Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol II, Part 48

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1044

USA > Vermont > Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol II > Part 48

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The following genealogy is given from the public and private records of the family, and is correct :

REAR ADMIRAL THIOMAS GRAVES, first gen- eration in America, son of John Graves, born at Ratcliff, England, June 6, 1605, baptized at Stepney, June 16, 1605, married in England be- fore 1635, Katherine Gray, daughter of Thomas Gray and Katherine Myles, daughter and co- heir of Robert Myles, of Sutton, in county Suf- folk. Thomas Gray died in 1607, and his widow married at Harwick, England, December 23, 1610, Rowland Coytemore, of Wappings, a widower, who died in 1626; she came to New England in 1636 or 1637 and settled in Charles- town, Massachusetts ; was admitted to the church in 1638 and died November 28, 1659. Thomas Graves sprang from the shipbuilding and mariner family of London and came to Amer-

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ica as early as 1628. He was mate of the Tal- bot, m which Higginson came to Salem in 1629, and was master of various vesseis plying between the old and new world until he brought his fam- ily to this country about 1637 and settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, probably at the same time that his wife's mother came. Hc was master of the first American built ship, the Tryall, on her second voyage in June, 1643. Hc was admitted to the First church, Charlestown, with his wife, August 7, 1639, and was made freeman at general court, Boston, May 13, 1640, and became possessed of a large amount of lands in Charlestown and Woburn; he continued to follow the sea, and while in command of a mer- chantman captured a Dutch man of war in the British Channel, for which gallant act he was appointed by Parliament captain of the frigate, President, May 30, 1652, and the following year rear admiral of the White, and on board the St. Andrews (360 men and 56 guns) he par- ticipated in the naval battles with the Dutch, and was killed on the 31st day of July, 1653. His wife died February 21, 1682. Winthrop described Thomas Graves as an "Able and Godly Man." He wrote his name Greaves.

Children: John, born in England and did not come to this country with his father. Will- iam, probably died young. Rebecca, born in England; admitted to the First church, Charles- town, in May or July 5, 1648 married, before 1647, Samuel Adams, son of Henry Adams, of Braintree, Massachusetts, the former the great- grandfather of John Adams, second president of the United States ; she died October 8, 1664, and Samuel Adams married Esther Sparkhawk, who was the mother of John Adams's grandfather. Thomas, born 1638; graduated at Harvard, 1656; was a physician, judge and representative. Na- thaniel, captain in Indian wars; baptized Sep- tember 5, 1639, died February 12, 1680. Su- sanna, born May or July 8, 1643, married No- vember 18, 1669, Rev. Zechariah Symmes. Joseph, born February 13, 1645.

JOSEPH GRAVES, second generation, son of Rear Admiral Thomas, first generation, born Feb- ruary 13, 1645; married, January 15, 1665-6, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Mary Axtell Maynard, born May 26, 1649, lived in Sudbury,

Massachusetts ; his wife died June 5, 1676, and he married in 1678 Mary Ross.

Children : Samuel, born February 14, 1666-7, Richard, born April 7, 1672. John, born May 10, 1674. Deliverance, born in 1676. Mary, born May 23, 1680. Ebenezer, born February 28, 1682. Hester, born April 3, 1689.

JOHN GRAVES, third generation, son of Joseph, second generation, born May 10, 1674; married Sarah Loker October 10, 1710. They deeded their lands in Sudbury, Massachusetts, to Ebe- nezer Dacon, October 11, 1726, and moved into Connecticut.

Children : Miriam, born January 19, 1712; married Henry Delamore, New London, Con- necticut. Mary, born July 18, 1714; married December 28, 1731, Cornelius Bigelow. John, born January 27, 1720.

JOHN GRAVES, fourth generation, son of John, third generation, born in Sudbury, Massachus- etts, January 27, 1720, went with his parents to Connecticut, probably to Killingly, where his cousins Richard and Lebbens went; he married a Miss Russell and lived and died in Pomfret, Connecticut, a town adjoining Killingly.

Children : Rufus, soldier in Revolutionary war. Richard. John, lived in Thompson, near Pomfret, and had five daughters, Ruth, Hannah, Mary, Caroline and Sarah. Asa, born Novem- ber 4, 1755. Luther, born May 1, 1766. David, born October 13 or 14, 1768. Experience ; mar- ried David Cutler, then J. P. Plank. Lydia, married Joseph Green. Polly, married a Jones.

LUTHER GRAVES, fifth generation, son of John, fourth generation, born at Pomfret, May 1, 1776; removed to Shrewsbury, Vermont, about 1800; married in 1801, in Shrewsbury, Roxana Case, born November 30, 1786. He died in 1863, aged eighty-seven.

Children: Susan C., born November 13, 1806; married April 10, 1845, Orrin Hewett ; she died July 1, 1893. Aaron, born March 6, 1808: married Orpha Floyd, in October, 1831. Loyal Nelson, born in August, 1809, died January, 1812. Norman, born January 24, 1811; married Jan- uary 1, 1834, Ruth W. Graves, daughter of his uncle John Graves ; he died September 9, 1838. Luther R., born November 26, 1812. Roxana, born April 6, 1816; married, July 16, 1836, John

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Downs, of Bennington, Vermont. Columbia, born May 29, 1820; married, March 4, 1845, Jerusha W. Jennison. Orison, born May II, 1822; married, February 23, 1846, Sarah T. Keith. Marion H., born February 28, 1824 ; mar- ried October 24, 1852, Louis A. Goodnow. Han- nah, born April 17, 1826, died July 16, 1835. Luna E., born February 20, 1829; married Oc- tober 15, 1846, Marvin Sanders.

LUTHER R. GRAVES, sixth generation, son of Luther, fifth generation, born at Shrewsbury, Ver- mont, November 26, 1812; married at Wood- stock, Connecticut, in October, 1839, Sarah Maria Russell, of Barre, Vermont; she died in Ben- nington, Vermont, January 24, 1890. He was president of the First National Bank of Benning- ton for over thirty years, and died March 31, 1894.

Children: William Russell, born May 27, 1841. Luther Henry, born March 9, 1843, died April 23, 1843. Jane Maria, born April II, 1844, died August 13, 1865. Agnes Roxana, born March 12, 1846, died October 2, 1847. Eugene L., born January 21, 1848. Henry Green Root, born December 5, 1849, died April 20, 1852. Frederick Orison, born March 5, 1852. George Franklin, born January 4, 1854. Louis Augustus, born January 20, 1857.

GEORGE FRANKLIN GRAVES, seventh 'gen- eration, son of Luther R., sixth generation, born January 4, 1854; married June 9, 1881, L. Belle Woodman, born October 16, 1856, daughter of Joseph H. Woodman, of Bennington, Vermont. Residence, Bellevue, Bennington, Vermont.

Children : Eighth generation, Daughter, born July 28, 1882, died July 31, 1882. Hope, born December 15, 1884. Ruth born November 5, 1886. Luther Russell Graves, born September 29, 1893.

Signed and certified at Buffalo, New York, this 30th day of July, 1902. Signed John Ward Graves.

LUTHER RUSSELL GRAVES.

Luther Russell Graves, of Bennington, Ver- mont, was, during a conspicuously useful life ex- tending over the unusual period of eighty-two years of a century, one of the most prominent and highly respected citizens of his state. He was

eminently successful in his career, rearing an ex- cellent family whose members inherited his own sterling traits of character in marked degree, and accumulating an ample fortune, the acquisition of which was owing entirely to his industry and sa- gacity, without the slightest departure from his own inflexible standards of absolute probity. His activities extended into the larger fields of manu- facture and finance, and he was a public-spirited promoter of every cause advantageous to the community.

He was born November 26, 1812, in Shrews- bury, Rutland county, Vermont. His parents were of that rugged type of character peculiar to the early generations of that state, whose in- fluence has been strongly discerned in all sections of the country. They were poor, and their strug- gles were severe. The father, Luther Graves, born May I, 1776, was a man of high character, a farmer who reared his family upon a small and shallow soiled tract. In 1801 he married Roxana Case, born November 30, 1786, who proved a most devoted and capable helpmeet to him in his struggles. To them were born eleven children : Susan Case, born November 13, 1806, who married Orin Hewitt, April 10, 1845; Aaron, born March 6, 1808, who married Orpha Floyd in October, 1831 ; Loyal Nelson, born in August, 1809; Norman, born January 24, 1811, who mar- ried Ruth W. Graves, January 1, 1834; Luther Russell; Roxana, born April 6, 1816, who mar- ried John Downs, July 16, 1836; Columbia, born May 29, 1820, who married Jerusha W. Jennison, March 4, 1845; Orison, born May II, 1822, who married Sarah T. Keith, February 23, 1846; Marion Helen, born February 28, 1824, who mar- ried Louis A. Goodnow, October 24, 1852; Han- nah, born April 17, 1826; and Luna Ellen, born February 20, 1829, who married Marvin San- ders, October 15, 1846.

Luther Russell, fifth child and fourth son in the family named, aided his father in farm work until he came of age, and in the last year of his minority assisted in building a new dwelling for the family. Meantime he had attended at inter- vals the poorly equipped neighborhood school, but the meagerness of his education found more than equivalent in the knowledge which he gained in later days through self-appointed reading and intercourse with men. His first employment after

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leaving home was for a monthly wage of nine dollars. Soon afterward he found work in a new shoe factory in Thompson, Connecticut, and by laboring sixteen hours out of the twenty-four he earned two dollars a pas, double the usual day pay. He then became a traveling tin salesman for Boynton & Whitcomb, of Templeton, Massachus- etts, and was so occupied for four years. His wage at the beginning was but nineteen dollars a month, he providing his own horse, and when his contract closed he was receiving but one dollar a day, yet during his service his frugality had en- abled him to save fifteen hundred dollars, and upon this foundation he built up his fortune.

In 1839 he formed a business partnership with a younger fellow workman, Henry G. Root, who was destined to become equally well known with himself in the commercial and political history of Vermont, and this association was practically maintained until the death of Mr. Graves, and, as he himself expressed it, "with articles of honor, and without a scrap of paper," from the first to the last. Their first venture, as Graves & Root, was the establishment of a tinware factory at Bennington. For the first year the junior partner divided his time between the factory and the shops in Templeton, Massachusetts, the term of his ap- prenticeship having not yet expired. At first Mr. Root made the tinware, and it was marketed by Mr. Graves. The firm prospered, and subse- quently established branch houses in Red Hook, Troy and Watertown, New York, and in Bur- lington, Vermont, and conducted another for a short time in Reading, Pennsylvania. So exten- sive was the business that one hundred salesmen went out from the Bennington shops alone. In 1844 the firm purchased eleven acres of land at East Bennington, to which place they removed their works. At various times, while engaged in his manufacturing enterprises, Mr. Graves had as business associates his brother-in-law, Louis A. Goodnow, and one of his own sons, William R. Graves.

The most eminent success in the career of Mr. Graves, however, was in financial affairs. In 1852 he was one of thirteen who founded the State Bank of Troy, New York, and he was one of its first directors. In 1862 the finances of the country were in an uncertain and dangerous con- dition. Specie had long disappeared from use,

and many private banks had closed in disaster. The dependable money of the country was United States treasury notes, but these were not suffi- cient for business demands. In the year men- tioned the national banking system was provided for by act of Congress, and Mr. Graves, having unbounded confidence in the stability of the gov- ernment, whose bonds were to be the basis of the national bank currency, was principal mover in the organization of the First National Bank of Bennington, Vermont. Notwithstanding the unsettled conditions of the ten years preceding, including the great financial panic of 1857, he had, in his capacity as a director of the State Bank of Troy, recommended large volumes of paper for discount, but with such prudence that not a dollar of loss was incurred. This afforded him a splen- did prestige, and when he urged the founding of the First National Bank of Bennington he had all-sufficient support. To its $100,000 capital he contributed $60,000, and Mr. Root $28,500; the remainder was subscribed by others, among whom was William R. Graves. The capital was subse- quently increased to $110,000, and in 1882 the bank charter was renewed. The elder Graves was president of the institution from its founding until the time of his death, and he was also retained as a director of the State Bank of Troy for a period of thirty years, declining re-election in 1893 on' account of failing health. During all these years he displayed the consummate abilities of the accomplished financier, and his conduct was unsullied by aught savoring of sharp prac- tice or double dealings. On the contrary, he made his bank the means of assisting various local en- terprises and of aiding many worthy men of small means to make a beginning in life, remembering his own early struggles, and sympathizing with those whose experiences were somewhat similar to his own, though less in degree. Associated with him in the bank, during his later years, were his sons, George F., for several years cashier, and Fred G. and Louis A., respectively teller and bookkeeper, all of whom inherited much of his own peculiar talent, and enjoyed the advantages of his masterly training.

Respect for his abilities antl integrity afforded Mr. Graves a commanding influence even outside the field of finance, and a brilliant political career was open to him. had he desired it. He held

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various public positions of local importance, serv- ing for many years as town and county treasurer. In 1876 he was elected to the Vermont house of representatives, but declined further political hon- ors, including the proffered state treasurership. During his entire residence in Bennington he was an attendant of the Baptist church, and a liberal contributor to its support and to its various benevolences, as well as to other worthy objects. He was modest and unassuming, a model citizen and a genial and sympathetic friend.

He was married in October, 1839, to Miss Sarah Maria' Russell, of Barre, Massachusetts, who was born in the same year with himself, February 7, 1812. She was a woman of lovely character, and was a real solace and inspiration to him during his many years of arduous strug- gles. Her death occurred January 24, 1890. Her sorrow-stricken husband survived her about four years, dying March 31, 1894, at the age of eighty- two years.

Born to Mr. and Mrs. Graves were nine chil- dren. William Russell, born May 27, 1841, and died December 2, 1895, married Flora M. Mil- liard, who is now living at South Orange, New Jersey ; two children were born of this marriage, Colline M., a lawyer of Bennington, Vermont, and Russell C., residing in South Orange, New Jer- sey. Luther Henry, born March 9, 1843, died April 23, same year. Jane Maria, born April II, 1844, died August 13, 1865, Agnes Roxana, born March 12, 1846, died October 2, 1847. Eugene I .. , born January I, 1848, lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Henry Green Root, born December 5, 1849, died April 20, 1852. Frederick O., born March 5, 1852, is teller in the First National Bank of Bennington, Vermont; George Franklin is president, and the youngest son, Louis Au- gustus, is cashier, in the same institution.

GEORGE FRANKLIN GRAVES.

George Franklin Graves, president of the First National Bank of Bennington, Vermont, a most successful financier, and the youngest na- tional bank president in the state, is a native of the village named, where he was born January 4, 1854, the eighth child of Luther Russell Graves. He began his education in the public schools of his native village, and completed a

broad academical course in Mt. Anthony Sem- inary. This was accomplished before he was eighteen years of age, and he then entered East- man's Business College, from which' he was graduated in 1872. He then entered the First National Bank of Bennington, which was con- ducted by his father, Luther R. Graves, under whose careful and judicious training he de- veloped a rare aptitude for his calling. He began in the capacity of teller, and while thus engaged familiarized himself with all the details of bank- ing operations. In time a vacancy occurred, and he was advanced to the position of cashier, one for which he was thoroughly qualified, and in which he acquitted himself most admirably. In 1894 his father died, and he succeeded to the presidency, the position which he has, since con- tinuously occupied. For some years prior to the death of his father, he had been recognized as .his associate and equal in business concerns. As a matter of fact, the father had relied greatly · upon the judgment of the son, realizing that youth was more alert than age in recognizing ever-changing conditions in the fields of finance and commerce. So it was that the younger Graves entered upon his new duties with ample qualifications. He, had full knowledge of the condition and possibilities of the house to the headship of which he was called, and he was closely in touch with the great field of finance at large. While ambitious to excel in business, and to improve every opportunity presented, he has been at the same time conservative and judicious, and the institution over which he presides has shown a healthy and steady advance during the nearly eight years of his presidency. His bank is recognized as one of the most wisely conducted and substantial in the state, and it easily ranks sixth among the forty-two under national charter and inspection.

Mr. Graves is a leader in the community in all measures tending to advance its interests, but is averse to conspicuousness in public affairs. For nearly a score of years he served as town and village treasurer, for several terms was pub- lic school treasurer, and for twenty years past has been county treasurer, but these positions came to him in a purely business way, without reference to political interests, his father having been his immediate official predecessor in each

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instance, and the accounts committed to him being already practically m lus keeping. Mr. Graves is in sympathy with the Baptist church, through carly associations, and is a liberal con- tributot to the support of the local body of that denomination, as well as of other worthy objects. Ile was an early member of the Bennington Bat- tle Monument and Historical Society, of which he has been treasurer since 1894, and he is a prominent member of Mohegan Tribe, Independ- ent Order of Red Men.

On June 9, 1881, Mr. Graves was married to Miss Lizzie Belle Woodman, born in Dunkirk, New York, October 16, 1856. Her parents were Joseph H. and Roxanna (Doe) Woodman; the father was a native of Sanbornton, New Hamp- shire, born May 1, 1832, and the mother was a native of Andover, Massachusetts, born Decem- ber 15, 1827. Her paternal ancestors were of early colonial times, the first being Edward, who came from England in the ship James, and set- tled in Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1635. He was a man of strong character, and of command- ing influence in public affairs. He was one of the fifteen out of ninety-one of the grantees of Newbury who were privileged to be called "Mas- ter," from which our present "Mr." has been abbreviated, with entire loss of the dignity which once attached to the title. He occupied various positions of honor and trust; he was deputy to the general court in 1636-7, 1639 and 1643, and was for many years one of a committee "to settle and end small causes." The Woodmans bore a prominent part in the war for independence. A full account of the family appears in "History of Sanbornton," by Runmells, published in 1881, and in the "History of Newbury and Westbury, from 1635 to 1845," by Joshua Coffen, published by Samuel G. Drake in 1845.

Through her honorable ancestry, Mrs. Graves is a member of the order of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and is active in numerous social, literary and charitable organizations. She is a lady of many accomplishments, has traveled extensively, is an earnest student, and particularly well versed in New England genealogy. Her ar- tistic taste is well displayed in the beautiful fam- ily residence which is her home, and which was erected under her supervision. Of her mar- riage with Mr. Graves were born, in Bennington,

four children. The eldest, a daughter, was born July 28, 1882, and lived only three days. The children living are Hope, born December 15, 1884; Ruth, born November 5, 1886; and Luther Russell, namesake for his paternal grandfather, born September 29, 1893.

CAPTAIN DAVID C. GORHAM.

Captain David C. Gorham, a veteran agri- culturist of Westminster, and an honored and re- spected citizen, was born at South Hollow, March 9, 1818. Reared on a farm, he attended the dis- trict school, after which he completed his studies at Ashby Academy, then taught school one term. He took great interest in military tactics, and was captain of the last company of volunteers trained in the West Parish; it being disbanded on the organization of the state militia.

Captain Gorham spent two years of his earlier manhood in business in Boston, then located on his present farm property of nearly five hundred acres. He carries on general farming, including stock-raising, having about forty head of cattle of a good grade, two hundred sheep, and a num- ber of horses. He deals extensively in horses, of which he is a good judge, handling some of great value, and was the first to receive the hun- dred-dollar premium at the agricultural fair held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Among the noted horses which he has sold, is a gelding, "Green Mountain Morgan," a family driving horse, for which he received five hundred dollars. He oc- cupies a substantial dwelling house, the oldest in the parish, and his other buildings, which are commodious and well equipped, are new, having been erected to replace barns that were set on fire by an incendiary, who plead "guilty" when caught, and was convicted. Captain Gorham mar- ried, October 1, 1848, Jane Wilcox, by whom he has four children, namely: Henry C .; Susan J .; Clara; and Edwin E., of Boston, Massachusetts.

CHARLES HENRY CONVERSE.

Charles Henry Converse, one of the enterpris- ing and progressive agriculturists of East Put- ney, Vermont, is a descendant of Norman-Hugue- not stock, and the name was spelled, in France, Coinguierse, but in the time of William the Con-

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queror the family removed to England, and the name was gradually change first to Conzers and later to Converse.

Edward Converse, the pioneer of the name in this country, came over with Winthrop's famous company in 1630, and he was very prom- inently identified with all the affairs of the new colony of Massachusetts, especially those that pertained to the public welfare. He was instru- mental in building the Charleston ferry, and it was chiefly through his efforts that the founda- tion of the town of Woburn was laid. In 1640 he erected the first building there, and from 1644 until his death, which occurred in 1663, he was annually elected to serve as selectman of the town, and in 1660 he was chosen to act as deputy to the general court. His descendants are to be found in every state of the Union. Deacon Thomas Converse, great-great-grandfather of C. H. Converse, was born in Manchester county, Massachusetts, in 17II. He removed to Thom- son, Connecticut, in 1730, where Joel Converse, great-grandfather of C. H. Converse, was born in 1750; he emigrated to the township of Lyme, New Hampshire, in 1788. Marquis Converse, grandfather of C. H. Converse, was born in Lyme, New Hampshire, in 1789, and Major P. Mills Converse, father of C. H. Converse, was born in the same town in 1820.

C. H. Converse, son of Major P. Mills Con- verse, was born in Lyme, New Hampshire, Au- gust 25, 1847. He received his education in the common schools of his native town, and he com- menced his business career with the Passumpsic (now a division of Boston & Maine) Railroad, in Sherbrook, province of Quebec, where he was engaged to learn the freight and passenger busi- ness. So faithfully did he perform his duties that after being in their employ for fifteen months he was appointed freight and passenger agent at Sherbrook, where he remained for nine years. At the expiration of that time he located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where he acted in the same capacity for three years; he then gave up the railroad business and removed to Thetford, Ver- mont, where'he was engaged in agricultural pur- suits for three years ; he was thereafter engaged as billing clerk with the Central Vermont Railroad for three years in Brattleboro; later he was ap- pointed to the position of freight cashier at New

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol II, Part 48

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed Publication date: 1903 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1044