Advertisement
Advertisement

Graham Family History & Genealogy

102,034 biographies and 95 photos with the Graham last name. Discover the family history, nationality, origin and common names of Graham family members.

Graham Last Name History & Origin

Add

History

We don't have any information on the history of the Graham name. Have information to share?

Name Origin

We don't have any information on the origins of the Graham name. Have information to share?

Spellings & Pronunciations

We don't have any alternate spellings or pronunciation information on the Graham name. Have information to share?

Nationality & Ethnicity

We don't have any information on the nationality / ethnicity of the Graham name. Have information to share?

Famous People named Graham

Are there famous people from the Graham family? Share their story.

Early Grahams

These are the earliest records we have of the Graham family.

Ella Mae (Graham-Gray) King of Marshfield, Vermont United States was born on June 12, 194. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ella Mae King.
Rachel (Mills) Graham was born in 1767 in New Jersey US, and died at age 84 years old in 1851 in Uxbridge Township, Ontario CA. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Rachel Mills Graham.
Alexander Graham was born circa 1770 in Ireland, and died at age 76 years old circa 1846. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Alexander Graham.
John Graham of Australia was born in 1782, and died at age 78 years old in 1860.
George Graham of Melbourne, St Francis Melbourne Parish County Australia was born in 1790, and died at age 60 years old in 1850 in Melbourne.
Thomas Graham of Australia was born in 1795, and died at age 76 years old in 1871.
Alexander Graham of Australia was born in 1795, and died at age 60 years old in 1855.
Abraham Graham was born on September 1, 1795 in Glasgow, Glasgow City County, Scotland United Kingdom, and died at age 61 years old on May 17, 1857 in Petersburg, Menard County, Illinois United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Abraham Graham.
Elizabeth Graham of Australia was born in 1796, and died at age 81 years old in 1877.
John Graham of Australia was born in 1796, and died at age 75 years old in 1871.
William Graham of Australia was born in 1797, and died at age 80 years old in 1877.

Graham Family Members

Surnames: Graetre - Granizo

Graham Family Photos

Discover Graham family photos shared by the community. These photos contain people and places related to the Graham last name.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Graham Family Tree

Discover the most common names, oldest records and life expectancy of people with the last name Graham.

Most Common First Names

Updated Graham Biographies

Elizabeth Martha (Bailey) Graham of Ballarat, City of Ballarat County, VIC Australia was born in 1890 in Noorat to Frederick Bailly and Esther Durdin Bailey. She had siblings Lucy Maria Bailey, Thomas Bailey, Joseph Robert Bailey, Leslie Bailey, Robert Gregson Bailey, Ethel Bailey, Ernest Frederick Bailey, Arthur Bailey, Percy Durdin Bailey, and May Agnes Bailey. Elizabeth Graham married Frederick Graham in 1935, and died at age 74 years old on July 16, 1965 in Ballarat.
John Stanley Sherlock Graham of Rockdale, Rockdale City Council County, NSW 2216, Australia was born in 1885 in Bairnsdale, VIC 3875, Australia to John Sherlock Graham and Georgina (Deverell) Gemmell. He had siblings Leslie Sherlock Graham and Henry Graham. He married Catherine (Kirkwood) Graham, and had children Phyllis Graham, Jean Graham, and Joyce Graham. John Graham died at age 89 years old on December 21, 1975 in NSW Australia, and was buried at Woronora Memorial Park Linden St, in Sutherland, Sutherland Shire Council County, NSW 2232, Australia.
The Argus, Melbourne. August 5th, 1887. A CHILD DROWNED AT ST. KILDA. A little boy named Henry Graham, about 5 or 6 years of age whose father is a hairdresser in Chapel street, Prahan, accompanied his uncle, a man named William Little, to St. Kilda yesterday. The uncle is a painter by trade, and was at work at the Beaconsfield Hotel, near the St. Kilda beach. The child left his uncle and went down to the beach. As he did not return for some time, Mr. Little became alarmed and went to look for him, and he found the boy in the water quite dead a little distance from the shore. Henry's uncle was William John Liddell, William was married to Lillie May Deverell, Georgina Deverell's sister.

The Victoria Gazette 1971. Public Trustee Act. Section 17. Deceased Estates. GRAHAM, LESLIE SHERLOCK, late of High-street, Mansfield, retired painter and decorator, died 3rd March, 1971.



The Hamilton Spectator, May 1878. MARRIAGE. GRAHAM.- DEVERELL. - On the 13th May, by the Rev. E. Henderson, at the Baptist parsonage, Hamilton, John Sherlock, second son of the late Mr. James Sherlock Graham, of Carlisle, Cumberland, England, to Georgina, second daughter of Mr. Robert Deverell, of Warrnambool. The Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle, March 1885. Mr. J. S. Graham, hairdresser of Main street, intimates that he has reduced the price for hair-cutting to six pence The Telegraph,St.Kilda, Prahan and and South Yarra Guardian, June 1887. Mr. J. S. Graham notifies that he has opened in business at 121A Chapel-street as a hairdresser and tobacconist, and dealer in fancy goods and musical instruments. Mr. Graham is a practical tuner and repairer of accordions, concertinas and organs. 1887. J.S. GRAHAM. HAIRDRESSER & TOBACCONIST. The Argus Melbourne, October 1889. Probates and Letters of Administration. Probate was granted to the wills of the following :- John Sherlock Graham £527, on the motion of Mr. O'Hara Wood.





James Sherlock Graham of Hamilton Australia is the father of John Sherlock Graham. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Sherlock Graham.
The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday, May 16,1878. MARRIAGE. GRAHAM. - DEVERELL. - On the 13th May, by the Rev. E. Henderson, at the Baptist parsonage, Hamilton, John Sherlock, second son of the late Mr. James Sherlock Graham, of Carlisle, Cumberland, England, to Georgina, second daughter of Mr. Robert Deverell, of Warrnambool. The Hamilton Spectator,Victoria. 10th December 1891. - MARRIAGE. WALLING - GRAHAM. On the 14th November, at the Wesleyan Parsonage Windsor, by the Rev. Richard Fitcher, George Walling, youngest son of Robert Walling, England, to Georgina Graham, late of Hamilton, Victoria.



Beverly Jean (Graham) Beischl was born on August 7, 1937. Beverly Beischl was in a relationship with William Beischl, and has children Steven William Beischl, Mark Anthony Beischl, Jamie Lynn Graham Brewer, James Graham jr, and Patricia Graham DeWitt. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Beverly Graham Beischl .
Patricia (Graham) DeWitt was born in 1964 to Beverly Graham Beischl and William Beischl, and has siblings Steven William Beischl, Mark Anthony Beischl, Jamie Lynn Graham Brewer, and James Graham jr. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Patricia Graham DeWitt .
James Graham Jr was born in 1963 to Beverly Graham Beischl and William Beischl, and has siblings Steven William Beischl, Mark Anthony Beischl, Jamie Lynn Graham Brewer, and Patricia Graham DeWitt. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Graham jr.
Jamie Lynn (Graham) Brewer was born on August 7, 1961 to Beverly Graham Beischl and William Beischl, and has siblings Steven William Beischl, Mark Anthony Beischl, James Graham jr, and Patricia Graham DeWitt. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jamie Lynn Graham Brewer .
Laila (Graham) Corf was married to Charlie Corf, and has children Vivian Ellen Grasmick, Emmy Lou Young, and Evelyn Metzner. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Laila Corf.
Maria (Graham) Ritter was born to Eline Graham. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Maria Graham Ritter.
Eline Graham died in Salem, Marion County, Oregon United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Eline Graham.
James Graham was in a relationship with Eline Graham, and has children James Matthew Graham and Julie Graham. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Earl Graham.
Julie Graham was born to Eline Graham and James Earl Graham, and has a brother James Matthew Graham. Julie Graham is the mother of Shawna Graham and Tyler Graham. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Julie Graham.
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Tyler Graham.
Shawna Graham was born to Julie Graham, and has a brother Tyler Graham. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Shawna Graham.
James Matthew Graham was born in 1975 to Eline Graham and James Earl Graham, and has a sister Julie Graham. He was in a relationship with Keri Flores and they later separated. James Graham has children Audri O'Dell and Kaelie O'Dell. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Matthew Graham.
Julie Graham was born on January 25, 1950, and died at age 60 years old on May 14, 2010. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Julie Graham.

Popular Graham Biographies

Elizabeth McQueeney
Elizabeth McQueeney, birth name Elizabeth Graham, was born just after the end of the Civil War to Richard Graham (1839-1922), born in Ireland, and Winifred Graham (1857-1928). She had sixteen siblings and three half-siblings. Elizabeth Graham married Bernard McQueeney (1862 - 1911) on April 15, 1889 and they had at least 7 children: Leo B., Joseph J., Clarence R., Mary "Marie" K., Elizabeth, Dorothy, and the youngest, Lawrence G. McQueeny. She spent the majority of her life in Elgin, Illinois, and lost her husband Bernard on November 28th, 1911 in a 'grade crossing accident' in Elgin. See Elizabeth McQueeney: Obituary. According to the 1930 federal census, Elizabeth was 69 years old, a widow, and living with her son Graham, age 26, in Elgin, Illinois. Graham was a "watch worker" in a watch factory. To read about the character "Elizabeth McQueeny" on the popular 1950s show "Wagon Train" see "Elizabeth McQueeny" in the television show "Wagon Train". To see the grave of the historical Elizabeth McQueeney: Elizabeth Mcqueeney Tombstone.
Robert Graham
Robert Graham was born on August 20, 1818, and died at age 71 years old on February 10, 1890. Robert Graham was buried in February 1890 at Graham Cemetery in Forest Hill, Rapides Parish County, Louisiana USA. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Robert Graham.
Katherine Marks (Goodwin) Graham
Katherine Marks (Goodwin) Graham father was Roy Gilman Goodwin (1884 - 1966) and her mother was Rebecca "Reba" Warren Marks (1984 - 1977). She had (twin) sister Elizabeth Nourse (Goodwin) Girard Mohr. Katherine married John Jefferson Graham Jr. (1918 - 2012) on October 14, 1942 in Sacramento California and they had a son and a daughter. They were married for 70 years, until his death.
Priscilla Graham
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Priscilla Graham.
Blanche Mae (Hatch) Graham
Blanche Mae (Hatch) Graham was born on November 17, 1917 in Troy, Idaho United States. Blanche Graham was married to John Graham in 1941, and died at age 84 years old on July 10, 2002. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Blanche Mae (Hatch) Graham.
Orman John Graham was born on December 8, 1979 in Florida United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Orman John Graham.
Lynette Elaine (Graham) Poland was born on September 26, 1954 in Corona, Riverside County, California United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Lynette Elaine (Graham) Poland.
Alice Amelia Graham Graham
Alice Amelia Amelia (Graham) Graham of Melbourne Australia was born on March 20, 1871 in QLD, and died at age 76 years old on October 1, 1947.
Carolyn (Graham) Campbell was born on February 26, 1940 in Loris, Horry County, South Carolina United States to J. Coley Graham and Minnie (Fowler) Graham. She married Johnny Clay Campbell. She was the parent of Stephen Hyland Tyler, and Shannon Tyler. Carolyn Campbell died at age 75 years old on October 13, 2015 in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Carolyn (Graham) Campbell.
Clyde Graham of Havana, Mason County, Illinois was born on July 15, 1894, and died at age 80 years old in April 1975.
William Franklin "Billy" Graham Jr.
William Franklin Graham Jr. was born on November 7, 1918 at North Carolina, and died at age 99 years old on February 21, 2018 at North Carolina. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember William Franklin "Billy" Graham Jr..
Johnnie M (Graham) Pagarigan was born in Mount Pleasant, Titus County, Texas United States. She was in a relationship with Leandro T Pagarigan, and has children William G Pagarigan, Mary E Pagarigan, David E Graham, John B Pagarigan, and Teri S Pagarigan. Johnnie Pagarigan died in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Johnnie M (Graham) Pagarigan.
Alice Maud (Aspden) Graham of Footscray, City of Maribyrnong County, VIC Australia was born on November 18, 1858 in Mansfield, Mansfield Shire County to Margaret (Murphy) Aspden and William Aspden. She married Hugh Middlemas Graham, and had children James William Victor Graham, Walter Francis Graham, Maud Alice Letichia Graham, Ethel Margaret (Graham) Martin, and Gordon Hugh Middlemiss Graham. Alice Graham died at age 87 years old on May 2, 1946 at 166 Victoria St, in Footscray, City of Maribyrnong County, and was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery College Cres, in Parkville, City of Melbourne County.
Donna Jean (Graham) Ehrlich was born in 1931. She was married to Walter Burton Forbes in Denver, Denver County, Colorado United States, and they were together until Walter's death on April 28, 1962. She had children Michael Ellyson Forbes, Michelle Graham (Forbes) Fox, and Mark Steven Forbes. Donna Ehrlich died at age 83 years old in 2014 in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Donna Jean (Graham) Ehrlich.
Willie Graham
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Willie Graham.
Ethel Margaret (Graham) Martin of Glenroy, City of Moreland County, Victoria Australia was born in 1893 in Hotham Heights, VIC to Alice Maud (Aspden) Graham and Hugh Middlemas Graham. She had siblings Walter Francis Graham, Gordon Hugh Middlemiss Graham, James William Victor Graham, and Maud Alice Letichia Graham. Ethel Martin married George Martin in 1926, and died at age 68 years old on May 13, 1962 in Glenroy.
David E Graham was born in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States, and died in Los Angeles. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember David E Graham.
Herbert Graham
Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Herbert Graham.
Eva Graham
Eva Graham of Tucson, Pima County, AZ was born on June 2, 1908, and was the mother of Billie Jones (Salisbury ) Jones. Eva Graham died at age 71 years old on August 9, 1979.
Melvin Edward Graham of Naylor, Ripley County, Missouri was born on March 24, 1930, and died at age 80 years old on June 27, 2010.

Graham Death Records & Life Expectancy

The average age of a Graham family member is 71.0 years old according to our database of 76,731 people with the last name Graham that have a birth and death date listed.

Life Expectancy

71.0 years

Oldest Grahams

These are the longest-lived members of the Graham family on AncientFaces.

Nathan Graham was born on September 15, 1817, and died at age 112 years old in April 1930. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Nathan Graham.
112 years
Harriet Graham of Tucson, Pima County, Arizona was born on March 21, 1873, and died at age 109 years old in November 1982.
109 years
Lenore M Graham of Tallahassee, Leon County, FL was born on January 17, 1891, and died at age 109 years old on April 23, 2000.
109 years
Mabel V Graham of Temple City, Los Angeles County, CA was born on July 25, 1895, and died at age 107 years old on April 30, 2003.
107 years
Euphemia S Graham of Bellingham, Whatcom County, WA was born on August 18, 1881, and died at age 108 years old on December 11, 1989.
108 years
Martha H Graham of Zanesville, Muskingum County, OH was born on May 31, 1898, and died at age 107 years old on March 26, 2006.
107 years
Clemmie Graham of Slocomb, Geneva County, AL was born on April 15, 1892, and died at age 108 years old on November 2, 2000.
108 years
Edward Graham of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois was born on November 15, 1861, and died at age 107 years old in July 1969.
107 years
Annie M Graham of Essex, Baltimore County, MD was born on May 5, 1904, and died at age 106 years old on February 19, 2011.
106 years
Clara C Graham of Owosso, Shiawassee County, MI was born on December 2, 1898, and died at age 106 years old on June 24, 2005.
106 years
Minnie A Graham of Champaign, Champaign County, IL was born on May 13, 1894, and died at age 107 years old on September 27, 2001.
107 years
Mary Graham of Lake City, Florence County, South Carolina was born in July 1876, and died at age 107 years old in August 1983.
107 years
Advertisement
Advertisement

Other Graham Records

Share memories about your Graham family

Leave comments and ask questions related to the Graham family.

Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
My grandmother is Ruby Graham and grandpa Mason lived in Florida
my grandfather was Donald f graham greeland brother lived in Baltimore md dundalk ave he was born in afton west va
Hi, my grandmother was a Graham and i would like to explore more of my family history, i don't know alot, but i think i know enough to get me started, they are from Pitcairn Pennsylvania
Both Thomas and Ellen were born in the 1860s in Cumberland (Now known as Cumbria) UK
They had 3 children Thomas and Ethel twins born 1900, and my father-in-law Jonathan Graham born 1902. Ellen had been married before to REGINALD CALLAND and had 3 sons and married Thomas Graham when Reginald Calland died young.

They lived in an old farm labourers cottage in LAZONBY, not far from Penrith, Cumberland.

Last year when we were on holiday very near to Lazonby, we found the cottage where the Graham's lived and were made most welcome by the elderly couple who live there now, and although the cottage had been modernised the cellors were still just as they would have been at the turn of the last century

The house is called Sqarrows and it was quite moving to have seen in inside and out.and we like to thank the couple who made us most welcome.

If anyone knows of this area or are related in anyway to these Graham's please get in touch.

Heather
hi
my father married a louise graham in gonzales co. texas in 1935 her father was john franklin graham nancy jordan was mother formely from jasper texas was wondering if these names ring a bell we have very little genealogy on them my father was george croft thanks

joann butler [contact link]
A Christmas wish of a five year old, remains a wish 56 years later to a senior citizen.

My father, William Graham disappeared July 1949. My mother, my sister, nor I know what happened to him. A body has never been found.

Every year as the joy of Christmas draws near there is this wish of a child thats been with me all my life. The wish that my father might return home would be the greatest gift that I could receive.

56 years have past, no father. The wish is alive and well. As a senior citizen, my wish is to hear from any family members that may be still living.

I have left no stone unturned in my search, its as if he disappeared off the face of the earth. Please know that I expect no one to try and find him. Want to share with others, maybe this Christmas the right person will read this note.
A little information about Mr. Graham:

William Graham born April 5, 1906 died ?????. SS# 044-12-1321. I did send for SS-5 forum. This record states William Graham (No Middle Name listed) is the S/o William Graham and Ethel Mitchell, born in Philadelphia, Pa., Have not been able to locate a birth record or information concerning his parents.
Met my mother in Newport News, Va. Married my mother, Anna Maschek in Camden, North Carolina Jan. 1940.

Records say that Graham was born in Philadelphia County, Pa. No census record was ever found. Graham joined the Merchant Marines abt. 1926. Aborad ship he traveled all over the U S and other countries. I have a picture of Mr. Graham if anyone is interested.Last Letter received from Los Angeles, Ca.

Thank you for reading about my wish,
Dorothy Email---- DM ea 986657 @aol.com
Vanceville (1852)

John Richard Graham (John) was born August 10, 1833 on the family farm in Vanceville near Somerset Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. John was one of the youngest of 13 children born to Richard and Mary Graham. At the age of 18 he received a certificate to teach school and apparently did so for about a year before getting “gold fever” and embarking on a journey to California with his older brother James Cashin Graham.

In early 1852, when John was 18 years old, he and brother James set out from the family farm on their quest for adventure and fortune. Nothing is known of their journey from the family farm to the Isthmus. It is likely they made their way to New York where they booked passage to the East Coast of Panama.

Panama

In New York, a variety of ships were waiting to serve them but not all ships were equal. To capitalize on the rush to California, entrepreneurs set about converting all types of ships into charter ships. Large and slow traveling cargo ships were often given rudimentary makeovers and set to sea. Tiers of narrows bunks were installed in the cargo areas. Because there was little planned-for free space, passengers were confined to their bunks during foul weather. Research in diaries and journals of this period show the cost for transportation alone ranged from $600 to over $1,200 per person.

Supplies for such a trip might include salt pork, salt beef, hard bread, salt, butter and cheese, tea, sugar and spices. Because these items were perishable, the overall length of the trip was important: salt meat often went bad, rats ate the cheese and butter turned rancid. The advertised travel time from New York was rarely met and passengers, therefore, were rarely prepared with sufficient fresh supplies. Steam ships were generally more reliable than sailing ships and arrived on the East Coast of Panama having encountered fewer problems.

Even if the trip from New York to Panama was uneventful, travel across the Isthmus in the 1850's would have been difficult for John and Jim at best; life threatening at worst. The journey consisted of a 75-mile cruise up the Charges River followed by a 25-mile trek with mules to Panama City. Many travelers, who were reasonably healthy before crossing the Isthmus, ended up dying on the West Coast due to diseases picked up along the way. Diseases common to the trip included Yellow Fever, Malaria, Dysentery and Cholera.

Louis J. Rasmussen gives us a flavor of travel in this period in his forward to Volume III of his San Francisco Ship Passenger Lists: “Every route to California by sea was taken up by hundreds of eager travelers. The rush of passengers was so great from the East Coast of America that steamers were engaged full for more than two months ahead. The entire world seemed bent on a trip to the gold region. By the tedious passage of “the Horn”, through Nicaragua, and over the Isthmus of Panama, thousands were bound for the West. In China, there was reported considerable excitement existing in the Canton districts, among the working classes, favorable to emigration to California. Great numbers of Chinese were preparing to join their countrymen who had previously made passage to San Francisco.

“There were a number of evils incident to the long sea voyage – a passage through the tropical regions, overloading of vessels, the failure in many instances to supply sufficient quantity of wholesome food and sweet water, and finally, the shipping of emigrants in old and un-seaworthy vessels which were either wrecked or abandoned because of the utter impossibility of pursuing the voyage upon them. In Churchillian prose, one California journal referred to the emigrant’s trials as almost incalculable, depicting it thusly – So much suffering, inconvenience and useless and wanton destruction of human life has hardly ever taken place before in so brief a time in the pursuits of peace”.

Having arrived safely in Panama City, John and James booked passage with 145 others aboard the barque Sarmiento and sailed for San Francisco. The two brothers were to join the rush for gold along with thousands of others but not as quickly as anticipated. John and James were “becalmed” in the Pacific Ocean for months, rigging up a distilling apparatus to keep the passengers and crew alive. The Sarmiento finally caught winds to be able to sail to Hawaii. They arrived at the port of Honolulu where they were able to get fresh supplies and water. It took another 33 days to sail from Honolulu to San Francisco.

San Francisco (1852)

On August 12, 1852, approximately 4 months after leaving Panama, the Sarmiento arrived in San Francisco. According to an August 13, 1852 article in the San Francisco newspaper Daily Alta California, “This unfortunate vessel, which left Panama about four months since, and whose arrival we noticed at Honolulu, reached this port last night. She has on board 140 sufferers, the names of whom will be found under the usual head”. The Alta shows two of the passengers to be “J. Graham and J.P.Graham”. The “P.” was either a typographical error as the typesetter transcribed the ship’s passenger list, or the handwriting was so difficult to read that the “R” appeared as a “P” and was so copied.

The Alta reports the arrival of the Sarmiento under heading “Shipping Intelligence – Port of San Francisco, Aug. 13, 1852”. It says that on August 12th, the Sarmiento arrived 115 days out from Panama “via Honolulu, 33 ds”. The ship carried not only its crew and passengers but 250 tons of coal as cargo. The arrival of the Sarmiento is independently confirmed in the San Francisco Herald newspaper of the same date.

John and James stayed in the city for a couple of days before traveling to Chinese Camp, Tuolumne County. Their brief stay in the city must have been interesting. Rasmussen writes:

“In April, 1852, the city of San Francisco was over capacity…As one would suppose, the huge influx of ship arrivals in San Francisco brought accommodation problems for the passengers of the vessels. Every respectable hotel and boarding house was full to overflowing. The up-river boats which carried the new passengers from San Francisco by inland water-ways to areas near the gold fields, took hundreds out of the city daily. However, the number remaining in San Francisco hardly appeared to diminish due to almost daily arrivals of ships from foreign ports.

“Those who were fortunate to own a shanty, or even a tent for that matter, could engage in the hotel business and be assured of financial success…The first contact the newcomer met on his arrival in San Francisco was, in most cases, the ‘hotel runner’. It was a meeting not unlike running the gauntlet of an enemy battalion. Hotel runners were stationed along the wharfs like the light infantry in preparation of a skirmish. The runners watched the arrival of vessels with as much eagerness as if the fate of nations depended upon the news they carried.

“Before the boat touched the wharf, or threw a line to make fast, these hungry solicitors of patronage were all over the vessel, expressing a willingness to ease the passenger of his luggage, all the while descanting largely upon the sumptuous fare, healthy location and splendid accommodations of some eating house, bearing a title that might induce one to flatter himself with the idea that he was about to enjoy the comforts of an oriental palace. Instead of which, the obliging runner generally conveyed the luggage to some dingy and obscure shanty. There the new arrival found beef and potatoes dished out at exorbitant charges, the vilest ruin dealt out of a dirty decanter, and a greasy bunk in the c***-loft”.

To John and James, even the greasiest bunk and vial food may have seemed luxurious after their confinement on the Sarmiento.

The Southern Mines

A number of ads for transportation to and from the gold mines dotted pages of the local newspapers. An ad for Todd’s Express was published on the front page of the Alta the day John and James came into port. It read as follows:

“On and after this date, C.A.Todd will run a daily express to Stockton, Sonora, Columbia, Mariposa, Agua Frio, Quartzburg, Double Springs and Mokelumne Hill, and all parts of the southern mines. Gold dust, specie, valuable packages, etc. etc. received and forwarded. Notes, accounts, etc. collected and all business pertaining to an Express promptly attended to. A stage will leave the office on the levee at Stockton daily for each of the above named places.” It is likely John and James used this or one of the other services to get to Chinese Camp, their initial destination in the Sierra foothills. John and James arrived in San Francisco on a Monday. It is possible that they came to Chinese Camp, one of their many mining camps, on a Sunday.

Historian Hubert Howe Bancroft writes about a typical Sunday in the 1888 History of California: “The great gathering in the main street was on Sundays, when after a restful morning, though unbroken by the peal of church bells, the miners gathered from hills and ravines for miles around for marketing and relaxation. It was the harvest day for the gamblers, who raked in regularly the weekly earnings of the improvident, and then sent them to the store for credit to work out another gambling stake. Drinking saloons were crowded all day, drawing pinch after pinch of gold dust from the buck-skin bags of the miners, who felt lonely if they could not share their gains with bar keepers as well as friends. And enough there were of these to drain their purses and sustain their rags.

“Besides the gambler, whose abundance of means, leisure, and self possession gave him an influence second in this respect only to that of the store-keeper, the general referee, advisor and provider, there was the bully, who generally boasted of his prowess as a scalp hunter and duelist with fist or pistol, and whose following of reckless loafers acquired for him an unenviable power in the less reputable camps, which at times extended to terrorism. His opposite was the effeminate dandy, whose regard for dress seldom reconciled him to the rough shirt, sash bound, tucked pantaloons, awry boots, and slouchy bespattered hat of the honest, unshaved miner, and who’s gingerly handling of implements bespoke in equal consideration for his hands and back”.

Chinese Camp was located between Montezuma and Jacksonville in Tuolumne County. It is one of the oldest and best known gold towns named for the Chinese miners who began mining there in 1849. John R.'s papers state that "Dad and Jim stayed in S.F a few days, others went by boat to Stockton and Sac. for the gold mines…they wanted to mine but when it was known that Dad was a teacher, they would not let him, and said he was the only educated man in camp (and must teach the children)...he was selected to settle all disputes and act as judge...this was before the law was organized...”

An article in the Sacramento Bee published January 18, 1998 has the headline "Justice Wasn't Pretty - But It Was Quick". The article goes on to tell about the mob form of justice experienced in the foothills: "Punishment for criminal behavior during the chaos of California's Gold Rush was not always just, but it was quick. The minors who poured into the Sierra canyons by the thousands had little time for courts, juries or lawyers.

"Instead, justice was dispensed by 'Judge Lynch' - in the form of mobs that held impromptu trials and meted out immediate punishment, often whipping, hanging or banishment. During the early days of the Gold Rush, there was little crime. Gold was plentiful, as was space. By 1849, however, the rivers and streams were crowded, and the easy gold was gone. Men from around the world, who had traveled half a year in life-threatening conditions to get to California, were bitterly let down.

"Some killed over claims. Some turned to stealing. Even without the disappointments, the demographic makeup of the miners almost guaranteed trouble. Many of them were wild, wild and adventurous. The results were a steady stream of unpremeditated homicides, most of which arose from personal disputes and occurred in or near drinking establishments."

After moving from Chinese Camp to Angels Camp and to Shaw’s Flat, John and James finally settled in Columbia where James mined gold and John taught school. Although they did not arrive in California in time to participate in the census of 1850, census data for 1860 shows both John and brother James in Columbia.

Columbia

At the time John and James arrived in Columbia it was a bustling town of approximately 5,000. According to the Columbia Gazette and Visitors Guide, “By the end of 1852, Columbia was a fine town…Clap-board buildings and log cabins replaced the tents and the town boasted 150 business houses including 30 saloons, 21 grocery stores, 17 dry goods stores, seven boarding houses, four hotels, four banks, three express offices, doctors, lawyers, fine restaurants and theaters. The town had a daguerreotype parlor, brewery, bear and bull arena, bowling alley – and even a permanent circus!

“Although there were women of ill fame in the mines from the beginning, the arrival of respectable ladies had a sobering effect on the population. When the first white woman, Mrs. DeNoielle, arrived in Columbia the miners lined the road all the way to Sonora to greet her. By the summer of 1852 there were enough children for Mrs. Haley to start a small school. Churches were also being established including a Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic – and even a Jewish Synagogue.

“Fraternal organizations were very important to miners and in 1852 the Masonic Lodge and Independent Order of Odd Fellows were organized. Soon the Sons of Temperance, Hook and Ladder and a military company were founded. Fine homes were built and fruit trees and flowering gardens were planted. Columbia was becoming a fine city. The culture in Columbia was very diverse. One miner was sure that if you stood on the corner of Main and State Streets you could hear every language in the world spoken at the same time.”

Information on John’s career as a teacher is provided by Columbia State Park Ranger Sherrin Grout: "Although he did not advertise, John Graham appears to have opened a private school at the beginning of the year (1859) in Porterfield's school house. He closed his school in May in anticipation of opening the public school. When he was not hired, he removed to Springfield and apparently opened a school there. On August 20th, he opened a public school at Springfield.

"On July 16, 1860, Rev. P.G. Buchanan opened the public school in the Dennell and Parsons' warehouse, now owned by Martha Barclay, at the north east corner of Main and Pacific Streets. Early in October, Mr. Buchanan was dismissed and John Graham hired to replace him as principal of the school. The school was in session to the end of October, four months. The new school building had been completed but all of the furniture had not yet arrived.

"On March 18, 1861, John Graham was hired by the retiring Trustees to open the primary department in the new school building. One month later, Laura Nelson was hired as assistant. The term closed at the end of July, so that the building could be cleaned and fitted with the new furniture that had arrived, in time for the fall term.

"The school again opened on September 9th, and continued in session until March 28, 1862, when the retiring Trustees closed it before school election. While the Trustees reported nine months of school, they did not count the month of March for which the previous Trustees had hired Graham.

"During the period November 1st to October 31st, the school year of 1862, there were 8 months of school. The first four were included in the report of the Trustees for the preceding year. Because of rain and hot weather, the year had been broken into four sessions. John Graham was again principal and Miss Nelson his assistant. There were 117 pupils in the grammar department; the primary was not given. However, on April 4, 1862, Miss Adelaide Cory of Columbia, was hired to hear recitations.

"In 1863, John Graham, Miss Nelson and Ada Cory were again teachers...Because of heavy rains in 1862, which damaged mines as well as crops, many of the school districts were in financial difficulties until 1865. A drought in 1864 prolonged the bad spell just when people were beginning to get on their feet after the rains of 1862. This was true all over the state.

"Then Graham had taken office in March [1864] as County Superintendent of Schools. He was also principal at Columbia school. His assistants this year were newcomers to Columbia; Mrs. Abbie Slack was a recent newcomer from the east. Miss Nellie Bowne was the other teacher, both of whom had very fine reputations as teachers. When the school was closed at the end of six months, Mrs. Slack and Miss Bowne opened a private school on April 11, in the public school house, to complete the 8 months school year. Mr. Graham removed his office to Jamestown and did not teach again in Columbia."

It was here in the foothills, and apparently at the Red Brick schoolhouse in Columbia which he helped to build, that John met his future bride. As John R. tells it, his dad “married one of his scholars, Elizabeth Gardner”. Elizabeth crossed the plains with her family in a covered wagon from Springfield, Illinois, in 1855, settling at Don Pedro’s bar, which was a mining camp on the Tuolumne River, six miles northeast of La Grange in Tuolumne County. Her father mined for a short time before opening up a livery stable in La Grange.

San Francisco (1866)

John and Elizabeth were married at Don Pedro’s Bar in 1865 and lived initially in Jamestown or Angel’s Camp. It is possible that their paths intertwined with the American writer Mark Twain. In the winter of 1865 Twain hid out in a small cabin on Jackass Hill near Angels Camp. It was there that he heard about the famous jumping frog while running from San Francisco authorities.

John and Elizabeth’s first child, Mary Elizabeth Graham, was born in Angels Camp on June 21, 1866. Shortly after Mary was born, John and family, including brother James, moved to San Francisco where John got a job as a drayman. Within a year he opened his own business. As John R. tells it, his dad and Uncle Jim “had saved up 25 to 30 thousand dollars...then went to S.F. and purchased a block on 19th and Shotwell streets, erected a home on 19th and two or more houses on Shotwell and corner grocery store, and butcher...".

A listing in the San Francisco Directory 1865-66 documents both John and James as working in San Francisco. It shows “J.R.Graham, drayman, Custom House” and “James Graham, drayman, 211 Battery, dwl 515 Bush”. The San Francisco Business Directory of 1886-87 documents the new business venture. It shows “Graham, John, fruits and vegetables, 661 Twentieth”. Census data for 1870 documents John, ‘Lizzee’ and Mary as residing in San Francisco. With the exception of Mary, all of John and Elizabeth’s eight children were born in San Francisco.

During this time, John and Jim ran the fruit and vegetables business and established a small dairy. Extra-curricular activities included participation in the Vigilantes. The Vigilantes were a committee of citizens formed in San Francisco to maintain law and order in the absence of adequate police protection; a further extension of the mob justice John and James experienced in the southern mining camps. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines a Vigilance Committee as "a self constituted judicial body, occasionally organized in the western frontier districts for the protection of life and property."

In a series of remembrances written for submission to the Saturday Evening Post in 1954, John R. tells his recollection of the riots and his dad's participation as a vigilante. "When the Union and Central Pacific [railroad] was completed, the Chinese were brought to California by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company at very high prices. They were turned loose to shift for themselves. They took over all the street work of digging sewers and water mains and built 10' x 12' wash houses lined with cloth and paper. They took the washing of clothes from the women. There would be 10 to 12 sleeping in wooden bunks; no women or children.

"The Huntington Hopkins Hardware Company furnished the Chinese with picks and shovels. The slogan 'The Chinese Must Go' was started and the police were powerless. The mobs started by burning the Pacific Mail Steamship at Second and Brannan Streets, the woolen mills on Potrero Avenue and 16th and Folsom Streets, and Chinese wash houses all over the city.

"There were some of the Vigilantes of the early days who hung several rioters in the wholesale fruit district. They organized committees of younger men. There were no phones then and when a mob was forming in the daytime, a boom was fired from the firehouse on Folsom Street between 21st and 22nd and followed by a colored light showing the location of the mob.

"My dad and Uncle Jim had a dairy of 27 cows on the block between Shotwell and Folsom and 21st and 22nd Streets. They had a one-horse wagon and when the alarm came in for this district they would sally forth with their pick handles. As I said, the police were powerless. The Vigilantes would lay down the rioters in short order. I was about 16 and followed the crowds until Dad and Uncle Jim would horse whip me all the way home."

Fowler

In the early nineties, John experienced financial problems necessitating a move out of the city. John, Elizabeth and baby Wensel moved in with daughter Mary and her husband George Dodge who lived on a ranch in Fowler, San Joaquin County, California. In a letter to John R. dated December 13, 1891, John talks about the move: "I expect to sell our stoves and the old bedspreads and some of the old furniture and get something of these so all together if we can get down to the city with a hundred dollars after paying our fare I think it will be all I can count on. If I can get any more together it will all depend on what success I have in selling our things. I have brought everything over to Geo. W's and we will be staying there till you send for us.

"Carrie and Ethyl are staying with Emma and Frank, and Myrtle is staying with Mrs. Taylor. Myrtle is taking painting lessons. Your mother wants to keep Mertz there as long as she can. Myrtie is learning very fast. She is getting over her sickness very well. You and Katie both speak of sending Mertz down right away to help us out of our embarrassment but as we are now getting along nicely, your mother wants us all to go together...times are just terrible here no one has a dollar of money."

In the remains of part of a letter 12 days later on Christmas day, 1891, John talks of the family he has to care for as he prepares to move to Fowler. He says to John R., "I hope your plans...will succeed for us. I am very anxious to get to earning something because have seven mouths to feed and seven backs to cover and seven pair of feet to buy shoes and stockings for...And if we can make ten a month more than we need to live on I will put it in the bank so as to have some-thing to fall back on for I never will buy anything again till I have every cent to pay for it.

“I will take no more chances for future prospects...Geo. has just got out by the skin of his teeth of course this is to you as a secret, do not tell anyone but the truth is, this chance he has of making some ready money to pay off his numerous bills and to stop the great increase of expenses in running his ranch...”

What caused this unfortunate circumstance is open to speculation. Perhaps his intrinsic sense of honor and his trust of others were to blame. John R. wrote that his dad "thought everyone was as honest as he was, and trusted so many people, that in a few years he was broke."

Vanceville (1904)

In 1902 John made plans to visit his family in Pennsylvania for the first time after leaving in 1852. A letter to John R. dated September 19, 1902 tells of John’s initial plans for the trip. “John, I read a letter from home that my sister is very sick with the dysentery. She had been in bed two weeks but has been poorly all summer. So I know she cannot stand it long if she does not get relief very soon. I had made up my mind to go home to see them in December and spend the winter with her. Now I am afraid I shall never see her if I put it off so long. Just as soon as I can get $75 or $100 together I must go. The fair to Pittsburgh is $60 without a sleeper and a sleeper costs $75. I can go without a sleeper. I have $20 of it now. How much can you spare? Let me know.”

Two weeks later, John wrote to John R. about his sister Mary. “Dear Son, I received a letter from your Aunt Mary written by her own hand informing me of her partial recovery. She is just able to walk about in the house and is very weak. I will now postpone my going home till things get through at the packinghouse. That will be near Christmas. Then I will go back if I have to walk it or ride a pony!”

In a letter written to John R. dated January 7, 1904, John says “I am glad I did not go east this winter. I see all through Pennsylvania and New York it is from 20 to 30 degrees below zero – ugh! I could not stand it. I think I will go next spring when the fair is down.”

John traveled to Pennsylvania in the spring as planned. The following is one of his letters written to John R. dated May 24, 1904 from the 'Old Home': "Dear Son, With joy I opened and pursued your letter and your `clippings - I think so much of them that I will paste them in my scrap book. I am well and found my sister and bro well. I enjoyed my trip beyond conception and my visit here with brother (Sam) and sister (Mary) - I cannot tell you - and then my reception by my old school mates, their children and their grandchildren - many who never saw me and all the former with gray hair and wrinkled faces gathered around us, both before and after church to speak with me and shake my hand.

“And Wednesday, tomorrow, I am invited to a very swell reception party in Washington where I will be the central figure. Now as for business. At the Wor-Fair, I was approached by many seeking news from Cala. I was selected from others in the great throngs in the hotels, in the street cars and the fair building and the fair grounds not because I was different from anybody else or that my Cala showed out in my face but because I wore a beautiful yellow badge with the word California printed on it. This badge indeed seemed a very magnet of attraction. "Ah! You are from Cala", "Yes, I just came over to see how you people in the east are getting along". "How long have you been there"? "I have been there nearly 50 years". "Well you know much of California then". "Yes I do". Then follows a long harried explanation of the raisin growing, curing, packing, seeding, selling not only raisins but peaches, prunes, etc. generally closing with coming to Cala and the best way to get there. And I of course speak for the Santa Fe. I will give you a few names of persons who went to Cala {the page ends}".

On July 16, 1904, John wrote from “Scenery Hill” asking John R. to help get his return trip ticket extended. It seems from his letters that he was having the time of his life. He writes “I am receiving requests from all around to give more lectures on Cala. My Pigeon Creek lectures make them want more”. In a letter written September 9, 1904 from Scenery Hill John closes his letter with “Mary and Sam send their love. Mary and I are going to a dinner today. Oh! It is dinner, dinner all the time”. On September 14, 1904 he wrote, “I lecture next Saturday night in Vanceville. They want (me) in Cannonsburg, Washington and Waynesburg but I don’t know if I will go or not. I am not very well this week.”

John R. was successful in getting John’s return ticket extended on the Santa Fe. On September 15, 1904 John writes from Scenery Hill thanking him for his efforts. He comments on his plans by saying, “I do not know just yet when I will start home. I have some business to settle up and besides I want to call on five or six old friends that I have not seen yet. I will start in plenty of time to reach home before my ticket runs out.”

John’s last letter home was written October 8, 1904 to daughter Emma, less than two weeks before he died. It says in very shaky handwriting, “I was pleased to get a letter from you. It was so very satisfying all round the place. That Mr. Dorman and you had seen all the girls and all was satisfying that it gave me relief. Well Emma, I would have been home before…meantime I am enjoying my visit here with Sam and Mary Anne and my old and new friends. Why Emma, everybody seems to be friends. I got a very nice letter from Mary a few days ago. I have a few places to go yet, but I do not think I will get around to see them all. You should just see the old rich widows and maids casting goo-goo eyes at me. They don’t know how much I am worth. I do not let them come to that you know.

“Oh Emma! I have lots of fun. But do not look for me for I do not know when I can get away. All I can say is that I have got my visit pretty well out and I am delighted that I came. When you girls write ask about Chas, the young fellow that Mary and Sam raised. He is still nice and young and lives here. He is 21 years old. Emma, I received your labels for my medicines. Thanks for them. I sell a bottle once in a while. You said everything was well around the ranch but you didn’t tell me about our white leghorn flock of chick-a-biddies. I am going to a great dinner today. It is getting cold here. Ice at night. How about Teddy Roosevelt there? Penn will give him 300,000 [votes?]. Mary A. sends love to you all. She is so glad you got well. She is pretty well too. She does all the work. I do all the dishes! Love, Papa.”

John died in Vanceville, Washington County, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 1904. His remains were sent from Wyland, Washington County, Pennsylvania to Merced via Wells Fargo coach on October 23rd. He was buried October 31, 1904 in the Masonic section of the Merced public cemetery along side wife Elizabeth, who preceded him in death in 1902.

An undated funeral notice, probably printed in Merced, states the following: "DIED-In Washington County, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1904, JOHN GRAHAM, a native of Vanceville, Pennsylvania, aged 71 years. The funeral will take place from the First Presbyterian Church, Sunday, October 30, 1904, at 2:00 PM. Friends and acquaintances of the deceased are respectfully invited to attend".

An obituary in the Merced Express, dated October 29, 1904, states that: ”J.R.Graham received a telegram on the 20th announcing the death of his father - a message the day before stated that he was critically ill. The old gentleman was visiting with a brother and sister in Washington County, Pennsylvania, at his boyhood home, wither he went a few months ago - after an absence of almost 50 years. He was enjoying his visit very much and was in high spirits and fair health. He wrote many letters to his sons and daughters in this state. Indeed, one letter written by him on the 15th was received by Captain Graham subsequently to the receipt of the telegram announcing his death. He wrote in a cheerful and enthusiastic vein and said nothing about illness. He was intending to return to California in a few weeks. The body was prepared for shipment, and is expected to arrive here today or tomorrow. John Graham was born in Vanceville, Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1833. His father and grandfather and probably his great grandfather were residents of that section, the first of the family who settled in this country coming from the North of Ireland and being of Scotch descent.

"In his boyhood he obtained as good an education as was practical to acquire in Western Pennsylvania in those early days and he taught school. In 1854 he came to California by way of the isthmus, with his brother James C. Graham. He located at Chinese Camp, in Tuolumne County, and followed mining for a short time, then engaging in teaching an occupation for which he was well qualified and which he followed successfully for years. As superintendent of schools of Tuolumne County, Mr. Graham's labors were of value in advancing educational interests. It was he who introduced the teaching of mental arithmetic in California schools.

"In 1867 he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Gardner; she died in this city three years ago. From Tuolumne County he went to San Francisco and engaged in business for a year or two. He subsequently spent two or three years at Los Banos, farming; then was a vineyardest near Selma, and in 1902 came to Merced, with his son J.R.Graham, who engaged in the ice business here. Since his wife's death he has been with his married daughters in Fresno County much of the time. He was formerly a member of Mission Lodge, F. &A.M. of San Francisco.

“Mr. Graham was a man of lovely disposition, gentlemanly in manner to an eminent degree, straight forward and scrupulously honest; he took a lively interest in current events and firmly adhered to every cause that he deemed right and espoused movements for the betterment of the community. He was intensely patriotic; from 1861 to 1865 he was a first lieutenant in the home guards, the then military organization of the State. In his later days he was tenderly and liberally ministered to by his sons and daughters - Captain J.R.Graham of Merced and Mrs. G.W.Dodge, Mrs. K.S.Johnson, Mrs. E.J.Galloway, Mrs. K. Van Loo, Mrs. E.W.Wilson, Miss Ethel Graham and Wensel C. Graham of Fresno County.”
John Graham married Elizabeth Langley on Nov. 12, 1840 in Union Co., Ark. He was born ca 1820 to possibly William Graham of Union Co. Elizabeth was born April 23, 1823 in PA to James W. Langley and Judith Mattox.

John, Elizabeth, his prents and 4 brothers left Ark. and went to Plymouth, Van Buren Co., Iowa, near Farmington. John and Elizabeth's children were William, Bollen, Lucinda (died young), Jasper Newton and John Wesley Graham.

John died of pneumonia in 1850, while building a mill on the Des Moines River. After the death of his parents, the four brothers left home on horseback. Two might have settled in the Carolinas. Elizabeth and Jasper lived with a wealthy uncle and his two spinster daughters for three months and then went back to her mother's home at Chidester, Ark. by steamboat. John Wesley (my g-gf) was born in 1851. He and his brother raised large families in LA and Ark.

Elizabeth married Robinson Malcolm Willett in 1852. They had several children. She died in the woods at Danville, Bienville Parish, LA in Oct. 1890, on her way home from her youngest son's home.
John Graham was born ca 1820. He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Langley on Nov. 12, 1840 in Union Co., Arkansas. She was born April 23, 1823 in Pennsylvania; daughter of James W. Langley and Judith Mattox. His parents are unknown but he could have been Mr. and Mrs. William Graham of Union Co., Ark.

Soon after the marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Graham, John, Elizabeth and John's four brothers left Ark. and went to Plymouth, Van Buren Co., Iowa, near Farmington. Three children were born to John and Elizabeth; they died as infants (birth-three years). They were William, Bolen and Lucinda Graham. A son, Jasper Newton Graham, was born July 24, 1847. John was building a mill on the Des Moines River, when he took pneumonia and died, leaving Elizabeth, Jasper and an expected baby.

After the death of John and Mr. and Mrs. Graham, his four brothers left Iowa on horseback. One went one way, one went another; the oldest took the youngest brother with him and they are believed to have settled in the Carolinas.

Elizabeth and Jasper lived for three months with her wealthy uncle and his two spinster daughters. Elizabeth said they had butlers, maids and everything fine and grand. From there, she and Jasper came by steamboat back to her mother's home in Ark., where John Wesley Graham (my g-gf) was born on March 9, 1851. The following year, Elizabeth married Robinson Malcolm Willett in Union Co.

Elizabeth died in the woods on Oct. 19, 1890 in Danville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana; buried in Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery, Friendship, LA. She was on her way home from her son John Wesley's home, became ill, layed down under a tree and never woke up. He found her the next morning on his way to work; had thought she was at home!
John Wesley and Jasper Newton Graham married and raised large families in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Robert Graham
(b. Aug. 20, 1818; d. Feb. 10, 1890)

(Four of his daughters married four of Rev. Daniel H. Willis, Sr.'s sons)

Robert Graham was born in Mississippi on August 20, 1818. He moved to Texas in about 1836. He then moved to Natchitoches, La., about 1841. Robert Graham married Ruth Smith (b. Dec. 5, 1813; d. Jun. 2, 1869) about 1843. Soon after marring Ruth Smith (a trapper's daughter) from Natchitoches, they moved to Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, La.

He was a successful farmer and cattleman there. Ruth told Robert that she wished to be buried at the top of a hill on their land, near Forest Hill. She died of Typhoid fever and was buried atop that hill which is known today as the Graham Cemetery. Robert is buried next to her.

Four of their daughters married four of Rev. Daniel H. Willis, Sr.'s sons: Julia Ann Graham (1845-1936) married Daniel H. Willis, Jr. (1839-1900), Demerius Graham (1849-1886) married Calvin Willis (1855-1911), Annie Graham (1855-1936) married Robert Willis (1858-1939) and Mary Ann "Maggie" Graham (1853-1940) married Dempsey Willis (1854-1919).

Additional daughters of Robert and Ruth Graham were: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Graham who married Joel Merchant, Katherine Graham (b. circa 1842) who married D. Sermons, Emily Graham (1846-1933) who married William Butter (1850-1923), and Lucy "Ruth" Graham (1851-1893) who married James Moore (1849-1913). Robert and Ruth also had two sons: William Graham (1843-1925) who married Laura Dyer (1849-1930) and Lorenzo Dow Graham (1848-1933) who married Victoria Pickren. They had a total of 10 children. Five of these marriages celebrated Golden wedding anniversaries.

Robert Graham had two brothers: William Graham (who moved to Bell County, Texas) and Samuel Graham (who moved to Wisconsin). Robert Graham's father was another William Graham. This William Graham's father was Samuel Graham and Samuel's father was supposedly, yet another William Graham from Charlotte, North Carolina (circa 1765).

Randy Willis
www.randywillis.org

Followers & Sources

Loading records
Back to Top