Thomas Graves (c. 1580–1635) was one of the original Adventurers (stockholders) of the

Virginia Company of London The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. History Origins The territor ...

, and one of the very early Planters (settlers) who founded

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

, the first permanent English settlement in North America. He was also the first known person named Graves in North America. Captain Thomas Graves is listed as one of the original Adventurers as "Thomas Grave" on page 364, ''Records of the Virginia Company of London'', vol. IV. Graves arrived in Virginia in October 1608 on the ship ''Mary and Margaret'' with Captain

Christopher Newport Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...

's second supply. He paid 25 pounds for two shares in the London Company and thereby was entitled to . Captain Thomas Graves settled at

Smythe's Hundred Smith's Hundred or Smythe's Hundred was a colonial English settlement in the Province of Virginia, in the modern United States of America. It was one of the original James River plantations named after the treasurer of the Virginia Company, Sir Tho ...

, situated on the north shore of the James River ten miles from Jamestown. Governor

George Yeardley Sir George Yeardley (1587 – November 13, 1627) was a planter and colonial governor of the colony of Virginia. He was also among the first slaveowners in Colonial America. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply M ...

placed Graves in charge of Smythe's Hundred on May 30, 1618, after one man killed another in a fight.McCartney, Martha W. (2007)
''Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary''
p. 337. Genealogical Publishing Co. Capt. Thomas Graves was a member of the First Legislative Assembly in America, and, with Mr.

Walter Shelley Walter Shelley sailed to the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia before 1619. Walter Shelley was one of the original subscribers to the London Company. He was a member of the First Legislative Assembly in America and sat for Smith's Hundred whe ...

, sat for

when they met at

on July 30, 1619. His name appears on a monument to the first

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

which stands at Jamestown today. Smythe's Hundred was abandoned after the Indian uprising of 1622. The next record of Captain Graves showed him living on the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties ( Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast detached from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is se ...

by February 16, 1624. On February 8, 1627, Captain Francis West, Governor of Virginia, ordered that Thomas Graves have a commission to command the Plantation at Accomac. Graves was the second Commander. As an "Ancient Planter" he received one of the first patents there on March 14, 1628, consisting of . He lived on Old Plantation Creek, now in

Northampton County, Virginia Northampton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,282. Its county seat is Eastville. Northampton and Accomack Counties are a part of the larger Eastern Shore of Virginia. The ...

, and served as Commissioner for

Accomac Shire Accomac Shire was established in the Colony of Virginia by the House of Burgesses in 1634 under the direction of King Charles I. It was one of the original eight shires of Virginia. The shire's name comes from the Native American word "Accawmack". ...

in 1629. Captain Graves and three others represented the Eastern Shore in the Assembly of 1629‑30. He served again as a burgess in 1632. Because he was designated as "Esquire" on January 6, 1635, he may have been a member of the Council. Captain Thomas Graves, Esquire, was recorded as being a Justice at a court held for Accomac on April 13, 1635. He died between November 1635, when he witnessed a deed, and January 5, 1635/6, when suit was entered for Mrs. Graves concerning theft by a servant. He was survived by his wife, Katherine, and six children: John, Thomas, Ann, Verlinda, Katherine and Francis.Dorman, John Frederick (4th ed. 2005)
''Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1604–1624/5''
Vol. Two, p. 132. Genealogical Publishing Co. His daughter, Verlinda, eventually married governor of Maryland, William Stone.

References

External links

Descendants of Captain Thomas GravesAMERICA'S OLDEST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY and Its Jamestown Statehouse Edited by Charles E. Hatch. Jr. Revised 1956Graves Family Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Thomas, Captain Virginia politicians 1580s births 1635 deaths 17th-century American people English emigrants