Biographical/historical information

The Grady family can trace its roots back to Ireland to where the family's surname was O'Grady. A John O'Grady was Arch Deacon of Cashell in 1365 and another John O'Grady in 1405 was Bishop of Elfin – the cathedral founded by St. Patrick in the mid-5th Century. A Standish O'Grady was appointed Attorney General of Ireland in May, 1803 and later served as a Justice and Chief Baron of the Exchequer.

John Grady (1703-1787), his wife Mary, daughter of William and Elizabeth Goodman Whitfield, and his family were the first settlers of Duplin County, N.C. In 1739, he acquired a tract of land at the fork of Burncoat Creek and the North East River. He lived the remainder of his life there and it is where he died and was buried. John and Mary Grady's two sons, John and Alexander, fought in the American Revolution in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on 27 February 1776. John was the only fatality on the American side in the battle.

John Grady's third son, Alexander Grady married Nancy Thomas and they had a son named Henry or "Lord Harry" as he was known in the family. Lord Harry married Elizabeth Outlaw and they too had a son whom they named Alexander Outlaw Grady. Alexander married Anne Sloan, daughter of Gibson and Rachel Bryan Sloan, and they had a son as well named Benjamin Franklin Grady. Benjamin Franklin Grady fought in the Civil War as a private in Company B, 3rd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, in the Confederate army. He survived the war and later distinguished himself in education and served four years in Congress, from 1890 to 1894. The B. F. Grady School in Duplin County was named for him.

Another Grady family member of note was John K. Grady who served as a corporal in Company B, 119th Infantry Regiment, in the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. He was wounded and he died in 17 October 1918 and his name is on a World War I memorial in Lenoir County, N.C.

Sources:

John Grady (RootsWeb.Ancestry.com)

Duplin County Statistical History

Boyette, Patsy, "John Grady of Duplin County," Old Kinston Gazette, 2 pp.

Sampley, Ted, "Carolina Doughboys First To Smash Hindenburg Line," Old Kinston Gazette

Scope and arrangement

The Grady Family Papers are arranged in original order in 5 series: Series 1: Correspondence; Series 2: Financial Records; Series 3: Legal Records; Series 4: Photographic Prints; and Series 5: Printed Materials.

Series 1: Consists of correspondence (1917, 1921-1922, undated) that revolves around John K. Grady who served as a Corporal in Company B, 119th Infantry in World War I. The letters mostly concern the shipment of his remains and subsequent burial, however, there is a letter written by him to his parents during his time at camp in Greenville, S.C. There is also what appears to be a partial letter written to John K. Grady's parents by a Harry Forbes expressing sympathy on the occasion of his death. One letter among the correspondence is unrelated. This letter (1922) is written to Mr. L. J. Grady from Mr. J. D. Sutton, Secretary for the Southport Fish-Scrap and Oil Company acknowledging receipt of a stock certificate for 10 shares in the company. The letter comes with an attached form letter addressed to the Stockholders of the Southport Fish-Scrap and Oil Company from Mr. Charles Gause, General Manager.

Series 2: Consists of financial records (1908-1934) including two stock certificates (#843 9/8/1919, #22A 8/21/1920) from the Seminole Phosphate Company, a company located in both Fayetteville and Goldsboro, N.C., that gives L. J. [Louis Jones] Grady twelve shares in the company. The records also include a promissory note (1/17/1908) from L. J. [Louis Jones] Grady promising to pay $233.33 to W. E. Hamilton on or before January 17, 1917. There is writing in red, "Satisfied Paid in full Nov. 18th, 1912 W. E. Hamilton" on the front of the note. A form letter (5/9/1919) is among the records. It is to Mr. Louis Jones Grady from Henry D. Lindsley, Director informing him that he is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy worth $10,000; a policy that was taken out by John K. Grady. The last item is of a receipt (5/10/1934) written by L. J. Grady for $40 dollars to be paid to his ward Haley Grace Grady on guardian account. This receipt was written on notepaper from the Commercial Printing Company, Raleigh, N.C.

Series 3: Consists of legal records (1793-1919) including deeds, mortgages and photocopies of a will dated 2/9/1793 from John Grady, one of the earliest members of the Grady Family, are also included. The deeds make up the bulk of the records and they are between L. J. [Louis Jones] Grady and other parties (Fuller and Harper Families). These deeds mainly concern the purchase of land in Kinston, N.C. with other deeds involving B.C. Grady, his wife May Grady and others. A chattel mortgage (11/30/1891) is included. It was drawn up by John A. E. Baisehere of Onslow County, N.C. who was indebted to Lewis J. Grady of Lenoir County, N.C. for $80 dollars. Baisehere conveys cattle and crops to Grady to sell and to go towards this debt if payment is not made on or before January 1, 1893.

Series 4: Consists of digital reproductions of photographic prints (ca. 2002) of Grady family members. The most notable of these images include copies of a group portrait of Grady family members with the names and birth and death dates underneath the pictures, a picture of the monument erected to honor John Grady (1703-1787), his wife Mary Whitfield and his family who were the original settlers of Duplin County and a portrait of John K. Grady in his World War I uniform, ca. 1917-1918.

Series 5: Consists of printed materials (undated) including two photocopied clippings entitled, John Grady of Duplin County, The First North Carolina Man to Die in the Revolutionary War, by Patsy M. Boyette (undated) that was published by the Old Kinston Gazette which focuses on a John Grady who served in the American Revolution. The article gives information not only on this John Grady who was the first North Carolinian to die in the Revolutionary War but gives a detail account of the Battle of Moore's Creek and biographical information on Benjamin Franklin Grady.

Administrative information

Custodial History

December 20, 2002, 22 items, 0.15 cubic feet, 35 pages; Papers (1891-2002, undated) including; 1 Lenoir County, NC deeds, 1913; 1 chattel mortgage, 1891; 1 promissory note, 1908; 7 letters, 1917, 1920s; 1 bond, 1908; 1 digital reproduction of 3 photographs showing John K. Grady, of Kinston, NC, who was killed in World War I, 1917-1919; 2 certificates for shares in Seminole Phosphate Company, Fayetteville, NC, 1919, 1920; 1 receipt, 1934; 1 digital reproduction of a photograph of a monument to John Grady (an original settler of Duplin County, NC), ca. 2002; 1 digital reproduction of a photograph of an unidentified family, ca. 2002; 2 copies of an article about John Grady's service in the Revolutionary War (2 p. photocopy typescript), ca. 2002; 3 digital reproductions of John Graddy's [sic] will (ca. 1773), Duplin County, NC (printed in various formats), 2002. 22 items, 35 p. Donor: Mr. Ed Grady.

December 20, 2002 Addition #1, 8 items, 0.1 cubic feet, 22 pages; Papers (1906-1919) of the Grady, Fuller, and Harper families, including 7 Lenoir County, NC deeds and a digitized reproduction of 1 Grady family photograph with identifications. Donor: Mr. Ed Grady.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mr. Ed Grady

Processing information

Encoded by Apex Data Services, March 2002; Processing completed by Nanette Hardison, 4/16/2013; Revised by Jonathan Dembo, 7/3/2013.

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration

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