Graves Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Graves/Grave Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
This last name has seven different origin theories and meanings. First, it is a locational name meaning “of the grave”, similar to Greaves, an earlier form of Grove or Greave (the Anglo-Saxon word graf), denoting a person who lived in or near a grove, a small woods or forest or group of trees. Second, it is an official or metonymic surname meaning “the graff”, a position that was a clerk or scribe, or, as another author states, was a minor official appointed by the lord of the manor to oversee his tenant’s work. Third, it is an occupational name deriving from the Middle English world greyve, meaning steward, in turn deriving from the Old Norse word greifi or the Low German word greve. Fourth, it can an Anglicized or Americanized spelling of the German surname Graff or Gräff. Fifth, one theory is that it a topographic name deriving from the Middle Low German word grave, meaning ditch, channel, or moat, referring to a person who lives next to or nearby such a physical feature, which is contained within the name of several locales throughout the north of Germany. Sixth, it some assert this is a French topographic name from the Old French word grave, meaning gravel, denoting a person who lived on gravelly soil (of Celtic origin?). One source asserts Grave was originally used as a personal (first) name during medieval times and the Middle Ages in Christendom. Seventh, one source asserts this is a baptismal last name meaning the son of Reeve (an old English name meaning steward), first being found in Derbyshire where the family held land and titles. One source states the name can be traced back to Languedoc, a former province in south eastern France, which I assume came to the British Isles during the Norman Invasion of 1066 AD led by William the Conqueror. In Ireland, the Graves are an Anglo-Irish family closely associated with Trinity College.

Spelling Variations
Some spelling variants or names with similar etymologies include Grave, Grave, Grives, Grieve, Greeces, Groaves, Graeves, Graaves, Gravees, Grayves, Graives, and about 45 others. Graves is a patronymic or baptismal version of the last name Grave. The name is also contained with several other surnames such as Musgrave, Hargrave, Congrave, Isgrave, Slograve, and Brograve.

Popularity & Geographic Distribution
The last name Graves ranks 340^th in popularity in the United Status as of the 2000 Census. The name ranks particularly high in the following four states: Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Vermont. The spelling variants Grave is much less common, ranking 30,010^th. The surname Graves frequency/commonness ranks as follows in the British Isles: England (1,035^th), Scotland (2,095^th), Wales (1,062^nd), Ireland (6,284^th) and Northern Ireland (3,642^nd). In England, it ranks highest in county Lincolnshire. In Scotland, the surname ranks highest in Dumfriesshire. In Wales, it ranks highest in Anglesey. In Ireland, it ranks highest in counties Kerry, Dublin, Waterford, and Wicklow. In Northern Ireland, it ranks highest in county Fermanagh. The name is also present throughout the remainder English speaking world:  Canada (1,489^th), New Zealand (1,928^th), Australia (2,194^th), and South Africa (10,268^th). The 1890 book Homes of Family Names by H.B. Guppy, states the following in regard to this surname: “Greaves, which is a characteristic name of the midland counties, has long been a Worcestershire name. The old family of Greves held some position in the county. Daniel Greves, probably a member of this family, bought certain lands in King’s Norton of Richard Amphlett in 1669”.

Early Bearers of the Surname
One of the earliest bearers documented to history was Robert Greyue who was listed in the Records of the Borough of Nottinghamshire in 1255 AD. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 AD, a census of Wales and England, known in Latin as Rotuli Hundredorum lists four bearers of this surname: Edith de la Grave (Oxfordshire), Henry de la Grave (Oxfordshire), Hugh de la Grave (Somerset), and John de la Grave (county Wiltshire). Geoffrey de la Grave was recorded in county Gloucester, England around during the 1200s or early 1300s in the Testa de Neville, sive Liber Feoforum. Sibilla de la Grave was documented in county Gloucester in the Plactia de Quo Warranto around the year 1291 AD. Robert atte Grave was documented in 1300 AD in the Writs of Parliament. The Poll Tax of Yorkshire in 1379 AD lists four bearers of this last name: Johannes Graue, Adam Grayf, Johanna Grayf, and Robertus Grayff. Early marriages involving this surname was Edmund Grave to Dorothy Smith at Westminster, England (modern day United Kingdom also still sometimes called Great Britain) in 1600 AD and Rose Graves to John Johnson at St. James Clerkenwell in 1607 AD.

Graves Family Tree & Graves Genealogy

Graves of Cloghan Castle
The lineage or ancestry of this family is traced back to John Graves, Burgess of Limerick, Ireland, who was a Sheriff of said city in 1719. He married Anne and had three children with her as follows: James, Richard (Sheriff of Limerick, married Miss Jane Meggs and had a son named Harry Meggs), and Abigail. His eldest son, Reverend James Graves, Rector of Kilfinnan and Darragh, was born in 1713 and in 1744, he married Jane, daughter of Reverend Thomas Ryder, and had issue with her as follows: 1) Reverend Thomas (Scholar of Trinity College in Dublin, Dean of Ardfert, married Ann Dunlevie, had issue named Major General James William, John Crosbie, Thomas Ryder, Captain William Henry, Arabella, and Anne), James William (of the Royal Navy, first married Ms. Fawson and had sons with her names James and Thomas, and later married Ms. Hilliard, having issue with her named Robert, Jane, and Harriet), Reverend John (Rector of Ballingarry, first married Ms. Ryves hading a son with her named James William who had 21 children, and later married Ms. Bellew with whom he had issue named Hugh Ryves, Thomas Ryder, Major-General Harry Merggs, Richard, William, Mabella, Jane, Sidney, Frederick Elderston, Katherine, Sybella, Margaret, and Bessie), Reverend Richard, Patty, and Anne. He died in 1783. His fourth son, Very Reverend Richard Graves, D.D., was born in 1763 and he was a Regius Professor of Divinity. He married Eliza Mary, daughter of Reverend Doctor Drought, and fathered the following children with her as follows: James, Reverend Richard Hastings, Hercules Henry, Robert James, Eliza (married Dr. Meredyth and later Mr. Burton), Jane (married Reverend MacDonnell of Trinity College in Dublin), Ann (married Edward Johnson of Ballymacash and John Mayne), and Harriet (married Matthew Brinkley, son of Bishop Brinkley), and Arabella. He died in 1829. His fourth son, Robert James, was an Esquire of Merrion Square in Dublin who married three times: Ms. Jane Eustace, Sarah (daughter of John Brinkley, Bishop of Cloyne), and Anna (daughter of Reverend William Grogan of Slaney Park). He died in 1853. He had six children as follows: Reverend Richard Drought (married Henrietta Katharine, daughter of Henry Mussenden Leathes, and had issue with her named Robert de Mussenden, Richard Henry de Mussenden, and Georgina Mary), William Grogan (see below), Georgina Arabella (married Edward Blackburne, Esquire of Rathfarnham Castle), Eliza Mary (married Thomas P. St. George Armstrong), Olivia Drew (married J. Cassie Hatton of Montreal), and Florence Beldina. His son William Grogan Graves was an Esquire of Cloghan Castle, King’s County, Justice of the Peace, and Lieutenant Colonel of the 82^nd Regiment who was born in 1838. In 1877, he married Georgina, daughter of Reverend Joseph Marshall of Baronne Coutr and Sophia Kennedy, and had a son with her named Robert Kennedy Grogan who was born in 1878. The Graves Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Graves Family Crest by those unfamiliar with heraldry and genealogy) is blazoned as follows: Per pale gules and azure an eagle displayed ducally crowned or, in the dexter chief point a cross patonce of the last. Crest: A demi-eagle displayed and erased or, encircle round the body below the wings with a ducal coronet gules each wing charged with a cross patonce also gules. Motto: Aquila non captat muscas.  This family was seated at Clogan Castle, Banagher, King’s County, Ireland.

Baron Graves
James Graves, who descended from an ancient Yorkshire family, married the daughter and co-heir of Sir John Herdman, Knight of Stannington West Riding, county York, and had several issue with her including: Samule (ancestor of Sir Charles Brune Graves-Sawle, Baronet) and Thomas. The younger son, Thomas, was a Rear Admiral of Thankes, Cornwall who was born in 1680. In 1723, he married his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert Budgell of St. Thomas’s, and had two sons with her: William (Masters in Chancery) and Thomas. Thomas Graves was born in 1725 and became the 1^st Baron Graves. He was a distinguished Naval Officer who took part in the battle between Admiral Earl Howe and the French Fleet in 1794 for which he was elevate to the peerage of Ireland in 1794 as Lord Graves, Baron of Gravesend, county Londonderry. In 17771, he married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of William Peere Williams of Chadleigh, with whom he had numerous issue including the following: Thomas (2^nd Baron), Elizabeth Anne (married William Bagwell of Kilmore in 1802), Anne Elizabeth (married Sir Thomas Hare in 1803), and Margaret Anne (married Captain Nesham of the Royal Navy). He died in 1802 and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas. This Thomas North, 2^nd Baron Graves, was born in May 1775 He became a Member of Parliament for Okehampton, Windsor, and Melborne Port from 1812-1827, and held several other positions of note. In 1803, he married Lady Mary Paget, daughter of the 1^st Earl of Uxbridge, sister of the 1^st Marquess Anglesey, and had two issue with her including: William Thomas (3^rd Baron), Henry Richard (married Henrietta Wellesley, had many children with her named Henry Cyril Percy, 5^th Baron, William Spencer Pages, Commander of the Royal Navy, Claude Thomas, Algernon Sydney George, Captain Major Adolphus Edward Paget). He secondly married, in 1889, Katherine Louisa, daughter of Colonel Henry C. Ward, and had issue with her include Captain Evelyn Paget, Alewyn Montagu who fought in World War I, and Irene. He thirdly married, in 1909, Hilda May, daughter of David Cruickshank of Queen Anne’s Mansions, having issue with her as well: Vernon North (Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy who served in World War II, married Elizabeth Constance, daughter of Captain R.F. Penrose-Fitz-Gerald, had issue with her named Janice Penrose), and others. His lordship died n 1830 and he was succeeded by his eldest son, William. This William Thomas, 3^rd Baron Graves, was born in 1804 and was a Page of Honor to His Royal Highness The Prince Regent and also a Captain of the Coldstream Guards. He married his second wife, Sophie Therese, daughter of General Berthier, and had issue with her as follows: Clarence Edward (4^th Baron), Jane Adele (married William Thomas Fernie of Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey), and Adele Isabella (married George W.C. Soltau-Symons of Chaddlewood, Devon, England). He died in 1870 and was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Clarance. Clarence Edward, 4^th Baron Graves, was a Justice of the Peace of Cornwall, England and a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy who was born in 1847. In 1870, he married Katherine Frederica, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas W.C. Murdoch and had three issue with her, including a daughter named Violet Georgiana Adele. All three children died without posterity, so when Clarence died in 1904, he was succeeded by his cousin Henry. Henry Cyril Percy, 5^th Baron Graves, was born in 1847 and in 1870 he married Elizabeth Ellen, Henry Craven of Wickham Hall, Kent, England and had issue with her, including Clarence Percy (6^th Baton), and Maud Evelyn (married John Drysdale Sandars of Gate Burton Hall, Knaith Hall, and North Sandsfield in 1902). He died in 1914 and was succeeded by his son Clarence. Clarence Percy Rivers, 6^th Baron Graves, was born in 1871 and in 1903, he married his cousin, Mary Ada Isabel (of Green Hedges, Crowborough, Sussex), daughter of Edward Corbett Parker and Georgiana Louisa Alice, and had fathered two children with her as follows: Cerise Evelyn Georgina (born 1906) and Rosemary Alice Audrey (married Major Herbert Edward Osborne, son of Edward). He died in 1937 without posterity. He was succeeded by his kinsman, Henry Algernon Claude, in 1937. The Baron Graves, Henry Algernon Claude Graces, Baron of Gravesend, county Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was a Captain of the Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry and Lieutenant in 3^rd Coy of London Yeomanry who was born in 1877. In 1909, he married Vera Blance Neville, daughter of Alfred Neville Snepp, and had a son with her named Peter George Wellesley. This Peter George Wellesley Graves, the 8^th Baron, was born in 1911 and was an English actor and was educated at Harrows. In 1960, he married Winifred Ruby Moule, but the marriage was childless. When he died in 1994, he was succeeded by his second cousin Evelyn. Evelyn Paget Graves, 9^th Baron Graves, was born in Tasmania, Australia in 1926. He was a farmer and peer who married Marjorie Ann and had two sons and two daughters with her. He also had 10. He died in 2002 and was succeeded by his son Timothy Evelyn Graves grandchildren.  The Graves Coat of Arms for this family was blazoned in the European art of heraldry as follows: Gules, an eagle displayed, or, ducally crowned argent, on a canton, of the last, an anchor proper. Crest: A demi-eagle, displayed and erased, or, encircles round the body and below the wings by a ducal coronet argent. Supporters: Two royal vultures, wings close, proper. Motto: Aquila non captat muscas. The family residence was on Davies Street.

Other Graves Pedigree and Family Trees
The progenitor or ancestor of this family was Thomas Grevis was born between 1100 and 1170 AD. He married Margaret Astley and had a son with her named John Dela Grevis or Grevis. John Grevis  was born around 1175 AD. His son was Hugo Greaves who was born around 1200 AD. His son was William Graves who was born in 1230 AD. He had a son named Giles who was born in 1290. With his wife Leticia, he had a son named Thomas.  This Thomas was born around 1320 AD. He had sons named William and John. His son John Greaves, or John DeLaGreves was born in Beeley, Derbyshire, England around 1360. He married and had a son named John Graves who was born in England in 1375. He married and had a son named John as well. This son John was born in England in 1461. He had a son named Robert. This Robert Graves was born in England in 1485.

Samuel Graves was born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England in 1594. He came to Massachusetts in colonial America. He had three sons: Thomas, Mark, and Samuel. His sons had children as follows:

1) Thomas Graves was born in 1620, married Hannah Simmons, and had the following children: Amy, Hannah (Smith), Thomas, Mark, Ann, Sarah (Leighton), Samuel, and Elizabeth (Brewer).
2) Mark Graves was born in King’s Lynn, England in 1623 and he married Amy (last name not known) and Elizabeth Knight, having the following children: Abraham, Ebenezer, Mary (Haskell), Dorcas (Abbott), Hannah, Emma (Haskell), Ruth, Sarah, Mark, Hester, Mark, Margaret A. (McRory), and Thomas.
3) Samuel Graves was born in England in 1629, married Grace Beamsley, and had the following children with her: Jonathan, Samuel, John, Mary, Hannah (Pottle), and Elizabeth Choate. Samuel’s son Samuel was born in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts in August of 1658. He married Joanna Pearce and had the following issue with her: Moses, John, Martha (Foster), Abigail, Mary, Samuel, and Elizabeth. His son John Graves was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1678 and he married Hannah Perkins, fathering four children with her: John, Beamsley, Hannah, and John. His son John was born in 1741 and married Elizabeth (last name not known), having three issue with her: John, Moses, and Elizabeth.

A one Johannes Sebastian “John” “Boston” Graff was born in Hoffenheim, Baden, Germany around 1703. He came to colonial America where it appears his last name or surname was Americanized as Graves. He married Maria Magdalena Fuchs and had the following issue with her: Barbara (Sharp_, John Jacob, Sebastian, Maria Philpena (Sharp), and Peter. His son Sebastian (Boston) Graves was born in Pennsylvania in 1747. He married Sarah Efland and had numerous issue with her named Catherine (married William Sharp), Daniel (married Sophia Clapp), Elizabeth (married David Clapp), Mary (George Trout), John (married Mary Trout), Peter (married Jane Milton), George (married Ann Rutherford), Henry (Elizabeth Ann Grills), and Daniel Graves (married Mary Holloway). His son John G. Graves was born in North Carolina and he married Margaret Trout and had a son with her named James M. James was born in Tennessee in 1821 and he married Nancy Gibbs. They had a son with her named William Hickle Graves who was born in Knox, Tennessee in 1854. He married twice: Emma Belle Renfro and Sarah Lucreta Skaggs, and had a daughter with her named Lillian. This Lillian was born in the 1900s, and she married Mr. Pearce, having issue with him include Jimmie (Powell) and Joe. She passed away in the 1960s.

Thomas Graves Sr. was born in Lamborne, England in 1556. His son Thomas Graves was born in Lambourne, Berkshire, England in 1580, went to Virginia in 1608. He married Katherine Croshaw and had the following children with her: John, Thomas Jr, Verlinda (Stone), Anne (Doughty), Elizabeth, Frances (Truitt), Katherine (Sprigg), Henry, Virginia, and Francis. Three of his sons had issue:

1) Francis Graves born in Jamestown, Virginia, had: John, Francis Jr., Richard, Thomas
2) John Graves born in Kent England had: Ralph.
3) Thomas Graves Jr. had: Thomas III, William, Ralph, Sarah, Thomas, Elizabeth Flora (Eaves), Jeffrey, Mary, and William.

The aforementioned Thomas III was born in Elizabeth City Count, Virginia in 1630. He married Mary Perrin and also Elizabeth (last name not known) and was the father of four children: Isaac, Frances, Robert, and Mary. His son Robert Graves was born in Virginia in 1682 and he married a woman named Mary. Three issue resulted from this marriage: Thomas, Robert, and James. His son James was born in Culpeper County, VA and he married Mary Copeland, having the following issue with her: Robert, Richard, Thomas, James, Francis, Mary, Sarah, Susannah, and William W. His son William W. Graves was born in Lincoln, Georgia in 1769. He married Nancy Middleton and had the following children with her: Robert, Catherine, Humphrey, Lott, John, Middleton, and James. His son John was born in Virginia in 1800 and he married Sarah Warren, having a son with her named Humphrey. Humphrey was born in Georgia in 1795. He married Sarah Cook and had a son with her named William. This William Graves was born in Louisiana in 1820 and he married Nancy, having a daughter with her named Alice, who was born in 1847. Alice married Benjamin Mid Foles and had two children with him: Mary Ann Foles and Benjamin Mid Foles. Jr. She passed away in 1916.

Early American and New World Settlers
Captain Thomas Graves came to America aboard the Mary and Margrett in 1607.
Richard Graves, age 23, came to New England aboard the Abigall in June 1635.
George Graves (or Granes? Or Graues?), was recorded as living in Virginia in February 1623.
Rose, daughter of Robert Graves, was buried in February 1679 in the Barbados
Mary Robert Graves, was buried in February 1679 in the Barbados
Joan Grave, age 30, came to New England aboard the Hopewell in September 1635.
Mary Grave, age 26, came to New England aboard the Hopewell in September 1635.
Thomas Grave, along with his wife Margrett, son William (age 3), and daughter Jone (age 6) came to Virginia in the early 1600s.
William Grave, age 12, came to New England in 1635.

The book Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers, mentions five bearers of this last name:
1) George Graves of Hartford, Connecticut, an original proprietor, was a representative in 1657, and had two daughters and two sons named John and George. He died in 1673.
2) John Graves of Roxbury, Massachusetts, who came in 1633, along with his wife and five children named John, Samuel, Sarah, Mary, and Jonathan. After his wife died, he married Judith Alward or Allard, and had a daughter named Hannah born in 1636. He was a freeman in 1637. He died in 1644.
3) Richard Graves of Boston, MA, had a daughter named Ruth, who in 1656, married Henry Keskeys
4) Robert Graves of Ipswich, 1638
5) Samuel Graves of Lynn, 1630, had son named Samuel and likely 7 other children
6) Samuel Graves of Ipswich, 1658, a feltmaker by trade, who married Grace, daughter of William Beamsley of Boston, where he may have earlier lived. He had children named Samuel (1658), John (1660), Elizabeth Hannah (1668), and Jonathan.
7) Thomas Graves of Charlestown, an engineer, who helped design said town in 1629, came aboard the fleet with Higginson, possibly with his wife and five children from Gravesend County, Kent, England (modern day United Kingdom), arriving in Salem, MA. He was made a freeman in 1630. He may have returned home in 1632.
8) Thomas Graves of Hartford, CT, an elderly man, 1645, move to Hadley. He may have brought children from England including Isaac, John, Samuel, Nathaniel, and a daughter. He died in 1662.
9) Thomas Graves of Charlestown, 1638, came nine years before mate of the Talbot, in which Higginson came to Salem, MA. He was the son of John, born in Ratcliffe, England, near London.  He was master of a ship between London and Boston. He was a freeman in 1640. He married Catherine Gray in England prior to 1635.  He was retarded the title of Rear Admiral by Parliament for his service and bravery. He died in 1653. He had issue named John, Thomas, Nathaniel, Joseph, Susanna, Rebecca, and Elizabeth.
10) William Graves of Dover, 1659.

Other early settlers in colonial America bearing this surname include Ellinor Graves (Virginia 1702), William Graves (Maryland 1740), Matthew Graves (New England 1747), and James Graves (1764). In Canada, one of the earliest bearers was Edward Graves, who came to Quebec in 1784.  In Australia, one of the earliest settlers with this last name was William Graves, a convict from London, England who came to New South Wales (then a penal colony) aboard the Almorah. In New Zealand, Mary Ann Graves came to the city of Auckland aboard the Empress in 1865, and in the same year, Sarah Jane Graves came aboard the Rob Roy.

Early Americans Bearing the Graves Family Crest
Charles Bolton’s American Armory (1927) contains two entries for this surname:
1) Gules an eagle displayed or [sometimes crowned] argent a martlet of the second for difference. Crest: an eagle displayed or, winged gules. Motto: Aquila non captat muscas. Tombstone of Thomas Graves, M. D., buried 1746, Charlestown, Mass. Vermont Amer. Heral., p. 68, 166.
2) Quarterly 1st and 4th: Gules an eagle displayed; 2 and 3: Argent a castle bet 3 battle axes sable (Hicks). Crest: a demi-eagle displayed erased [or] environed with a ducal coronet [gules]. Motto: Aquila non captat muscas. Bookplate Wm. Graves of Mass. (?).

Crozier’s General Armory (1904) contains one entry for this name:
1) Thomas Graves of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1628, from Sussex, England. Arms: Gules, an eagle displayed or, a martlet of the second for difference. Crest: An eagle displayed or, winged gules. Motto: Aquila non captat muscas.

Matthew’s American Armoury and Bluebook (1907) does not contain an entry for this name.

Mottoes
I have identified four Graves family mottoes:
1) Aquila non captat muscas (The eagle catcheth not flies)*
2) Superna quaerite (Seek things above)
3) Esse quam videri (To be rather than to seem)
4) Gravis dum suavis (Grave yet gentle or suave)
5) Graves disce mores (Learn serious manners)
6) Per sinum Codanum (Through the Baltic)
7) Spes mea in Deo (My hope is in God)
8) Dum Spiro Spero (While I breathe, I hope)
9) Suprema Quaero (I see the highest)
10) Superna Quaerite (Seek things above)
11) Spero infestis metuo secundis (I hope in adversity, and fear in prosperity)
12) Huic habeo non tibi (I hold to this one, not to thee)
13) Deo, non fortuna (Through God, not by chance)

*an altered version of an old Greek motto, an allusion to the eagle depicted within the family coat of arms.

Grantees
We have 13 coats of arms for the Graves surname depicted here. These 13 blazons are from Bernard Burke’s book The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, which was published in 1848. The bottom of this page contains the blazons, and in many instances contains some historical, geographical, and genealogical about where coat of arms was found and who bore it. People with this last name that bore an Graves Coat of Arms (or mistakenly called the Graves Family Crest) include:
1) James Grave of Heyton, Yorkshire, England and John Grave of London, both sons of William, grandsons of Robert, and great grandsons of John of Heyton. Crest granted 12 June 1591 by Cooke.

Notables
There are hundreds of notable people with the Graves surname. This page will mention a handful. Famous people with this last name include: 1) Adam Scott Graves (1968) who is a former hockey player born in Toronto, Canada who played in the NHL for four different teams from 1987-2003, 2) Charles Hinman Graves (1839-1928) was an US Army Officer who fought for the Union during the Civil War, 19^th Speaker of the House of Representatives, 8^th Mayor of Duluth, and an Ambassador to Sweden and Norway in the early 1900s, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, 3) Dorsett Vandeventer “Tubby” Graves (1886-1960) who was a head coach of college basketball, baseball, and football from 1911-1946, at schools such as Alabama, Texas A&M, Montana, and others, born in Lincoln County, Missouri, 4) Daniel Peter Graves (1973) who is a retired professional baseball player born in Saigon, South Vietnam who was a pitcher in MLB from 1996-2006 who played for four different teams, 5) James Robinson Graves (1820-1893) who was an American Baptist preacher, author, and debater born in Chester, Vermont, 6) John Thomas Graves Jr. (1970) who became a member of the US House of Representatives from Georgia in 2011, born in St. Petersburg, Florida, 7) John Thomas Graves (1842-1950) who was the last surviving Confederate soldier from the American Civil War who served under General Joseph O. Shelby’s Iron Brigade, 8) William Preston Graves (1953) who was an American politician that served as the 43^rd Governor of Kansas from 1995-2003 and was previously the 28^th Secretary of State, born in the city of Salinas, 9) Captain Thomas Graves, Esquire (1580-1635) who was an early farmer in Virginia, a stockholder in the Virginia Company of London, who served in the First Legislative Assembly, and 10) Lucia Graves (1943) who was a writer and translator (working in English, Spanish, and Catalan).

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (Hatfield, co. Berks; granted 17 Feb. 1773). Ar. a fesse az. betw. three escutcheons sa. each charged with a lion ramp. of the field. Crest—Within an annulet az. a like escutcheon, as in the arms.
2) (Thanks, co. Cornwall, Westfirle, co. Sussex, and Heyton, co. York). Gu. an eagle displ. or, beaked, membered, and ducally crowned ar. Crest—A demi eagle erased or, beaked gu. environed round the body with a ducal coronet ar.
3) (Reg. Ulster’s Office). Gu. a lion ramp. ar.
4) (Penrith, co. Cumberland). Gu. an eagle displ. ducally gorged or. Crest—Within a ducal coronet a demi eagle or.
5) (London and York; granted 12 June, 1591). Gu. an eagle ar. wings expanded, ducally gorged or. Crest—A demi eagle erased or, beaked gu. environed with a ducal coronet ar.
6) Gu. a demi lion ramp. ar. crowned or.
7) or Grane – Per bend gu. and vert (another, vert and gu.) an eagle displ. or.
8) (Ireland). Ar. on a fesse batelly counter-batelly sa. betw. three pellets, each charged with a talbot’s head erased of the field, a martlet betw. two escallops or. Crest—A cock sa. combed and wattled gu.
9) (Baron Graves). Gu. an eagle displ. or, ducally crowned ar. on a canton of the last an anchor ppr. Crest—A demi eagle displ. and erased or, encircled round the body and below the wings by a ducal coronet ar. Supporters— Two royal vultures, wings close ppr. Motto—Aquila non captat muscas.
10) (Mickleton and Poden in Church Honeybourne, co. Gloucester). Gu. an eagle displ. or, beaked, membered, and ducally crowned ar. betw. eight crosses crosslet of the second. Crest—A demi eagle erased or, environed with a ducal coronet gu. holding in the beak a cross crosslet fitchee of the last. Motto—Superna quaerite. Other Mottoes (used at various times by the family)—Esse quam videri; Gravis dum suavis; and. Graves disce mores.
11) (co. Salop). Or, a trefoil slipped vert.
12) Ar. a fesse ermines betw. three lions’ heads erased sa. Crest—A squirrel sejant ermines.
13) (confirmed to Very Rev. Charles Graves, D.D., Dean of the Chapel Royal, S.F.T.C.D., consecrated Bishop of Limerick, 1866, son of John Crosbie Graves, Esq., of Dublin, Barrister-at-law, by Helena, his wife, eldest dau. and co-heiress of Rev. Charles Perceval, Rector of Churchtown, co. Cork, and grandson of Very Rev. Thomas Ryder Graves, Dean of Connor). Quarterly, 1st and 4th, per pale gu. and az. an eagle displ. ducally crowned or, in the dexter chief point a cross patonce of the last, for Graves; 2nd and 3rd, ar. on a chief indented gu. three crosses pattee of the field, a crescent for diff., for Perceval (this quartering confirmed to the descendants of his father, John Crosbie Graves, Esq., only). Crest—A demi eagle displ. and erased or, encircled round the body below the wings with a ducal coronet gu. each wing charged with a cross patonce also gu. Motto—Aquila non captat muscas.