CAPT. PEYTON B. GRAVELY
Eldest son of Willis Gravely, sr., formerly of Henry county, Virginia,
now deceased, was born in that county on May 15, 1835. His father
died in August, 1886, aged eighty-six years. His mother, whose
maiden name was Ann M. Barrow, died in December, 1886, aged
seventy-four years. He married at Danville, October 24, 1871, Mary
F., daughter of Alexander Walters, formerly of Pittsylvania county,
now deceased. They had five children: Kate W., Peyton, James G.,
Nannie D. and Mary V. Captain Peyton entered service for the late
war on April 9, 1861, sergeant in the Danville Artillery. At the reorganization
of the company, in December, 1862, he was elected captain,
the company becoming Company F, 42d Virginia Infantry, C. S. A.
He served through the entire war, under General "Stonewall" Jackson,
till that loved leader fell, and under the generals who succeeded him until
the surrender at Appomattox C. H. He was four times wounded in
service: At Greenbriar River in 1861; at Fishers Hill; at Gettysburg,
and at the Wilderness, the last-named a severe wound through the
right shoulder. His home had been in Henry county until he took the
field, and he had been magistrate at Leatherwood, Henry county,
before the war. Returning there, he engaged in the tobacco business,
in which his father had wide reputation as manufacturer of the original
"Gravely" brand, which he established in 1831. He continued in
business there until 1870, when he removed to Danville, where he has
since continued the same business, under the firm name and style of
"P. B. Gravely & Co." The tobacco used by this firm is the Henry
County flue cured, and their brands command a wide market, the
"Peyton Gravely," "Honey Dew," "J. G. Gravely Fine pounds," and
"Kate Gravely Fine 9 inch" being some of their leading brands.
