Surname Saturday~Lassiter

My Great Grandmother Sarah Jane Graves Purvis had a brother named William Thomas Graves. William Thomas, born in 1836, was two years younger than his sister, Sarah Jane.

On 26 July 1857,  William Thomas married  Mary Gilley Lassiter, daughter of Eli Lassiter and Mary Gainey. On 23 October 1859 their first child, a daughter, was born. They named her Clarinda G. Graves. Three years later, another daughter, Nancy Jane was born in 1862.^{1 2} 

From our history we know that the Civil War started in 1861 and William Thomas Graves was of prime age for service as a soldier. He enlisted on 13 August 1862 into Company “C”, 8th. South Carolina Infantry. Too months and two day later on 15 October 1862 he passed away from a bout with pneumonia. ^{3 4}

This left his young bride at home with two small children to raise. Sometime after the enumeration of the 1870 censuses. ⁵






Individuals in the household are:

• Mary Gainey Lassister
• Mary Gilley Graves
• Clarinda Graves
• Nancy Jane Graves

Family tradition of the oldest daughter, Clarinda who married Christopher Wesley Teal says that the children were orphans and in their teen years were raised by a Lasiter woman, who was the widow of a Civil War soldier, buried in Lynchburg or Gettysburg. They also said that the Lasiter woman lived to be over 100.

In 1866, Mary and the children are listed in the “Poor House”.
Rations issued to poor and infirmed persons, etc. - 3 August 1866 - Entry 211. Mary Graves, white widow, is 27 years old. Has two children under 7. Has a mother named Mary Laster [?] 52 years old. Lives in Cheraw on Abner Struther's lot. Has a small garden, sews & washes for a living. Has a free ticket on R. R.  from MacFarland Pres. Is directed to bring references. Issued for three days to all. (Shows reference from D. McIver, W. L. T. Prince & others of Cheraw.)  [Freedmen's Bureau Ration Book, May - September 1866 Darlington, South Carolina Transcribed by Scott Wilds of Philadelphia, PA, an Old Darlington District Chapter, SCGS member. [The Carolina Herald, Summer Issue 2003, Page 27.] ⁶

Mary Graves is listed as age 27 in the Poor House recording and H. Graves in the 1870 census is listed as age 30. The 1870 census is most definitely Mary Graves and her daughters in the household of Mary’s mother, Mary Gainey Lassiter.

By 1880, no trace of Mary Gainey Lassiter, Mary Gilley Graves or Nancy Jane Graves can be found. Clarinda G. Graves married Christopher Wesley Teal on 25 November 1878 and is enumerated in the 1880 Census for Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Christopher Wesley and Clarinda raised a family of 6 sons and 2 daughters. ⁷





___________________________________
[1] Brent H. Holcomb C.A.L.S., St. David's Parish, South Carolina Minutes of the Vestry 1768-1832,: Parish Register 1819-1924 (Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1991), page 105.
[2] 1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 171; Line 3, Dwelling 1082, Family 1080, Household of [William] Thomas GRAVES; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 20 November 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M653_1217.
[3] Ancestry, "Civil War Service Records" database, Military Service Records (http://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 13 October 2013), entry for Thomas GRAVES, Private; Co. C, 8th SC Infantry; Confederate.
[4] Ancestry, "Civil War Service Records" database, Military Service Records (http://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 13 October 2013), entry for Thomas GRAVES, Private; Co. C, 8th SC Infantry; Confederate.
[5] 1870 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Cheraw, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 259A(stamped); Line 39, Dwelling 164, Family 170, Household of M. LASITER; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 4 January 2009); citing National Archives Microfilm M593_1491..
[6] The South Carolina Genealogical Society, "Freedmen's Bureau Ration Book: May - September 1866 Darlington, South Carolina," The Carolina Herald (Summer Issue 2003): Page 27.
[7] 1880 U S Census, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 005, Page: 328A(stamped); Line 1, Dwelling 311, Family 311, Household of C. W. TEAL; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 17 January 2014); citing National Archives Microfilm T9-1225.