John Graves (d. 1843), planter, married Mary Ragland in Louisa County in 1795. At his death he owned numerous tracts of land in Virginia and Kentucky and personal property valued at $11,965, including at least thirty-nine slaves (Louisa Co. Marriage Bonds, 24 Aug. 1795; Charles James Ragland, The Raglands: The History of a British-American Family [1978–87], 2:291; Louisa Co. Will Book, 11:33–9, 72–4).

In his financial records for 6 Nov. 1820, TJ recorded the purchase from Graves for which he had given my note: “Bought of John Graves of Louisa a horse (the Eagle) for 250.D. and gave my note payable the 30th. of Apr. next. The horse is a fine bay, abt. 16. hands high, 6 y. old last spring, a star in his forehead, 2 hind feet white, a scar below his left eye. Got by Diomede on a Spread-eagle mare of Fearnought blood,” with TJ’s additional notation in left margin: “5 f.—2¾ I. high.” TJ paid Graves with a 22 Mar. 1821 order on Bernard Peyton (MB description begins James A. Bear Jr. and Lucia C. Stanton, eds., Jefferson’s Memorandum Books: Accounts, with Legal Records and Miscellany, 1767–1826, 1997, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Second Series description ends , 2:1371, 1373).

A response of 13 Mar. by Graves, not found, is recorded in SJL as received 20 Mar. 1821 from “Louisa C.H.”