Person:Anthony Graves (1)

Information on Anthony Graves

Anthony GRAVES was born on 4 Feb 1800 in Sharps Chapel, Union, TN. He died on 11 Jan 1882 in Guilford, Nodaway, Missouri. Anthony's father, John, gave him a male and a female slave for a wedding gift. He sold both slaves for $1,100 in sliver. He took the silver to Missouri with him to buy and make improvements on the land located near Guilford. Abut 1828 he planned to move from Tennessee to Iowa and in order to finance his trip he started a shipment of produce and whiskey down the Clinch River to Alabama. The boat sank and Anthony then returned to his fathers home and stayed on two years. He then began the 800 mile journey overland to Missouri. They traveled by wagons, pulled with oxen and the journey took several weeks. He arrived in the fall of 1840. Even though Anthony had his own distillery in Tennessee and worked for two others in Missouri, he was a very temperate man. When offered a drink, he always declined saying "No, I've had a drink today." Anthony donated land for a cemetery to the town of Guilford which became the Graves Cemetery, where many of the Graves family are buried. Parents: John GRAVES and Sarah (Sallie) SHARP.

Source: http://www.familyorigins.com/users/f/e/n/Martin-L-Fenimore/FAMO1-0001/d115.htm#P2925