William GRAVES

     
     William GRAVES was born on 9 July 1755 in Caroline County, Virginia, son of William GRAVES and Dorothy STERN.^1,2
     While living in Henry County, Virginia William enlisted as a private, conductor of wagons, in the American Continental Line. He served in the quartermaster corps of John Fontain's company of Henry County Militia, which on 11 May 1783 was ordered from Henry County to Gen. Greene at Hillsborough, North Carolina. He was`in command of wagon trains under William McGraw, acting Quartermaster at Petersburg, Virginia. In 1784 he received a land grant for 287 1/2 acres in Oglethorpe County, Georgia in recognition of his military service.^3,2
     William married Sarah SMITH, daughter of Charles SMITH and Nancy Burks, on 5 November 1782 in Bedford County, Virginia.^4,5
     William GRAVES of Oglethorpe County, Georgia and Peyton GRAVES of Franklin County, Virginia on 17 October 1812 sold for $500 to Timothy and Stephen Pate of Smith County and Willoughby(?) Pate of Jackson County, Tennessee, 426 acres in Smith County and Jackson counties, Tennessee, being part of a grant to Francis Graves from the State of North Carolina, and conveyed by William and Peyton Graves, heirs of Francis Graves. Witnesses: William Low, Thomas Draper. Proved and recorded March 1813. [Smith County Deed Book D, pg. 209-10]
     William GRAVES and Sarah SMITH moved from Oglethorpe County, Georgia to Montgomery County, Mississippi Territory in the winter of 1817 and settled at Manack Station in the upper northeast corner of what is now Lowndes County, Alabama. At that time Alabama was part of the Mississippi Territory. Autauga county wasn't created until 1818 and Lowndes County in 1830. Alabama gained statehood in 1819. William operated a ferry across the Alabama River from Autauga to Lowndes county.³
     John Hardy, in an 1867 newspaper article on the history of Autauga County, mentioned the first camp meeting held in Autauga County: "In 1819 or 1820, the Methodists held a camp meeting a few miles west of Washington, which is a memorable epoch in their history in the county. Large numbers were added to the church, and many are living yet who refer to that meeting with lively interest." Rev. Anson West in his book on early Methodists adds that "the first Camp-ground established in Autauga County was at or near Graves' Ferry, a few miles from the town of Washington, down the Alabama River, and known as Graves Camp-ground, so called for William Graves who had a ferry on the river. Camp-meetings were held there for many years..." This meeting was also mentioned by Shadrack Mims in his county history, and refers to William as "Billy Graves."^6,7
     William owned extensive lands on the Alabama River at Graves Landing where he established a plantation and lived until his death in 1836. In 1821 he was appointed together with Edward Moseley, Benjamin Davis, John Hughes, and William Laprade to select a site for the Montgomery county courthouse. When Lowndes county was established by an act of the legislature approved 20 January 1830, his plantation fell within the Lowndes limits, not far from the Montgomery county line.³
     William GRAVES appeared as head of household on a census enumerated 1830 in Lowndes County, Alabama. The household was listed as Two males under 5, one male 10-15, one male 15-20, one male 50-60 [William], three females under 5, one female 5-10, one female 15-20, and one female 30-40.
     William Graves and Warren Stone were the primary members of the Union Baptist Church in Manack. It is one of the oldest churches in the state and they remodeled the log structure in the early 1830s.
     William GRAVES died on 24 February 1836 in Manack Station, Lowndes County, Alabama, at age 80.⁸ He was buried in the Graves Burying Ground. The cemetery is located a short way south and west of the old Manack Station on the old road from Montgomery to Selma. The cemetery is now on property owned by GE Plastics.
     William GRAVES left a will that was written on 23 February 1836 in Autauga County, Alabama. Recorded in Reports Book C, 1834-1838, on page 347, his inhertors were: his grandson, Young William Gravesp; his wife, Sarah, and his "children and their heirs as follows, viz. to the heirs of the body of Mary Alexander; the heirs of the body of Susan Clark; to Sally Vaner and the heirs of her body; to Dorothy Fitzpatrick and heirs of her body; to Martha Shelton and the heirs of her body; William Graves, jr. and his heirs; to Charles Graves and his heirs; to David Graves and his heirs; to P. S. Graves and his heirs... that William Graves, Jr. and David Graves... be my executors..."