received test results from genealogy 104 (Benjamin Graves and Margrett
Weaver of SC & AL), and found that there was a 36 of 37 marker match with
genealogy 547 (George Graves and Charlotte Raines of VA, NC & TN). In fact, based on other factors, it is very
likely that they were brothers, both born about 1775-1780. This particular match is especially
significant because previously there were no known matches for the person
descended from genealogy 547. This
shows that even though the DNA test results of a Graves or Greaves family do
not match any other family, matches may well be found in the future.
This
is especially true for the Graves/Greaves/Grieve families in the British Isles,
where a much smaller percentage of descendants have been tested. Anything anyone can do to encourage more
participation in the DNA study in the U.K. and Ireland will be much
appreciated.
===============================================
EXPANSION
OF THE DNA STUDY
Sorenson
Study
At
the reunion in Williamsburg, VA this past June, many attendees took their DNA
samples to be sent to Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and to be tested
by them at no charge. There are a
couple of unanswered questions about that study, but I will be providing more
information soon.
Mitochondrial
DNA Testing
A
summary of all mitochondrial DNA testing done by Graves-Greaves descendants is
now on the website at www.gravesfa.org/mtDNA_test_results.html. There is also a chart at www.gravesfa.org/DNAchart169F.pdf,
which shows all the known all-female lines from Capt. Thomas Graves (genealogy
169), and from the 5th generation Thomas Graves (who married Mary
Perkins and then Ann Davenport). If we
can find living descendants (either male or female) of Capt. Thomas Graves
through all-female lines and test them, then we should be able to confirm that
his daughters were sisters of each other, and may be able to confirm the
identity of his wife. With the
descendants of the 5th generation Thomas Graves, we should be able
to determine which daughter were by his first wife and which by his second, and
may also be able to confirm the surnames of his wives. However, since I don’t know complete
lineages to find living descendants, your help is essential.
Other
New Things
We
will be discussing the expansion of the DNA study in the near future, with
mtDNA testing and more participation in the National Geographic study. We will also be discussing how to look up
information in the various databases that are available.
===============================================
SPECIAL
DISCOUNT OFFER FOR NEW DNA TESTS
As
promised during the 4th Annual Conference for Group Administrators in November
in Houston, TX, Family Tree DNA is bringing back the traditional Holiday Gift
Certificates. You can find more information at www.familytreedna.com/giftcert2007.html
They
have posted 6 credits to our project's General Fund for the following:
two
$30 Y-DNA37 2007 Gift Certificate
two
$15 Y-DNA25 2007 Gift Certificate
two
$15 mtDNA 2007 Gift Certificate
This
means that if you or a family member place a new order between now and
year-end, you may be able to get one of these discounts. This does not apply to upgrades. Take advantage of this, and act now.
===============================================
CHANGES
TO THE GFA WEBSITE
The
“Members only” section is not yet available.
I still need help with creating that.
A
page has been added to the site for current news stories about family members.
===============================================
HOW TO FIND A PERSON
OR PLACE IN GENEALOGIES BY USING SEARCH CAPABILITY
Rather
than asking me, anyone can find which genealogy an ancestor is in by using the
search feature at the top right corner of every page of the website. This feature will actually search the entire
website, not just the genealogies. If
you have any difficulty finding exactly what you want, you can use any of the
Boolean searches or other techniques described on the Google website.
I
have had inquiries about why there are no or few genealogies for a specific
place, such as Wisconsin, USA, or Sussex, England. The answer is usually that those places are in a number of
genealogies, but the family did not originate there, and so the earliest known
ancestor was from another place. To
find all the genealogies that mention any place of interest to you, use the
search capability on the GFA website.
===============================================
ORDERING AND UPGRADING DNA TESTS
If
your Graves or Greaves family has not yet been tested, it is very important
that a male descendant with the Graves/Greaves surname be tested. This is the only way we will know for sure
which ancestral family you are descended from.
In addition, for a large family with many lines, we are trying to have a
descendant of each line tested so that our knowledge of the family will be more
complete and we will be better able to place other families that may be
related. To order, go to the Graves
Family Association website at www.gravesfa.org,
scroll down to the DNA Study section and click on the “How to sign up”
link. Then select the second option and
fill in the requested information.
If
you have already been tested, but only for 12 or 25 markers, it would be
helpful for you to upgrade to at least 37 markers. If you are in a family where all the results at even 37 markers
are very similar, then you should upgrade to 67 markers so that we will be
better able to distinguish one branch from another. To upgrade, go to the Family Tree DNA website at www.familytreedna.com, login to your
personal page, click on the link at the top of the page for “Order tests”, and
fill in the requested information. No
additional sample is needed. Upgrades
are never done automatically, and they will always cost something.
===============================================
ALEX HALEY MAY NOT HAVE GRAVES ANCESTRY
Quite
a few years ago Theron Smith of Fort Worth, TX suggested that Alex Haley (the
author of Roots, the book and television miniseries) was probably related to
the family of Capt. Thomas Graves of VA.
Alex Haley is best known for his book, Roots, which was made
into a very popular television special on PBS.
Varney Graves, formerly of Fayetteville, GA researched the connection
and concluded that Alex Haley was actually a Graves descendant, descended from
Thomas Graves (born 1691 in VA) and Ann Davenport through their daughter Nancy
Graves who married William Lea. A
profile of Alex Haley is on our website page for famous family members. The line of descent from Capt. Thomas Graves
was believed to be Thomas1, John2, Thomas3,
John4, Thomas5, Nancy6, Thomas7 Lea,
Chicken George8 Lea, Tom9 Murray, Cynthia10
Murray, Bertha George11 Palmer, Alexander Murray Palmer12
Haley.
However,
as a result of the interest of Chris Haley, a nephew of Alex, in exploring his
ancestry, I have taken another look at the Graves connection. It now appears that may not be the correct
ancestry for his Thomas Lea, and that his line was probably descended from a
brother of the Isabella Lea who married John Graves and the William Lea who
married Nancy Graves (both children of Thomas5 Graves, b.
1691). It is still possible that Alex
Haley was a Graves descendant, and if anyone can provide more information about
his ancestry and the relationship to the Graves family, that would be
appreciated.
===============================================
OUR
YAHOO DISCUSSION LISTS
The
Graves Family Association Yahoo groups have previously been unrestricted and
unmoderated. Over the past few months
we have received several objectionable messages of a sexual nature sent by
spammers. In order to prevent this in the future, messages from all new members
of these groups will be moderated. That means that I will have to approve
before they can be posted and sent to the group. Once I am satisfied that a new
member is a legitimate poster, they will be allowed to post without being
moderated. That should solve our problem. If it doesn't, I will have to
restrict membership, which means I will have to approve new members before they
are allowed to post messages.
Please
let me know in the future if you become aware of any problem with this list
that I might not be aware of.
===============================================
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.