James Robinson Graves
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James Robinson Graves (April 10, 1820 – June 26, 1893) was an American
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
preacher, publisher, evangelist, debater, author, and editor. He is most noted as the original founder of what is now the Southwestern family of companies. Graves was born in Chester, Vermont, the son of Z. C. Graves, and died in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. His remains are interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.


Work

In 1855, Graves established Southwestern Publishing House in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. The company's name was chosen because, at that time, Nashville was in the southwestern part of the United States. Southwestern originally published ''The Tennessee Baptist'', a
Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...
newspaper, and religious booklets which were sold by mail for 20¢ and 30¢ each. Prior to the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, most Bibles were printed in the North, rather than the Confederacy. Graves acquired stereotype plates from the North and began printing Bibles for sale in August 1861. He also produced and sold educational books. After the 1862 fall of Fort Donelson resulted in a Union victory, Graves relocated to
Panola County, Mississippi Panola County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,208. Its county seats are Sardis, Mississippi, Sardis and Batesville, Mississipp ...
, as he felt vulnerable because of articles he had published against the North. The company resumed publishing in 1867.E. Michael Fleenor,
The Southwestern Company
," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 12 February 2013.
In 1868, Graves discontinued the company’s mail-order business, and began training young men as independent dealers to sell Bibles and educational books
door-to-door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a pr ...
as a way to earn money for college. Graves retired in 1871. Though raised in a Congregationalist family, Graves joined a Baptist church at age 15. Contemporary fellow ministers in the
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
praised his preaching abilities. Thomas Treadwell Eaton wrote, "We have seen him hold a congregation packed uncomfortably, for three hours and a half without any sign of weariness on their part. This was not done once or twice, but scores of times." Denominational leader James Bruton Gambrell described one of Graves' sermons at a small church in Mississippi as "The Greatest Sermon I Ever Heard." Scholars have recognized Graves as an early and chief promulgator of the Landmark movement. The subject's Nashville publishing house, Graves, Marks, & Co, which later became South-Western Publishing, published all of fellow 'Landmarker' Amos Cooper Dayton's books. Both were expelled as 'schismatics' between 1858 and 1859 from the Nashville First Baptist Church due to their theological perspectives on their apostolic connection.


Personal life

In the 1830s, J. R. Graves’s older brother, Zuinglius Calvin Graves (1816–1902), moved to Ashtabula, Ohio to teach school. Soon mother Lois, sister Louisa and J. R. had relocated there as well. All three Graves children married while there. In 1845, J. R. Graves married Lucinda Ellen “Lua” Spencer, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Spencer. They relocated to
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
and had four children – none of whom lived to adulthood. Graves married a second time in 1856, to Louisa Jane Snider, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. George Snider of
Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...
. They had five children. Louisa Jane Graves and Graves’s mother Lois died in 1867 during a yellow fever epidemic in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
(where they had relocated circa 1866). In 1869, Graves married Georgianna Snider, Louisa’s sister. They had three children. Georgianna died in 1932.''The Atlanta Constitution'', Clark Howell, editor, Friday, June 17, 1932, p. 24 Most of the family members are buried in Elmwood Cemetery at Memphis, Tennessee and the
Nashville City Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of Nashville's prominent historical figures are buried there. It includes the tombs of 22,000 people, 6,000 of whom were African Americans. Overview Nashville ...
in Nashville, Tennessee.


Bibliography

* ''The Desire of All Nations'' * ''The Watchman's Reply'' * ''The Trilemma'' * ''The First Baptist Church in America'' * ''The Great Iron Wheel'' * ''The Little Iron Wheel'' * ''The Bible Doctrine of the Middle Life'' * ''Exposition of Modern Spiritism'' * ''The Little Seraph'' (song book) * ''Old Landmarkism, What Is It?'' * ''The Work of Christ in Seven Dispensations'' * ''Intercommunion Inconsistent, Unscriptural, and Productive of Evil'' * ''What Is It To Eat and Drink Unworthily?'' * ''John's Baptism: Was It From Moses or Christ?''


Resources

* Burnett, J .J., ''Sketches of Tennessee's Pioneer Baptist Preachers'' * George, Timothy, ''Baptist theologians'' * Hailey, O. L., ''J. R. Graves, life, times and teachings'' * Patterson, James A. 2012. ''James Robinson Graves: Staking the Boundaries of Baptist Identity.'' B & H Academic.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Jr 1820 births 1893 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American theologians 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States American Baptist theologians American evangelicals American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Baptist writers Landmark Baptists People from Chester, Vermont Southern Baptist ministers