Revised 15 June 1992, Gen. 249
DESCENDANTS OF JOSHUA P. GRAVES & SALLIE SMITH
OF MA, NY & MI
GENERATION 1
Joshua P. (or E.) Graves (1) was a native of Massachusetts. He married Sallie Smith. When they were young, they moved to NY, where they reared a family of 5 sons. The family lived near Bristol Springs, Ontario Co., NY in June 1826 (where Phinneas was supposedly born), and in Manlius, Onondaga Co., NY in Oct. 1827 (where Jerome was supposedly born).
They moved to Calhoun Co., MI, in 1855, and lived on a farm with their son, Jerome, until their deaths. Joshua died in 1863, and Sallie died in 1861.
Sallie was a sincere Christian and a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Joshua was a Whig in early life and a great admirer of Henry Clay. When the Republican party was organized, he was among the first to join it. He was bitterly opposed to the extension of slavery into the territories.
All their sons served in the Civil War, with the possible exception of Jerome. (R-1)
Children - Graves
+2. Phinneas Graves, b. 25 June 1826, m. Lyda S. Ferris, 6 March 1855, d. 17 June 1904.
+3. Jerome Graves, b. 30 Oct. 1827, m. Addie Ainsworth, 20 Aug. 1855.
4. Judson H. Graves, m. Miss Worden. Served in the Civil War. Prominent physician of Syracuse, NY.
+5. William Wilder Graves, b. 1838, m. Catherine Robertson, d. 11 May 1917.
6. George H. Graves; served in the Civil War, first in the 6th Michigan Infantry and then in the 12th Regt. He was Orderly Sgt. of his company, and was finally discharged because of sickness when he was 1st Lieutenant.
GENERATION 2
CHILDREN OF JOSHUA P. GRAVES (1) AND SALLIE SMITH
Phinneas (or Phineas) Graves (2) was born 25 June 1826 near Bristol Springs, Ontario Co., NY, died 17 June 1904, and was buried at Riverside Cem., Albion, Calhoun Co., MI. He married Lyda (or Lydia) S. Ferris of N.Y. City, NY, on 6 March 1855. They moved to Albion, MI in the fall of 1855. He was a school teacher, first in the "old red school house" and later as a professor at Mayhews Business College, Albion.
When the Civil War began, he raised a company of men in and around Albion and joined the 12th Michigan Infantry at Niles, as captain of Co. D of that Regt. His brother, George H. Graves, was 2nd lieut. of the company. Capt. Graves was in charge of the scouts who fired the first shots that brought on the battle of Shiloh in April 1862. He was present with his regiment from its muster-in, March 5, 1862, to its muster-out, Feb. 15, 1866, and saw service in many engagements. For bravery in action and faithfulness of duty, he was promoted to major, and later to lieutenant colonel of the regiment, and was in command of the same on its return to Michigan.
Immediately on his return home he resumed his former peaceful pursuits. About 1879 or 1880 he moved to Colorado and located on a sheep ranch near Denver. Here he lost his wife in 1889. After her death, he disposed of his ranch and returned to Albion in 1893, where he spent the balance of his life in the family of his daughter, Mrs. Dr. Parmeter.
He was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was Commander of E.W. Hollingsworth Post No. 210, G.A.R., at the time of his death. (R-1)
Children - Graves
7. daughter, m. Dr. ------ Parmeter.
Jerome Graves (3) was born 30 Oct. 1827 in Manlius, Onondaga Co., NY. He passed his early years in NY, and married Addie Ainsworth on 20 Aug. 1855 in NY. She was also a native of NY, born 7 June 1834 in Canandaigua, to Francis and Julia Ainsworth. Immediately after marriage, they moved to Michigan and began their wedded life in a log cabin on a farm in Parma Township (Jackson Co.?). He purchased 87 acres of land and actively engaged in its improvement.
In 1868 they moved to Albion, Calhoun Co., MI, and Jerome first worked at draying. He subsequently began to deal in horses, and had a thorough knowledge of horses and an ability to conduct a successful business.
Politically he was a staunch Republican, and his wife, Addie, was one of the most earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. (R-1)
Children - Graves
8. Charles S. Graves, b. 15 March 1859. He was a painter.
9. Harry K. Graves, b. 27 Aug. 1860. Engaged in the crockery business at Sault Ste. Marie, Chippewa Co., MI.
+10. Jeanette L. Graves, b. 9 Oct. 1862, m(1) Arthur J. Eslow, m(2) Fred Peabody, d. 12 Jan. 1945.
11. Willie P. Graves, b. 30 May 1865.
12. Louis J. Graves, b. 12 May 1870.
13. Grace J. Graves, b. 18 March 1872, probably never married. Lived in Grand Rapids, MI.
William Wilder Graves (5) was born in 1838, probably in NY, and died of apoplexy (probably a stroke) 11 May 1917 in Jamestown, ND. His body was shipped to Albion, MI, and burial was on a Sunday afternoon at Riverside Cem., Albion.
He was a partner in the firm of Williamson and Graves, which operated a carriage factory in Albion. He enlisted from Albion in the Civil War, and was a captain in the 12th Michigan Infantry.
He married Catherine Robertson of Albion. She was born in 1836 and died in 1882. (R-1)
Children - Graves
+14. Harold Theodore Graves, b. 1870, m. Lena Belle Ford, 2 Aug. 1897, d. 1955.
+15. Agnes Graves, b. 1872, m. Warren M. Wright, d. 29 Dec. 1958.
GENERATION 3
CHILDREN OF JEROME GRAVES (3) AND ADDIE AINSWORTH
Jeanette ("Nettie") L. Graves (10) was born 9 Oct. 1862 in Albion, Calhoun Co., MI, lived all her life there, and died 3:45 p.m., Friday, 12 Jan. 1945 at her apartment at the Parker Inn, Albion. She had been ill for a year. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m., Tues., 16 Jan. 1945, at St. James Episcopal Church, Rev. V. L. Dowdell officiating, burial in Riverside Cemetery.
She graduated from Albion high school in 1879 in its second graduating class. She married Arthur J. Eslow of Albion. He died about 1915 (or 1925?). She later married Fred Peabody of Albion. She was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church and the auxiliary of the church.
According to her obituary in the Albion Evening Recorder, Jan. 13, 1945, surviving her were her 2 daughters, Mrs. Lottie E. Bray of Albion and Mrs. Hazel A. Cosier of Jackson; a son, James C. Eslow, Jr. (why Jr.?) of Los Angeles, CA; 7 grandchildren and 2 g-grandchildren; a sister, Miss Grace J. Graves of Grand Rapids, MI; and a niece, Mrs. Paul Peckham, Duck Lake Rd., Albion. (R-1)
Children - Eslow
16. Lottie E. Eslow, m. ------ Bray. Lived in Albion, MI.
17. Hazel A. Eslow, m. ------ Cosier. Lived in Jackson, MI.
18. James C. Eslow; lived in Los Angeles, CA.
CHILDREN OF WILLIAM W. GRAVES (5) AND CATHERINE ROBERTSON
Harold Theodore Graves (14) was born in 1870 and died in 1955. He married Lena Belle Ford, daughter of J.H. and Cynthia Ford of North Eaton St., Albion, MI, on 2 Aug. 1897 in Albion. She was born in 1873 and died in 1965. Both her ashes and those of Harold were transferred to the Robertson plot, Riverside Cem., Albion. Harold was an accountant with the James River Bank, Jamestown, ND. After Harold died, Lena apparently remarried in Phoenix, AZ, and that is probably where she died. (R-1)
Children - Graves
19. Harold Theodore Graves, Jr.
20. William Ford Graves, b. April (?) 1903 (Jamestown, ND).
21. Gordon Robertson Graves
Agnes Graves (15) was born in 1872 and died 29 Dec. 1958. She married Warren M. Wright. He lived in Lansing, MI. (R-1)
Children - Wright
22. Warren M. Wright, Jr.
Return to Alphabetical Ancestor Listing
Return to Main Page