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Caswell County Genealogy
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 1822 - 1864 (41 years)
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| Name |
Graves, John Azariah [1, 2, 3] |
| Title |
Lieutenant Colonel |
| Birth |
18 Nov 1822 |
North Carolina  [3, 4] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Occupation |
Lawyer |
| Reference Number |
2264 |
| Death |
2 Mar 1864 |
Johnson's Island Prison, Lake Erie, Ohio [3, 4] |
| Burial |
First Baptist Church of Yanceyville, Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina |
| Person ID |
I2235 |
Caswell County |
| Last Modified |
16 Apr 2024 |
| Father |
Graves, Captain William, b. 27 Oct 1780 d. 25 Dec 1845 (Age 65 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Mother |
Graves, Ann Lea, b. 5 Jan 1794, Caswell County, North Carolina d. 28 Oct 1857, Caswell County, North Carolina (Age 63 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Marriage |
25 May 1815 |
Caswell County, North Carolina [5] |
| 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.
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| Family ID |
F1045 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Dodson, Catherine M., b. Abt 1827, North Carolina d. 17 Jul 1882, North Carolina (Age ~ 55 years) |
| Marriage |
31 May 1848 |
Caswell County, North Carolina |
| Reference Number |
64748 |
| Notes |
- Marriage Record
Groom: John A. Graves
Bride: Catherine M. Whited (wid)
Bond Date: 31 May 1848
Bondsman/Witness: Jno. K. Graves, R. Y. Graves
Location: Caswell County, North Carolina
Source: Caswell County, North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1778-1868, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1981).
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| Children |
| + | 1. Graves, Mary John, b. 11 Mar 1849, Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina d. 13 Sep 1925, Richmond, Virginia (Age 76 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural] |
| | 2. Graves, William Matthew, b. 24 Dec 1850, North Carolina d. 18 Jun 1882, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina (Age 31 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural] |
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| Family ID |
F1213 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
16 Apr 2024 |
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| Notes |
- John Azariah Graves (1822-1864)
(for larger image, click on photograph)
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"My Brother; John A. Graves; Born Nove. 18, 1822;
Died at Johnson's Island; March 2, 1864"
Whether the above photograph is that of a portrait of the John Azariah Graves of this entry has not been confirmed. The portrait purportedly once hung in the John A. Graves Chapter of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons (Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina). While no factual basis has been found, some have assumed that the John A. Graves Masonic Lodge Chapter in Yanceyville was named for Lt. Col. John Azariah Graves (c.1823-1864) to honor his Civil War service. This had been the Clinton Lodge (No. 107, chartered in 1842), and John A. Graves was a member. The charter of this Clinton Lodge was surrendered around 1887, and the John A. Graves Lodge (No. 494) was chartered in 1898. John Azariah Graves was a Yanceyville lawyer, became a Confederate lieutenant colonel, and died at Johnson's Island Prison. If one assumes (of course without any basis therefor) that the image dates from before the war, Graves would have been no older than around 38-40. Remove the mustache, and the image seems that of a reasonably young man, and certainly could be John Azariah Graves. It is believed that John Azariah Graves at one time had his law office in the Graves-Florance-Gatewood House. He married Catherine M. Dodson as her second husband, and they had two known children. John Azariah Graves is buried at the First Baptist Church of Yanceyville. One daughter, Mary John Graves (1849-1925), married DeBerniere Yancey Mebane (son of Giles Mebane and Catherine Yancey). Their descendants include many well-known Alamance and Caswell families.
Also, unknown is whether John Azariah Graves actually was buried at the First Baptist Church of Yanceyville or whether the marker is a cenotaph. However, the following letter suggests that his body was sent to friends near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This, the remains may have eventually been sent to the Graves family in Yanceyville, North Carolina, where his wife and children were living.
Johnsons Island Near Sandusky Ohio
Thursday 3 March 1864
My Dear Wife,
It is with a sad heart I endeavor to write to you this morning. I have just aided in the coffining the remains of my dear friend & relative Col. Jno A. Graves. As my roommate & bedfellow he had endeared himself oh how much! to my heart. Kind & generous to a fault his death leave a wide gap among his roommates who look in vain for his genial smile & kindly voice. But we recognize the truth that the "God of all the earth will do right" & how in submission to His will- If you have received my letters for the past month or two you will have already learned of his gradually failing health & loss of eyesight- Under the treatment of the physicians we believed he was improving. Last Tuesday morning he dressed & sat up a while but complaining of headache soon laid down. The pain in his head increased in intensity until the afternoon when it became excruciating the usual remedies were applied but with no relief. About 10 o'clock at night we found he was in a stupor & hurriedly summoning the Doctors endeavored to rouse him but with only partial success. He was never fully conscious after that hour & sank rapidly until death relieved him about 8 o'clock yesterday morning. We have succeeded in securing a metallic coffin & will send his remains to some friends at Downington not far from Philadelphia. Some apoplectic or paralytic affection of the brain caused his death. He was not a member of any church, still from his manner of life for the last few months we hope God has taken his soul to dwell with Him in glory- The blessed work of God's spirit of which I wrote in my last still continues. A deep feeling on the subject of Religion seems to pervade the Prison, Oh pray for us all that we may be more abundantly blessed & that many souls may be converted. Kiss the little ones for me Love to Mother, sister & all & May God comfort support & bless you all.
Your affectionate husband G. W. Finley
Uncle Weldon is well & send love
[Letter Courtesy John Churchman]
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In the 1850 US Federal Census John A. Graves was shown as a lawyer, with both John and Catherine born in Caswell County. Apparently associated with them was one-year-old Mary J. Graves, possibly their daughter. A four-year-old Joseph J. Whitice may also have been part of their household. It is likely that this Joseph J. Whitice was a child of Catherine M. Graves by a prior marriage. It is believed that John Azariah Graves lived and had his law office in the Graves-Florance-Gatewood House that in 2008 housed the Richmond-Miles Museum. See: Caswell County Historical Association Newsletter (Lives and Times), Sallie P. Anderson and Lib McPherson, Editors, Vol. XXX, No. 4 (March 2008) at 2. As this house apparently was built by a member of the Graves family, did John Azariah Graves build it, his father William Graves, or another member of the Caswell County Graves family? Note, however, that one researcher relates that: "In the mid-19th century [the Graves-Florance-Gatewood House] is said to have been a hotel run by the Jones brothers." See: An Inventory of Historic Architecture: Caswell County, North Carolina, Ruth Little-Stokes (1979) at 197.
1850 United States Federal Census
Name: John A Graves
Age: 27
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1823
Birth Place: North Carolina
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Yanceyville, Caswell, North Carolina
Family Number: 4
Household Members: Name Age
John A Graves 27
Catharine Graves 23
Joseph J Whitice 4
Mary E Whitice 1
Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions
July 1852
John A. Graves elected county attorney by ballot vote.
Source: Historical Abstracts of Minutes of Caswell County, North Carolina 1777-1877, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1976) at 77.
The following is from When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 476:
"The Farmer's Journal, closely associated with the State Agricultural Society, published a paper in its April, 1854, number that had been read before the Caswell County Agricultural Society. In the paper, prepared by a committee composed of John A. Graves, N. M. Roan, E. P. Jones, Thos. D. Johnston, Thos. Bigalow, and S. P. Hill, a comparison was made between agricultural conditions in Caswell County and those in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The superiority of the Pennsylvania county in value of land, value of farm equipment, and in other areas, was credited to the good work of an agricultural society. A clear call was made for scientific study and improvement at home. Reading the Farmer's Journal was recommended to planters and farmers in Caswell and E. C. (probably E. P.) and Y. Jones, A. Willis, and William Long were agents to receive subscriptions."
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Jno A Graves
Age in 1860: 37
Birth Year: abt 1823
Birthplace: North Carolina
Home in 1860: Yanceyville, Caswell, North Carolina
Gender: Male
Post Office: Yanceyville
Household Members: Name Age
Jno A Graves 37 [lawyer]
C M Graves 33
J W Dupree 35 [mechanic and probably boarder]
W H Votan 21 [tobacconist and probably boarder]
V Graves 21 [possibly Virginia Y. Graves, sister of Jno A. Graves]
M E Graves 11 [possibly Mary John Graves, daughter]
W M Graves 9 [possibly son and named for his paternal grandfather]
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On May 4, 1861, the Caswell County Justices called a session of the Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions to appoint judges to hold an election on May 13, 1861, to select delegates for a state convention to meet on May 20, 1861. Caswell County candidates for election to the convention were: Hon. Bedford Brown (511 votes); Capt. John A. Graves (493 votes); Dr. J. E. Williamson (448 votes); Hon. S. P. Hill (155 votes); and Richard I. Smith, Esq. (136 votes). Brown and Graves were declared elected, but it was reported that the returns from Dr. Williamson's own precinct were not received in time to be counted. The Convention remained in existence until the Spring of 1862 and held four sessions. Captain Graves resigned on May 23, 1861, to accept a commission in the army, and a new election was held to which Williamson was chosen as his replacement. The Caswell County Court had, on 25 May 1861, ordered "judges to held an election on June 3, 1861, to elect a member to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Captain John A. Graves in the State Convention." The new delegate took his seat on June 10, 1861.
Source: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977).
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AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of North Carolina and the other States united with her, under the compact of government entitled "The Constitution of the United States."
We, the people of the State of North Carolina in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, That the ordinance adopted by the State of North Carolina in the convention of 1789, whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified and adopted, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly ratifying and adopting amendments to the said Constitution, are hereby repealed, rescinded, and abrogated.
We do further declare and ordain, That the union now subsisting between the State of North Carolina and the other States, under the title of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved, and that the State of North Carolina is in full possession and exercise of all those rights of sovereignty which belong and appertain to a free and independent State.
Done in convention at the city of Raleigh, this the 20th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1861, and in the eighty-fifth year of the independence of said State.
Representing Caswell County, North Carolina: Bedford Brown (1795-1870); John A. Graves (1822-1864).
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The following is from When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 188-190 (paragraph breaks added):
The captain of Company A (Yanceyville Grays) was 38-year-old John A. Graves, a lawyer, who served until the following April when he was promoted to major and transferred to the 47th Regiment. (There seem to have been no other Caswell men in his new unit in which Graves was promoted to lieutenant colonel in January, 1863. He was wounded and taken prisoner at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, and died in Johnson's Island Prison in Lake Erie on March 2, 1864.) Elijah Benton Withers, 25, also a lawyer and an 1859 graduate of the University of North Carolina, succeeded Graves as captain of the company. In 1863 Withers was promoted to major and transferred to regimental headquarters. He was succeeded as captain by Ludolphous B. Henderson 28-year-old former dentist who had risen from private to corporal and to lieutenant.
Lieutenants in the company were Henry B. Fowler, George W. Gunn, David S. Lockett, Bartlett Y. McAden, Marmaduke Williams Norfleet, Felix L. Poteat, Wiley P. Robertson, James N. Williamson, and Walter S. Williamson. There also were 154 noncommissioned officers and privates in the company. Five of the enlisted men were tapped for service at the regimental level: Private John Henry McAden was made Assistant Surgeon and later Surgeon, after which he was transferred from the regiment to brigade headquarters. Private John William Williams was made sergeant major; and Private Robert D. Lawson and Sergeant Daniel C. Hill were made Quartermaster Sergeants. Nathanial K. Roan enlisted as a sergeant but on July 1, 18161, was promoted to Ensign (Color Sergeant) for the regiment.
Another private, Thomas S. Harrison, whose record was of an entirely different character, hired a substitute for himself (a perfectly legal procedure) and was discharged at camp near Richmond on July 27, 1862. His replacement, George Bowers, 35, a citizen of Louisiana, deserted the same day he enlisted, so Harrison was later arrested and confined to jail. Under a writ of habeas corpus he secured a hearing on September 29, 1863, before Supreme Court Justice William H. Battle who ordered Harrison released upon presentation of evidence that he had hired a substitute.
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"Capt. John A. Graves of the Yanceyville Greys is a lawyer -- represented his County in the State Senate for several years, and was elected to the State Convention from Caswell County -- took his seat at the Convention -- voted for secession, -- signed the Ordinance [of secession], and then resigned to go with his Company to the field of battle."
Newbern Daily Progress (New Bern, North Carolina), 17 June 1861.
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From The Greensborough Patriot (Jan. 9, 1862 - Pg. 1)
A Screw Loose.
We are not disposed to complain of our State or Confederate authorities, or to copy many complaints of both that we find in our exchange papers. But the following is so singular a case, presented by a well known Democrat, and published in a Democratic paper, that we think it but right to copy it. Capt. Graves is from Caswell, of which county he was formerly a Representative in the Legislature:--Fayetteville Observer.
From the Raleigh Standard.
Camp Ruffin, Dec’r 21, 1861-Mr. Editor-Dear Sir:--A short time since, I visited Raleigh for the purpose of obtaining an order for cloth to make overcoats for the men whom I have the honor of commanding. I was told by the authorities I could not get one, they having some time previous resolved not to give any more orders. Whilst begging and pleading with all my power, and reminding them that they had given other Captains in the regiment orders for full suits and more, they or one of them had, a few days previous, given an order to a merchant in my county, for two hundred and fifty yards, who was selling it for one dollar and fifty cents per yard, in came a Colonel of a regiment not yet in actual service, and applied for an order to clothe his regiment, at which time and in my presence, he was refused. When I arrived at the depot on my departure, I met with the Colonel, and feeling that we were fellow sufferers, I asked him how he succeeded after I left, and he told me that he got the order. I, of course felt that myself wrote to his Excellency, the Governor to do me the favor to inquire why it was. I suppose from the vast amount of business he has declined or neglected to answer, and for the purpose of having the matter explained, I earnestly request that you do the authorities at Raleigh, my company, their friends at home and myself, the favor of giving this a place in your paper.
Your obedient servant,
JNO. A. GRAVES.
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The will of John Azariah Graves is dated 25 July 1857:
Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions
April Court 1864
Will Book T 1864
Page 45: John A. Graves - Will - written 25 July 1857. To wife Catharine M. Graves all property real and personal during her life or widowhood, then this to go to his children. If she remarries an equal division between her and his children or their heirs. Executor: Wife, Catharine M. Graves.
July Court 1864
Will Book T 1864
Page 65: Inventory of the property of John A. Graves deceased. Long list of bonds and notes due. Confederate Treasury notes $3944.44; 10 shares in Yanceyville Plank Road; and undivided interest in a Tobacco Factory in Yanceyville; one house and lot in Yanceyville and 110 acres land near Yanceyville. By William Lea, administrator.
Source: Caswell County North Carolina Will Books 1843-1868, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1986) at 138 and 140.
Note that "Mrs. C. M. Graves, widow of John A. Graves by her attorney, Robt. B. Watt dissented to her husband's will and court granted the same be entered on the record." This is recorded in the minutes of the July 1866 session of the Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. Why she challenged the will is not stated. Source: Historical Abstracts of Minutes of Caswell County, North Carolina 1777-1877, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1976) at 97.
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The following is a copy of the records in the Bible of Joseph R. Whitice and John A. Graves Bible, both of Caswell County, North Carolina, the Bible now being in possession of Mr. Giles Mebane of Yanceyville, N. C. in l951.
Family Record.
Marriages:
Joseph R. Whitice and Catharine M. Dodson were married July 17th, 1844 by Rev. J. J. James.
Deberniere Y. Mebane and Mollie J. Graves were married June 23rd, 1870 by Rev. S. G. Mason.
John L. Satterfield and Anne Elizabeth Mebane were married Dec. 20th, 1894.
John A. Graves and Catharine M. Whitice were married May 31st, 1848 by Rev. S. Wait.
Births:
Joseph J. Whitice was born December the 5th, 1845.
Molly John Graves was born March the 11th, 1849.
William Matthew Graves was born December the 24th, 1850.
Anne Elizabeth Mebane was born March 20th, 1871.
John A. Graves Mebane was born Feb. 5th, 1873.
Mary Catherine Mebane was born Oct. 12th, 1875.
Virginia George Swepson Mebane was born Jan. 12, 1878.
Giles Mebane was born July 8th, 1880.
Deberniere Yancey Mebane, Jr. December 29th, 1882.
Pink Graves Mebane born Mar. 6th, 1886.
Deaths:
Joseph R. Whitice died 26th of December 1845.
Joseph J. Whitice died the 31st of August, 1851.
Col. John A. Graves, a prisoner of war, died at Johnston's Island, Ohio, Mar. 20th, 1864.
William M. Graves died June 18th, 1882.
Catherine M. Graves died July 17th, 1882.
Capt W. P. Graves died July 15th, 1892.
Mollie Graves Mebane died Sep. 13, 1925.
John A. Graves Mebane died April 13, 1928.
Bessie Norman Mebane, wife of John A. Mebane, died May 28, 1928.
D. Y. Mebane, Jr. died May 1st, 1933.
Cooperstown, N. Y.
Published and sold by H. & E. Phinney
Sold also by I. Tiffany, Utica, 1843.
Recorded herein in the year 1951.
J. Burch Blaylock/Signature
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See also: Yancey Family Genealogical Database.
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The following record has not been confirmed and his placed here for research purposes. Note that, were the record correct, his mother would have been only around twelve years old at his birth. The death date also renders the record inapplicable to the John Azariah Graves of this entry.
Family Data Collection - Individual Records
Name: John Azariah Graves
Parents: William Graves, Ann Lea Graves
Birth Place: Caswell, NC
Birth Date: 1806
Death Date: 1823
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| Sources |
- Details: At the Foot of the Lake: The Pattillo-Patillo Family and Allied Lines, Millard Quentin Plumblee (1987) at 94.
- Details: 1850 US Federal Census.
- Details: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 188-189.
- Details: Gravestone of John A. Graves (1822-1864) at First Baptist Church of Yanceyville (Caswell County, North Carolina).
- Details: Caswell County, North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1778-1868, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1981) at 39.
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