Anthony McGraw, as he was more commonly known in the records, is probably the firstborn son, if not the firstborn child, of Martin and Margaret McGraw. Since his younger brothers, John and Martin (Jr.), listed Pennsylvania as their birthplace, it stands to reason that Anthony was also born there. My suspicions point to Hopewell Township, Bedford County, PA, where a man named Martin McGraw appears in the tax lists from 1775 through 1785. Come the 1795 Augusta County, VA tax list, Martin McGraw is listed as having 3 males in his household aged 16 and older. Do the math: 1795-17=1777. But if son John is 16 in 1795, placing about 18 months between the two boys’ births places Anthony’s birth about 1775.
By 1796, the family is in Greenbrier County (now in) West Virginia. Anthony is listed separately from his father, Martin, on 17 April 1796. On 3 October 1796, Anthony married “Betsy” Brian/Bryant in Greenbrier County; the marriage was officiated by none other than minister John Alderson. Only males of the age of 21 could marry, vote, or “own/claim” property in the State of Virginia. I believe the math supports my assumption that Anthony’s birth was about 1775, placing his parents’ marriage/union about 1774.
It was the 1810 Greenbrier County Tax List that revealed Anthony’s name: George A. McGraw. That could not be his son, George A, born about 1806, who could only have been about four years old.
CITATION: “Familysearch: Sign In”. 2022. Familysearch.Org. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQ2-3S7X-D?cat=777465. IMG 657
Anthony and Betsy had 7 known children in Greenbrier County before Anthony’s death. Their names were:
- William McGraw, b. ~1797, d. 1865, m. Elizabeth Gill, 30 July 1818, and moved to the Lawrence-Adams-Scioto County, Ohio, vicinity after 1820 but before 1830;
- Andrew McGraw, b. ~1799, d. before 1870, m. Lucinda Ayres, 16 Sep 1824. Andrew lived out his life apparently in the Rollynsburg/Talcott, WV vicinity;
- Margaret McGraw, b. ~1801, d. unknown, m. John Gunnoe in Kanawha County, WV, and lived on Tyler Mountain (where my parents are buried); what became of this family before 1870 is still being researched;
- Elizabeth McGraw, b. ~ 1803, d. 22 Jun 1880, Fayette Co, m1. Benjamin Johnson 8 Aug 1829, Kanawha County, WV; m2. James Price, 26 Apr 1836 Fayette County, WV;
- George A. McGraw, b. ~1806, d. ~1870 Turkey Creek, Fayette County; m1. Lucretia Skaggs, 9 Mar 1829, Nicholas County, WV; m2. Nancy/Sally Davis 31 Mar 1846 Fayette Co, WV; m3. Mary S. Wood 1 June 1850 Fayette County, WV;
- Benjamin McGraw, b. ~1809, d. ~1831 Lawrence County, OH (assumed due to lack of further records), m. Milley Riley, 12 Feb 1830, Lawrence County, OH;
- Mary McGraw, b. ~ 1812, d. ~1880, Nicholas County, WV, m. Samuel Gill, 4 Apr 1834, Monroe County, WV.
Anthony applied to serve in the War of 1812 and was made a Private assigned to Captain McClung’s Company, 4th Regiment Virginia Militia. However, he died of typhoid fever in service to his country on 1 August 1814 at Norfolk. His grave and those of hundreds of others are located at Fort Tar, Norfolk, VA, designated by a historical marker which stands on Monticello Avenue (US 460) north of East Virginia Beach Boulevard (US 58). The location is a paved parking lot used by Hampton Roads Transit customers. To me, that is an utter humiliation to the families of those men who left their homes and families to serve their country in its time of need and made the ultimate sacrifice.
On 22 March 1853, in Fayette County, Elizabeth Bryant McGraw, by this time the widow of Presley Gill, applied for Anthony’s pension, listing the names of their living children along with their ages: George A. McGraw aged 47, William McGraw aged 56, Andrew McGraw aged 54, Margaret Gunno aged 52, Elizabeth Price aged 50, Mary Gill aged 41 years. The marriage, Anthony’s service, and his children’s names are reiterated in the Affidavit of my ancestor, Martin McGraw, recently returned from Putnam County.
One child’s name is not listed: Benjamin McGraw, born about 1809. Using Full Text Search at FamilySearch.org, I stumbled upon Benjamin quite by accident. Three of Anthony and Elizabeth’s children (Elizabeth, George A, and Benjamin) became wards of Monroe County Poor and Orphaned Children about 1817 and were “bound out” as apprentices. Benjamin became a “bound boy” – an apprentice shoemaker – to Bailey Wood.
CITATION: “Familysearch: Sign In”. 2025. Familysearch.Org. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRS-T9M4-1?lang=en&i=490
This specific Bailey Wood was either the father or the brother of Nancy Wood, wife of Martin McGraw (Jr); Elizabeth Wood, wife of Samuel McGraw; and William Wood, husband of Mary Anne McGraw, all siblings of George Anthony McGraw.
Benjamin and his older brother William McGraw left Greenbrier County sometime after the 1820 Federal Census in Greenbrier County and are next found in the 1830 Census of Lawrence County, Ohio. After Benjamin’s marriage and the 1830 Census in Ohio, I have been unable to locate or obtain records pertaining to Benjamin McGraw. The fact that he is not listed in his mother’s Application for Widow’s Pension leads me to believe he probably died before the 1840 Census. Please understand that Benjamin’s older brother William McGraw had a son named Benjamin about 1841 in (probably) Scioto County, Ohio. It is important not to confuse the two Benjamins.
Widow Betsy married Presley Gill on 16 Sept 1824 in Greenbrier County; two of her and Anthony’s children may have married their step-siblings, namely William and Mary. After Presley/Pressley Gill’s death, further records lead me to believe that Betsy lived out the remainder of her life with her son, “Big” George McGraw, at Turkey Creek in Fayette County (off Rt. 60 between Ansted, WV and Chimney Corner, WV).
