John Graves

John Graves (c. 1653–1730), son of John Graves and Mary Smith

Sarah White (c. 1661–1741), daughter of Sergeant John White and Sarah Bunce

John was born about 1653. [1] He died on 2 December 1730. [2] He married Sarah White on 12 February 1677 in Hatfield, Hampshire county, Massachusetts. [3, 53]

Sarah was the daughter of John White and Sarah Bunce. [2] She was born about 1661. She died on 3 January 1741, age 79 years.

Sarah is buried with her apparent grandson. Their gravestone in the Old Deerfield Burying Ground in Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts says: [4]

Mrs. Sarah wife of Mr. John Graves Died Janr 3, 1741 Aged 79 Years. Job Son of Mr. Daniel & Mrs. Thankful Graved Died August 12, 17[..] age 9 mo.

John took the oath of allegiance on 8 February 1678 in Hatfield. [1]

In 1693 John Graves, Sr. was permitted to build a malthouse in Hatfield in front of his house. [1]

John had a first cousin John (Isaac, Thomas), who lived in Hatfield at the same time and also married a woman named Sarah. This causes confusion.

Children of John Graves and Sarah White:

i. Sarah Graves was born on 15 February 1678/9 in Hatfield. She married Nathaniel Clark.

ii. John Graves was born on 28 March 1681 in Hatfield. [3, 151][2] He died in August 1716. [2] He married his second cousin Jemima Graves on 5 May 1717. Jemima, the daughter of John (Isaac, Thomas) and Sarah (Banks) Graves, married second Eleazer Allis on 17 March 1720. [5]

iii. Mary Graves was born on 24 February 1682/3 in Hatfield. [3, 157][2] She married Jeremiah Waite on 4 April 1706 in Hatfield. [3, 242][2]

iv. Thomas Graves was born on 4 July 1685. [2] He died in October 1689 in Hatfield. [3, 302]

v. Abigail Graves was born on 29 October 1687 in Hatfield. [3, 160][2] She died on 20 November 1773. She married Francis Wilcox. [2, no first name]

Abigail's gravestone in the Old Burying Ground in Cromwell, Middlesex County, Connecticut says: [4]

In memory of Mrs Abigail Relict of Mr Francis Wilcox who died Novr 20th, 1773 Aged 88 Years.

vi. Martha Graves was born on 4 November 1689 in Hatfield. [3, 161][2] She married John Crafts in 1716. [2]

vii. Daniel Graves was born on 13 October 1690. [2] He apparently died young.

viii. Thomas Graves was born on 5 June 1693 in Hatfield. [3, 162][2]

viii. Daniel Graves was born on 28 January 1697/8 in Hatfield. [3, 164][2] He died in 1757. [2] He married the widow Thankful ___. [2]

ix. Rebecca Graves was born on 4 May 1700 in Hatfield. [3, 165][2] She died on 6 October 1743. [2] She married Moses Nash of Hadley. [2] He died on 26 January 1760. [2]

Endnotes:

1. Daniel White Wells and Reuben Field Wells, History of Hatfield, Massachusetts (Springfield: F.C.H. Gibbons, c. 1910), 106, 126.

2. Allyn S. Kellogg, Memorials of Elder John White (Hartford: Case, Lockwood and Co., 1860), 28.

3. "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620–1850," database with images, AmericanAncestors.org > Hatfield.

4. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 16 July 2023), memorial pages for

Sarah White Graves (12 Feb 1661–3 Jan 1741), Memorial ID 55563990, citing Old Deerfield Burying Ground, Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts; Maintained by the moo (contributor 46834101).

Abigail Graves Willcox (29 Oct 1687–20 Nov 1773), Memorial ID 70776525, citing Old Burying Ground, Cromwell, Middlesex County, Connecticut; Maintained by Gene Stephan (contributor 48184541).

5. John Montague Smith, Henry Walbridge Taft and Abbie Talitha Montague, History of the Town of Sunderland, Massachusetts (Greenfield, MA: E.A. Hall & Co., 1899), 349–50.

Last revised: 16-Jul-2023