A Long Time Ago/14 Graves

From Wally Atkins Family Wiki

Graves

This page is part of A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families, the chunked book edition on the Wally Atkins Family Wiki.

  • Book section: Graves
  • Page range in the book: 112-118
  • Chunk order: 14 of 36

This section has been lightly cleaned and reconstructed from the working transcript and related extracted notes. It preserves the strongest readable Graves material, especially where the line connects into the later Lawson and Atkins branch.

Source note

  • Book: A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families
  • Transcript source: `013-graves.md`
  • Companion extracted material used: `arrivals-in-virginia-context-notes.md`
  • Editorial note: the local transcript begins with carryover from the preceding Yeardley/Flowerdew/Custis material, so this page emphasizes the clearest Graves-centered narrative and later direct-line relevance

Cleaned import

The Graves branch matters to the Wally Atkins family story chiefly because it feeds directly into the Lawson line through Martha Graves Lawson, mother of Paulina Sue Lawson.

Captain Thomas Graves

The early Virginia context in the book identifies Captain Thomas Graves as arriving in Virginia in October 1608 on the second supply ship, the Mary and Margaret. It also names Katherine as his wife and notes that later members of the family appear in Northampton County and other parts of Virginia.

The broader Graves chapter describes Captain Thomas Graves as one of the early colonial figures of consequence, a man who became associated with both the first years of settlement and the developing political life of the colony.

The later Graves descent

The surviving Graves material and connected notes say that the later branch continued through a long Virginia and North Carolina line until the family reached the generation that matters most directly to the later Atkins branch.

The key point for the later direct line is that Martha Graves married William Lawson. Through that marriage, the Graves line enters the Lawson branch and eventually the Atkins branch.

Martha Graves Lawson

The extracted chapter material says that Martha Graves married William Lawson on December 25, 1817. They became the parents of Paulina Sue Lawson, who later married Patrick Henry Atkins.

This makes the Graves chapter more than a remote colonial digression. It is one of the maternal branches that feeds directly into the later Mecklenburg and Charlotte County family story.

Why Graves matters

The Graves branch matters in this book for two reasons at once:

  • it reaches back into the earliest Virginia settlement through Captain Thomas Graves
  • it comes back into the direct Wally Atkins line through Martha Graves Lawson and Paulina Sue Lawson

That combination makes Graves one of the chapters where deep colonial history and the later family branch actually meet each other.

Context notes

  • Graves works best when read together with A Long Time Ago/05 Lawson and A Long Time Ago/02 Atkins.
  • The early Captain Thomas Graves material helps anchor the colonial side of the family story.
  • The marriage of Martha Graves to William Lawson is the key bridge into the later direct line.

Related pages

Navigation

Retrieved from "https://family.wallyatkins.com/index.php?title=A_Long_Time_Ago/14_Graves&oldid=197"