52 Ancestors: #7, Sarah Jane Graves

Sarah Jane Graves is my 2nd Great Grandmother. She was born about 1834.¹ She first appeared in the 1850 census for Chesterfield, South Carolina.²



After many years of research, I believed the relationship of individuals in this household are:

• Mary Graves, age 55, Mother of David W.; Grandmother of Sarah & Thomas
• David W. Graves, son of Mary and Father of Sarah and Thomas
• Sarah J. Graves, daughter of David W. Graves
• [William ] Thomas Graves, son of David W. Graves.

While the 1850 census shows that David is 32 years of age; his tombstone in Saint Mary’s Presbyterian Church Cemetery (old) lists her birth as  Jan. 22, 1812. If this date is correct then in 1850 his age would have been 38. 

David served in the Civil War and sometime around 1859 Sarah Jane Graves was married to William A. Purvis. They can be found in the 1860 census for Anson County, North Carolina, married and without any children.³ 



Sarah Jane and William A. Purvis had only one child, a son , William James Purvis born 25 September 1863 in Anson County, North Carolina. 

In 1870, William James is in the home and listed as age 7. ⁴



And finally in 1880, the family was found also in Anson County, North Carolina.⁵
 


The above entries are enlightening and very puzzling. The puzzle is -  Who is Betsy Purvis and Mary J. Purvis. The enlightenment comes from the revelation that Great Grandpa married Great Grandma when he was only 15-16 years old. 

Then on 31 December 1893  tragedy strikes and Great Great Grandma Sarah Jane died after battling cancer for the past fifteen months.⁶
 
The funeral of the wife of Mr. Wm. PERVIS was preached by this writer in the M. E. Church of this place last Sunday [31 Dec. 1893]. She was a good old woman. She had suffered intensely for fifteen months from cancer. She was a member of the M. E. church about 20 years. Messenger-Intelligencer issue of January 4, 1894,  page 3, McFarlan News

No tombstone has been found for Sarah Jane Graves Purvis. The nearest Methodist Church to their farm was Zoar United Methodist Church. Their only son and his wife are buried at Zoar; it mostly likely that William A. and Sarah J. Purvis are also buried there in an unmarked grave. 







_________________________
[1] Based on age reported in 1850-1860 Census.
[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] 1860 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) No ED, page 300, line 34, Dwelling 1238, Family 1188, Household of William A. Purvis; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M653, Roll 887.
[4] 1870 U S Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) No ED, page 403A, line 38, Dwelling 178; Family 178, Household of William A. Purvis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archive Microfilm M593, Roll 1122.
[5] 1880 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) # 2, Page 350B, Line 36, Dwelling 233, Family 251, Household of William A. Purvis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archives Microfilm T9, Roll 951.
[6] Sarah Jane Graves Purvis obituary, Messenger-Intelligencer, Wadesboro, North Carolina, 4 January 1894, page 3, McFarlan News.