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. 8, No. 4, March 31, 2006

 

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Copyright © 2006 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 http://www.gravesfa.org

 

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CONTENTS:

 

** General Comments

** There are Still a Couple of Openings for the Trip to England this May

** Update on 2007 Reunion in Williamsburg, VA

** Recent Successful Graves Gathering in Doraville, GA

** DNA Study Happenings

** Genealogies on the GFA Website With Defective Links

** To Submit Material to this Bulletin & Other Things

 

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GENERAL COMMENTS

 

I had hoped to send this issue of the Bulletin earlier in March, but there are just too many things to do and too few hours in which to do them. 

 

Since St. Patrick’s Day was just March 17, and March may be, at least unofficially, “Irish Awareness Month”, I thought I would look into the common American belief that corned beef and cabbage is the appropriate dish for celebrating Irish ancestry.  An interesting website at http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2Kitch/aCBeefCabge.html tells us that pork has always been the favorite, and corned beef is a myth.  A poem quoted on that site says in part:

I just want to put something straight
About what should be on your plate,
If it's corned beef you're makin'
You're sadly mistaken,
That isn't what Irishmen ate.

 

“We hope that you're not too disappointed to learn that Corned Beef & Cabbage is about as truly Irish as Spaghetti & Meatballs.”

 

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THERE ARE STILL A COUPLE OF OPENINGS FOR THE TRIP TO ENGLAND THIS MAY

 

I will be going to England from May 10 until May 18.  Because some people have asked whether they can go with me, I have made arrangements for 4 people to go along.  There is still space for one or two more.  This will be a very special tour in a couple of ways.  First of all, we will be meeting many people in England who are Graves-Greaves-Grieve- etc. descendants.  Maybe even more importantly, this is a private tour at a bargain price for that luxury.  We will be escorted around England by Archie Affleck-Graves, a registered Blue Badge guide for 19 years.  You can see more about him and the treat that is in store for us on his website at www.archiesguidedtours.com/.  This will not be a big group, canned tour, but a very personal experience.

 

The purpose of the trip is primarily to meet as many descendants of Graves, Greaves, and Grieve families as possible, and get family information and DNA samples from them.  But, of course we will also be seeing lots of scenery, history, and the places our ancestors lived, along with benefiting from Archie’s insight and experience.

 

We will be arriving in Manchester the morning of May 10.  There may be as many as 8 meetings with Graves/Greaves descendants in Chester (May 10), Keswick (May 11), Sunderland (May 12), York (May 13), Boston (May 14), Coventry (May 15), Cottenham (May 16), and London (May 17). We will be staying mainly in bed and breakfast lodging.  I will be flying home from Heathrow on May 18, but others are free to add extra time to the beginning or end of the tour.

 

If you want to go, you need to let me know as soon as possible.  I will then let you know the details of cost, schedule, etc.

 

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UPDATE ON 2007 REUNION IN WILLIAMSBURG, VA

 

Our reunion at the Patrick Henry Inn in Williamsburg, VA, will be the weekend of June 15-17, 2007. On Jan. 25, 11 of the 75 reserved rooms had been booked.  By Feb. 14, 25 rooms had been booked.  As of March 17, a total of 49 rooms were booked (for 96 adults and 8 children).  The total is higher now.  Don’t delay any longer.  Now is the time to make your reservation if you want to be sure of staying at the Patrick Henry.

 

A trip to Williamsburg, VA is a great vacation experience, not only for the history on display, but also for the scenery and charm of the area.  Attractions such as Busch Gardens and Yorktown battlefield are two of the many things for the entire family.

 

There are still some important decisions and lots of help that is needed to make this reunion a great success.  To participate in the discussion and planning, join the gravesreunion2007 Yahoo group if you have not done so already.  To join this, go to the GFA website, click on the “Graves Email Lists and Groups” link at the top of the page, and then click on the link toward the top of the second page.

 

The tentative schedule for the reunion weekend is:

Thursday, 6/15 – Registration and Reception

Friday, 6/16 – Tour of Jamestown in the morning, and presentations and discussions part of the afternoon and evening

Saturday, 6/17 – Tour of Colonial Williamsburg in the morning, and presentations and discussions part of the afternoon and evening

Sunday, 6/18 – Tour of the Eastern Shore of Virginia to see Hungar’s Church and Cemetery, and the area where Capt. Thomas Graves lived.

 

All tours will be escorted and narrated.  We will discuss this schedule on the Yahoo list to be sure it fits best with most people’s needs, so don’t change your room reservations to comply with this yet.  Let me know if you want to help with any part of this, and if you have any suggestions.

 

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RECENT SUCCESSFUL GRAVES GATHERING IN DORAVILLE, GA

 

The Graves gathering in Doraville, GA (just north of Atlanta) on Sunday afternoon, March 12, was a great success.  Total attendance was between 34 and 40.  Vicki Watkins, the organizer of the event, did a terrific job.  We socialized and had a buffet lunch first.  Then I gave a presentation that included discussion of our DNA study.  Two descendants signed up for the DNA test at the meeting.

 

The greatest number of attendees were descended from Alexander Graves of NC & GA (gen. 74), but there were also descendants of Capt. Thomas Graves (gen. 169), John Graves of Concord, MA (gen. 166), Beverly Graves of Caroline Co., VA (gen. 217), James Graves and Sarah ----- of SC & GA (gen. 78), Benjamin Graves and Sally Tilden of VT (gen. 271), William Graves and Betsey Thair of VT (gen. 135), William B. Graves and Elizabeth ----- of NC & IN (gen. 69), and Robert Greeves of Great Dalby, Leicestershire, England (gen. 338).

 

A reporter and a photographer from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution were there, and an article was in the newspaper on Thursday, March 16.  You can see a copy of the article by going to the GFA website, clicking on the link for “Family Reunions”, and then clicking on the link for the Doraville gathering.

 

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DNA STUDY HAPPENINGS

 

All new DNA test results have been added to the master results summary table at http://www.gravesfa.org/DNA_test_results.html.  I have not yet had time to update all of the various family charts with these results.

 

Family Tree DNA, the company in Houston, TX that does our DNA testing, has announced a number of new features and developments recently.  The two most important things are:

(1) There is now a 59-marker Y-DNA test available.  This will help us sort out the different ancestral lines that have a common ancestor but whose DNA test results are so similar that we have had difficulty distinguishing one from the other.

(2) Some of the prices have been reduced.  The 37-marker test is now $189, the 59-marker test is $269, and upgrading from 37 to 59 is $99.  For a complete list of the new prices, see the FTDNA website.

 

If your part of the family (any spelling, including Graves, Greaves, Grieve, etc.) has not yet been tested, now is the time to find a male descendants with the Graves/Greaves/Grieve surname and get them to take part.  See the GFA website for instructions.

 

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GENEALOGIES ON THE GFA WEBSITE WITH DEFECTIVE LINKS

 

Two problems that exist with some of the genealogies on the GFA website are:

(1) Hyperlinks that you should be able to click on to see an appendix or go to another web page don’t work.

(2) Pictures that are supposed to be in the genealogy don’t display.

 

Both of these problems are caused by Microsoft Front Page or Microsoft’s software to convert from a Word document to an html document.  The software automatically renames the link that I provide to something else that no longer works.  This seems rather stupid, but it apparently makes sense to someone at Microsoft.  I plan to eventually solve this problem by using different software.  In the meantime, if you see either of these problems and would like for me to fix it, please let me know.

 

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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.

 

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