Caswell County Genealogy
 

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Graves, Ann Lea

Female 1794 - 1857  (63 years)


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  • Name Graves, Ann Lea  [1, 2
    Birth 5 Jan 1794  Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Name Nancy 
    Reference Number 1917 
    Death 28 Oct 1857  Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial Graves Family Cemetery. Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1892  Caswell County
    Last Modified 2 May 2024 

    Father Graves, General Azariah,   b. 29 Oct 1768, Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1 Mar 1850 (Age 81 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Mother Williams, Elizabeth,   b. 15 Oct 1773, Orange County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Aug 1841 (Age 67 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Marriage 3 Jun 1790 
    Reference Number 15970 
    Family ID F1056  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Graves, Captain William,   b. 27 Oct 1780   d. 25 Dec 1845 (Age 65 years) 
    Marriage 25 May 1815  Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Reference Number 18482 
    Notes 
    • Marriage Bond Record
      Groom: William Graves
      Bride: Nancey Graves
      Bond Date: 25 May 1815
      Bondsman/Witness: Barz. Graves, Azariah Graves
      Location: Caswell County, North Carolina
      Source: Caswell County, North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1778-1868, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1981) at 39.
    Children 
    +1. Living
     2. Living
    +3. Graves, Henrietta Williams,   b. 15 Mar 1816   d. 27 Jul 1872 (Age 56 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     4. Graves, Captain William Pinkney,   b. 29 Apr 1820, Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 15 Jul 1892, Danville, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 72 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
    +5. Graves, Lieutenant Colonel John Azariah,   b. 18 Nov 1822, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 2 Mar 1864, Johnson's Island Prison, Lake Erie, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 41 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
    +6. Graves, Isabella Lea,   b. 14 May 1828   d. 5 Nov 1897 (Age 69 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
     7. Graves, Mary Frances,   b. Abt 1832, Caswell County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
    Family ID F1045  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 2 May 2024 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 5 Jan 1794 - Caswell County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 25 May 1815 - Caswell County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 28 Oct 1857 - Caswell County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Graves Family Cemetery. Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Notes 
    • Ann Lea (Nancy) Graves (1797-1857)

      IMG_3459

      Caswell Court House 1825

      The_Milton_Chronicle__Milton__North_Carolina___17_April_1851__Thu rsday__Page_4_Page_1_Image_0003.jpg

      (for larger image, click on photograph)
      _______________

      Newspaper Article: The Milton Chronicle (Milton, North Carolina), 17 April 1851, Thursday, Page 4.
      _______________

      A Graves Marriage

      Mr. F. M. Sammons has shown us a number of a two column folio paper, called the Dwarf, the matter in each page measuring 3½ inches by 5½, published at Ballston Spa (state not given), August 19th, 1834, N. G. Rice, brother of Wm. H. Rice, of this village, publisher. The following marriage notice was taken from its columns:

      Married. -- In Caswell County, by the Rev. Barzillai Graves, Capt. Wm. Graves, son of John Graves, Esq., to Miss Nancy Graves, daughter of Gen. Azariah Graves.

      The Graves, 'tis said,
      Will yield their dead,
      When Gabriel's trumpet shakes the skies,
      But if God please,
      From Graves like these,
      A dozen living folks shall rise.

      Source: Northern Tribune (Cheboygan, Michigan), 19 August 1882, Page 7.

      Marriage also reported in: The North-Carolina Star (Raleigh, North Carolina), Fri, Jun 2, 1815, Page 3.
      _______________

      A Graves Family Affair: 1815

      "Married, on the 25th May in Caswell County, by the Rev. Barzilla [sic] Graves, Capt. Wm. Graves, son of John Graves, Esq. to Miss Nancy Graves, daughter of General Azariah Graves."

      The North-Carolina Star (Raleigh, NC), 2 June 1815.
      _____

      Reverend Barzillai Graves (1759-1827)
      Captain William Graves (1780-1845)
      Ann Lea (Nancy) Graves (1794-1857)
      General Azariah Graves (1768-1850)

      The bride and groom are paternal first cousins, their fathers being brothers (General Azariah Graves and Captain John Herndon Graves (1746-1829)).

      Presiding at the wedding ceremony was the uncle of the bride and groom: Reverend Barzillai Graves, brother of both General Azariah Graves and Captain John Herndon Graves.

      While not stated, the wedding may have taken place at the substantial Locust Hill home of the bride's parents. Her mother is Elizabeth Williams Graves (1773-1841).
      _____

      Disclosure: Reverend Barzillai Graves is my fourth-great grandfather, thus making the fathers of those being wed my fourth-great granduncles. The bride and groom are my first cousins, five times removed.

      Source: Richmond S. Frederick, Jr., 1 December 2022 Facebook Post.
      _______________

      Note the 1850 US Census (Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina) shows an Ann L. Graves (56) apparently operating a hotel in Yanceyville, North Carolina. This has not been confirmed as the same Ann Lea Graves shown here, and is reported only for research purposes. Those in the household (hotel) were:

      Ann L. Graves (56)
      William P. Graves (30)
      M. F. Graves (18)
      C. W. Graves (15)
      V. Y. Graves (12)
      Nancy Walker (35)
      C. R. Rice (21) (clerk)
      John N. Richmond (26) (grocer)
      Samuel P. Hill (26) (lawyer)
      Samuel N. Fuller (26) (lawyer)

      However, she was shown as the head of the household, and the Ann Lea Graves of this entry lost her husband in 1845. William P. Graves probably was William Pinkney Graves, a son of William Graves and his first wife, Isabella Graves. Also, M. F. could be Fanny, C. W. could be Cornelia W., and V. Y. could be Virginia Y. However, where was the hotel. See the entry for Samuel P. Hill for more on this subject. Note that the next entry in the 1850 census is for Abisha Slade. His house was where the parking lot is today (2007) for the Harrelson Funeral Home (immediately across the street from the White Hall Apartments. Thus, the hotel may have been located in this section of Yanceyville.

      But, another neighbor is the James Poteat Hotel. Accordingly, it is possible that the small hotel operated by Ann Lea Graves at the time of the 1850 census is the building that today houses the Richmond-Miles History Museum on the Square in Yanceyville, North Carolina. Arguing against this, however, is that the property that today is the Richmond-Miles History Museum apparently was willed by William Graves to Ann Slade Graves, a daughter by his first marriage. But, she died in 1848, and her stepmother could have owned this property at the time of the 1850 census.
      _______________

      Village Hotel in Yanceyville: 1846

      When this hotel was built is not known. Nor is known its exact physical location in Yanceyville. An early reference I found is an 1846 newspaper advertising its sale:

      "Village Hotel, at Yanceyville For Sale"

      "On Monday the 29th June next [1846], (being the first day of the Caswell County Court,) by Virtue of a Decree of the Court of Equity, I will sell at public Auction on the premises, in the Town of Yanceyville, the Lot and Tavern recently owned and occupied by the late Capt. Wm. Graves, together with all the appurtenances.

      "The main building is large and well arranged, the out houses, numerous and convenient, constituting this one of the most desirable and valuable Hotels in this State. This property is so well and favorably known that a minute discription [sic] of it is deemed needless. A credit of nine months will be given -- bond and security required, and the title retained until the purchase money is paid.

      "At the same time and place, and on the same terms I will sell four other Lots in the Town of Yanceyville."

      Calvin Graves, Ex'r. and Com'r.
      May 15th 1846.
      603-4t.

      Source: The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, North Carolina), 24 June 1846.
      __________

      The deceased is believed to be Captain William Graves (1780-1845), son of Captain John Herndon Graves (1746-1829) and Ann Slade Graves (1749-1807).

      The executor of the estate is Calvin Graves (1804-1877), brother-in-law of the deceased.

      However, why the property was being sold pursuant to a court decree is not understood. The deceased died with a will. Was it the probate of this will that in some way resulted in sale of the hotel and related property?
      __________

      It appears the hotel property may not have been sold. At least it continued to be operated by a Mrs. Graves. Whether this was the wife of the decedent mentioned above is not known. If so, this was Ann Lea Graves Graves (1794-1857), the second wife of William Graves (1780-1845). Here is a relevant newspaper item from 1851:

      Village Hotel, Yanceyville, N.C.

      Corbett & Richmond, would respectfully inform the public that they have recently taken charge of this spacious Hotel, formerly kept by Mrs. Graves, which has lately been repaired and is now in complete order for the accommodation of Travellers and Boarders. The rooms are comfortably and neatly furnished; the Table shall always be provided with the best that the market affords; the Servants will be found polite and attentive, and their Stables will be constantly supplied with an abundance and variety of provender and unsurpassed Hostlers. This magnificent establishment is pleasantly located convenient to the Court House, and persons attending Court at Yanceyville and stopping at the Village Hotel, may rest assured that the Proprietors will spare no pains to please them. Their prices will be found moderate and precisely the same charged by the other Hotel in the Village.

      "Drovers will find every accommodation that large and roomy Stables and as spacious Lots can afford."

      The Milton Chronicle (Milton, NC), 17 April 1851.
      _______________

      We know the Village Hotel was in operation as early as 1838:

      (From the Milton, N C, Spectator, Oct. 9)
      Democratic Dinner,
      Complimentary to the Senators and Republican Members of Congress from N. Carolina,

      Agreeably to arrangements previously made, a sumptuous dinner was furnished by Capt. Wm. Graves, proprietor of the Village Hotel at Yanceyville, on Friday, the 28th ult.; a day which will long be remembered by the citizens of Caswell.

      At 20 minutes past 12 o'clock, General Barzillai Graves, the President, took his seat at the centre wing of the immensely long table, which was richly and bountifully supplied with every good thing the market affords. Majors Wm. A. Lea and James Kerr assisted as Vice Presidents, and being seated at the right and left ends of the main table, at the centre of which and fronting the President, were placed the invited guests.

      Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Virginia), 16 October 1838.

  • Sources 
    1. Details: The Times (Richmond, Virginia) 16 July 1892.

    2. Details: Caswell County, North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1778-1868, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1981) at 39.