Surname Saturday~Graves

My great, great Grandmother is Sarah Jane Graves, b. abt 1833 in Chesterfield, South Carolina and died 31 Dec 1893 in McFarland, Anson County, North Carolina.[1]

Sarah Jane Graves married William A. Purvis just prior to the 1860 census year where they are listed as a  married couple. The marriage most likely took place about 1859 since Sarah Jane is listed as age 16 in the 1850 Census. [2]

The early life of both Sarah Jane and William A. Purvis are obscure and unknown to this researcher. This in part is caused by a major lack of historical documents and records for pre-civil war Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

William A. Purvis has been a major brick wall for over 37 years. The Graves family is just as obscure as the Purvis.

Sarah Jane Graves is found in the the 1850 census for Chesterfield County, South Carolina. [3]



The extracted family information, enumerated 10 August 1850, is:

Family/Dwelling: 110/110
*  Mary Graves, age 55, Female, born in SC
*  David W. GRAVES, Male, age 32, tailor, born in SC
*  Sarah J. Graves, Female, age 16, born in SC
*  Thomas Graves, Male, age 14, born in SC

After studying this family for 30 plus years my take on this family is that Mary Graves, age 55 is the Mother of David W. Graves and grandmother of Sarah J. Graves and Thomas Graves.

Sarah J, and Thomas are children of David from an unknown Wife. After this Census David W. served in the Civil War and after the war and death of his Mother Mary, he married Mary Ann Gulledge about 1872.

Based on the reported dates in the Census David W. Graves was at least 54 years old when he married Mary Ann Gulledge.

However, there  some conflict of the actual age of David W. Graves. This chart reflects his reported age in the following Census:

1850	1860	1870	1880
32 (1818)	42 (1818)		55 (1825)

He enlisted into the Civil War on August 25, 1861 and reported his age as 40 years old. [4]

His tombstone in the Old St. Mary's Presbyterian Church Cemetery had his Birth date recorded as 22 January 1812. So there a question as to the exact birth year for David W. Graves; is it 1812, 1818 or 1825? [5]

David W. Graves died 21 November 1898 according to his tombstone.

Looking at family composition  in census and attempting to discern relationship is problematic at the best.
Looking at the 1850 census it’s obvious that Mary Graves, age 55 is head of Household and David W., Sarah and Thomas are subordinates within the household.

Also based on census data in the 1830 and 1840 census for Chesterfield County, Mary is head of household; thus it very unlikely that the two younger children are her children and a good possibility they are grandchildren.

I also think  that it’s very unlikely that David W. Graves, b. 1812 or 1818 waited until 1872 before he was married. I think that he was previously married about 1833 when he was around 20 or 21 years of age (This assumes he was born in 1812).  

Mary was born in 1795 based on reported age; if David W. was in fact born in 1812 it’s safe to assume that David W. Graves is her oldest child and was born shortly after her marriage to an unknown Graves man.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback on the position and assumptions I have made within this posting. If you have suggestions on how to proceed I would also welcome those comments. 









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[1] Sarah Jane Graves Purvis obituary, Messenger-Intelligencer, Wadesboro, North Carolina, 4 January 1894, page 3, McFarlan News.
[2] 1850 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 106A, Line 8, Dwelling 110, Family 110, Household of Mary GRAVES; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 20 November 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M432 Roll 851.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ancestry, "Civil War Service Records" database, Military Service Records (http://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 3 March 2009), entry for David W. Graves, Private; Company G, Capt. Kelly's Company, Light Artillery; Confederate. http://www.fold3.com/image/#77197010
[5] Jim Tipton, Find A Grave, digital image, http://www.findagrave.com; Headstone for David W. Graves; (22 January 1812–21 November 1898); Memorial # 47922854; Record of the Saint Mary’s Presbyterian Church Cemetery (old); Patrick, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, USA; Accessed on 1 January 2008.