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Bradley Family Tree - Admiral Thomas Graves

Admiral Thomas Graves
Family Connection - 8th great-grandfather of Ruth Ann Hazen

The Battle of Scheveningen by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten
Painted in 1654, in the collection at Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Thomas Graves was born in Stepney, London, England on June 6, 1605, to parents John Graves and Sarah Malter Graves. John Graves was a shipwright. He married Katherine Grey in Stepney, London in 1630. They had seven children:

            Rebecca        b. 1630        d. 1664
            John              b. 1633        d. 1664
            William         b. 1636        d. 1653
            Thomas         b. 1638        d. 1697
            Nathaniel      b. 1639        d. 1680
            Susanna        b.  1643       d. 1681
            Joseph           b. 1645        d. 1681


Thomas was a sailor. His first visit to Massachusetts was as a member of the crew of the George Bonaventure, which arrived in Salem in 1629. In 1630, he was vice-admiral of the 11-vessel Winthrop Fleet, sailing aboard the ship Talbot. He served as Master on several ships from 1630-1635. On those voyages, he brought thousands of English Puritans to Massachusetts with the Massachusetts Bay Company. For his service, he was awarded 250 acres in Charlestown and what is now the Lechmere Point area of Cambridge. 

In 1637, he immigrated with his family to Charlestown, Massachusetts. He and his wife were admitted to the Church in Charlestown on Oct. 7, 1639, and he was named Freeman on May 13, 1640. In 1643, he served as Master on the ship Tyrell, the first ship built in the colonies. On May 30, 1652, Thomas was named Captain of the Royal Navy frigate President. In 1653, he was promoted to Rear Admiral and given command of the 42-gun ship Andrew. 

Admiral Thomas Graves was commanding the Andrew in the Battle of Scheveningen during the First Anglo-Dutch War. On August 10, 1653, the Andrew was attacked by Dutch fireboats. The deck was set aflame, and Admiral Graves was killed in the fire. He was buried at sea in Aldeburg Bay off the Suffolk coast, across the Channel from where he was killed. 

Later in 1653, Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts named the stone ledges at the entrance to Boston Harbor the Graves Ledges, in the admiral's honor. Later, a lighthouse was built to warn sailors of the ledges, and the Graves Light is still standing today. 

Graves Ledges and Graves Light in Boston Harbor



Adm. Thomas Graves > Joseph Graves > Samuel Graves > Samuel Graves > Sarah Graves > Hannah Rice > John M L Babcock > Charles Sydney Babcock > Jesse Louise Babcock > Charles Stuart 
Bradley > Ruth Ann Hazen     Charts B-B and B-Main
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