Born: July 23, 1856, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Died: January 2, 1927, Zion City, Illinois.
Buried: Mount Olivet Memorial Park, Zion, Illinois.
Orphaned at age 9, Graves was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 14. At age 21, he moved to Nobles County, Minnesota, and it appeared for a while that his seizures had stopped.
Grateful for having been healed, he began to serve the American Sunday School Union. He studied the Bible and music in Chicago, Illinois, and Northfield, Massachusetts.
Upon return to Minneapolis and hearing evangelist John Alexander Dowie, Graves experienced permanent healing, which provided a backdrop for his Gospel songs.
Later, he moved to Zion City, Illinois, where he lived the rest of his life. All of his children attended the Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Missouri. Graves himself was ordained an Assemblies of God minister in 1918.