Tenth Generation

5595. Jacob Sylvester GRAVES²²⁴⁵ was born on 14 August 1863 in Union Co., TN.^{1220,1315,2246} He appeared in the census in 1880 in District 9, Union Co., TN.¹³¹⁵ Jacob S. GRAVES Son M S W 16 TN Occ: Farm Hand Fa: TN Mo: TN He died on 31 December 1942 at the age of 79 in Union Co., TN.^1220,2245 Jacob was buried in January 1943 in Carr Cemetery, Maynardville, Union Co., TN.¹²²⁰ Pat Reagan wrote the following:
Jacob Sylvester Graves mother was a beautiful little lady named Talitha Fraker. I do know that Talitha's father, William Anton Fraker, did serve in the Civil war.
I would have a tendency to say that we were from poor dirt farmers but when you really think about it everyone during that time were poor. Times were very hard especially in the Southern area of Tennessee.
The Graves family were very much linked to the Monroe Family. Lucinda Bronson married into the Monroe family. I am not sure if this the connection to the outcome of my Grandfathers life but it was the only one that I could come up with.
For some reason my Grandfather did not want to be a farmer so he spent eight years serving an apprentice to become a lawyer. I have always been proud of the fact, that no matter what people thought of him as a man it took a lot of courage to try to rise above the situation and study to become something different.
From all that I can gather he was rather good at it. He was called to Knoxville to serve as Judge over many cases. According to some material I have read he was asked to help write a manual for Justice of the Peace that was still in effect in 1959. At long last I have found where I got my mouth from.
My grandfather served as a County Judge for Union County for eight years. He also served as Justice of the Peace and I have seen his name several time as marrying several couples. He was also a delegate to the House of Representatives about 1909 and was chairman of the Republican exceptive committee for many years.He served on both the state level and local level for the Republican Party.

Jacob Sylvester GRAVES and Martha Elizabeth KITTS²²⁴⁵ were married on 24 May 1894 in Union Co., TN.^{148,1307,2200} They^{148,1307,2200} appeared in the census in 1900 in District 1, Union Co., TN. Page 138 B, line 78, dwelling 183, family 183
Graves, Jacob, head, W, M, Aug 1863, 33, M, 6, TN, TN, TN, lawyer
Martha, wife, W, F, Dec 1873, 26, M, 6, 4, 3, TN, TN, TN
Genevrie, daughter, W, F, Apr 1895, 5, S, TN, TN, TN
Elmer, son, W, M, June 1896, 3, S, TN, TN, TN
Viva, daughter, W, F, Sept 1897, 2, S, TN, TN, TN
They appeared in the census in 1910 in District 1, Union Co., TN. Page 83 B, line 54, dwelling 50, family 50
Graves, Jacob S., Head, M, W, 38, M, 16, TN, TN, TN, Farmer
Graves, Marth, Wife, F, W, 36, M, 16, 4, 4, TN, TN, TN
Graves, Geneva, Daughter, F, W, 15, S, TN, TN, TN
Graves, Elmer, Son, M, W, 13, S, TN, TN, TN
Graves, Viva, Daughter, F, W, 12, S, TN, TN, TN
Graves, Connie, Daughter, F, W, 8, TN, TN, TN
Jacob and Martha appeared in the census in 1920 in District 1, Union Co., TN. Page 173 A, line 16, dwelling 4, family 4
Graves, Jacob S., head, M, W, 57, M, TN, TN, TN, lawyer
Graves, Martha E., wife, F, W, 46, M, TN, TN, TN, dressmaker
Willey C., son, M, W, 7 8/12, S, TN, TN, TN
Urmalle, daughter, F, W, 5 1/12, S, TN, TN, TN Pat Reagan wrote:
Martha Elizabeth Kitts was my Grandmother and her Father has been my biggest challenge. I am hoping by writing this it will lead to the discovery of who her Father was.
My father, well lets say he was sort of truthful. He told me my Great Grandmother was named Margaret. He also said she married George Monroe. So far so good. About two hundred dollars later, saying nothing about mail letters etc. I had no luck. I had gone so far as to study Migration, East Tennessee History, Indians, different ways of spelling the whole smuts. Christmas four years ago I finally asked him again, He replied O. K Patsy you asked for it...Your grandmother was a bastard . I thought for a minute and replied Is that German or English for the first time I heard him give a big roar...but I could tell that there was some pain in his voice. As it turned out she went by her middle her name of Carolyn. I did find a marriage record Carolyn Kitts married William Kitts three months before Martha was born. Carolyn husband "Sweet William Kitts moved West and no one today knows who he was. Of course no one is living any more and that could be one of the reasons I do not know who he is.
Carolyn did marry George Monroe and she died in 1920.
Martha Elizabeth KITTS²²⁴⁵, daughter of William KITTS and Barbara Carolyn KITTS, was born on 11 December 1873 in Maynardville, Union Co., TN.¹³¹⁶ She died Tuberculosis on 2 May 1922 at the age of 48 in Knox Co., TN.¹³¹⁶ She was buried in May 1922 in Carr Cemetery, Maynardville, Union Co., TN.¹²²⁰

Jacob Sylvester GRAVES and Martha Elizabeth KITTS had the following children: