Bruce Graves

Old John's Legacy: the Story of an American Family Bruce Graves

For several generations, the members of the Nebraska-Iowa Graves family believed their heritage was British. After all, the name certainly sounded British. But in the middle of the twentieth century, a genealogy surfaced that proved indisputably that their ancestry was German, and that an immigrant who came to be known as Old John first planted the roots of their family tree on an American shore in 1730. Here one of Old John's descendants tells the story of that family, and explains how its origins mirror that of some 300,000 proud Germans who immigrated to America in the eighteenth century. The story then continues through three centuries, showing how not only Old John but also how certain of his descendants lived, struggled, followed their dreams, succeeded in their own way, and died. Their work, travel, foibles, and accomplishments are here interwoven with the history of their country. And again, as the story is told through fact merged with fiction, the tale reveals how this family's history is not unlike that of so many other American families.