Grachevs

peasant entrepreneurs from the village of Ivanovo, in Vladimir Province.

The forefather of the family was Ivan Grachev (born 1706; year of death unknown), a serf of the Sheremetev family. In 1748, with 4,000 rubles obtained from a commercial operation, he built a linen factory. The linen was sold abroad through the port of St. Petersburg. The factory grew rapidly (in 1756 there were 216 looms). The industry was inherited by the Grachev sons: Ivan (born 1730; year of death unknown), Dmitrii (born 1738; year of death unknown), and Efim (born 1743; died 1819). Efim greatly expanded the factory (in 1789 there were 455 looms). At the end of the 1780’s approximately 500 hired workers, mostly peasants on quitrent (obrok), were employed in the factory. The Grachevs also owned 3,034 desiatinas (3,307 hectares) of land and 381 “souls,” bought in the name of the pomeshchik (landowner). In 1795, Efim gained his freedom after paying the pomeshchik 135,000 rubles. He left all of his enterprises and lands and became a Moscow merchant of the first guild and a leaseholder of the factories that were formerly his. After Efim’s death the lease passed to his daughter and the enterprise gradually went into decline.