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Frank Tull Manuscripts: 31 - 40
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To the oldest daughter, Martha Sanderson and her husband, John Quarles, were born Fanny Quarles Minnis (Mrs. R. B. Minnis) of Carrollton, Missouri. She was born about 1860 and is the one from whom I have obtained most of my information about this branch of the Graham family. She spent her married life in Carrollton and I have known her since I have been able to remember anyone outside of my immediate family. I can assure future generations that never a better woman lived. She has always been a very wonderful character and for her I have always had a great amount of admiration. Her mother, Martha Sanderson Quarles, died when Fanny Quarles Minnis, who has always been known as cousin Fanny Minnis to all of our family, was quite young and many of her younger years were spent with her grandmother, Bosie (“Rosie” /gem) Graham Sanderson. Thru this medium. Mrs. Minnis had considerable knowledge of her ancestors and was well informed on the geneology of the George Graham branch of the large Graham family. Mrs. Fanny Quarles Minnis also had two brothers; William Quarles, who died when twelve years of age and another brother Lafayette Quarles, who died when a young man. The father of Mrs. Minnis married the second time after he moved to Columbia, Missouri, about 1880 and had son, John Quarles, by his second wife.
Fanny Quarles Minnis and her husband, Rector B. Minnis, of Carrollton, Missouri, are the parents of two sons; John and Edward and a daughter Caroline who died with appendicitis in 1908. The son, John Minnis, was born in Carrollton on September 5, 1894 and married Elizabeth Spencer of that city on April 12, 1917. They are now residents of Carrollton where most of his business life has been spent in the merchantile business in that city. They have one son, Jack Minnis, who is now a student at Fulton, Missouri. Jack was born in Carrollton, October 13, 1921. Edward, the youngest son of Rector B. and Fanny Quarles Millis, is also a resident of Carrollton. He was born there September 9,1895 and married Gene Brown of that city on January 18, 1916. Edward and Gene Brown Minnis are the parents of a daughter, Caroline, born at Carrollton, Missouri, March 9, 1919 and a son, Eugene Minnis, who was born at Carrollton, Missouri, on March 1, 1924. Cousin Fannie Quarles Minnis died Carrollton on September 13, 1951.
John Sanderson, the son of Boise Graham Sanderson (s/b Rosie, gem) and her husband, Edward Sanderson, married Minerva Casey, and they became the parents of several children, all of whom died without issue.
Nothing is known concerning the family of Francis Graham who married an Allison. and the younger child, Nancy, died when quite young. However, the daughter, Margaret, of this Sanderson family, married a Patterson and became the mother of seven children. The names of the children of Margaret Sanderson Patterson as given to me by Mrs. Fanny Quarles Minnis are: Joelle, Bosie (Rosie?) Dee, William, Martha, Frances, Casey and Polly. Other than the names of the children, no additional information was given to me.
Again referring to the children of George Graham and wife, Eleanor H. Graham, I have only these facts concerning their daughter, Mary Graham, who married a Mr. Brown. If they had children I do not know it, but I was told they moved to Oregon following the Civil War because the losses sustained by Mr. Brown as a result of the freeing of his slaves caused him to feel he should go west to start life over again and endeavor to regain his financial losses.
Another child of the Immigrant, George Graham and wife, Eleanor Harrison Graham was their younger son, George Graham who was born in Missouri in 1820. He
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married Jane Braden in Carroll County, Missouri, on July 30th, 1839. The 1840 U.S. Ray County Census lists this George Graham as George, Jr. at which time he was shown to be between the ages of 20-30 on the report. I must also mention the fact this same census of Fishing River Township in Ray County, lists George Graham, Sr. as being a man 60-70 years of age which means he was born about 1770. that is why I feel the parents of the three immigrant Graham brothers had to have come with them to the U.S.A.
The 1850 Ray County Missouri U.S. Census lists this son as George W. Graham with his wife, Jane Braden. In that year, George was shown to be 33 years of age (Page 619) but the 1860 census shows his age as being forty. The wife, Jane Braden Graham, was 27 according to the 1850 census and 37 in the 1860 census, so she was unquestionably born in 1823 in Kentucky. According to the census reports, this George. W. and Jane Braden Graham were the parents of:
Elizabeth, b 1840 Mo. George, b1844, Mo. Frances, b 1846, Mo. Mary Jane, b 1849, Mo. Nancy, b 1853, Mo. John W., b 1854, Mo. Willis B. b1857, Mo. Jerry, b 1859, Mo.
In addition to the above children of this family, I also noted the census listed Aaron Bradden, age 88, born in Maryland, as a resident of the Graham household.
At one time, when I was discussing these census reports with cousin Fanny Quarles Minnis, she related how this George Graham family lost their home by fire and in it was destroyed the old family bible that was unknown to me. By records are confusing as one remark indicates I was told they moved to Mississippi after the Civil War and in another article written when visiting Mrs. Minnis, indicates this George and Jane Braden Graham also went to Oregon where George's sister, Mrs. Brown, had moved. The law of averages should allow this family of eight children to have many descendants somewhere in the world, but I know nothing about where they are located.
I think most of the George and Eleanor Harrison Graham family’s lived west of Richmond, Missouri, in Ray County. That is where these pioneers probably died but that will not be known until more research is done in Ray County records. I do know their son, Elias Graham: who married his cousin Catherine Graham lived at Elkhorn in western Ray County for many years and r think when the railroads built thru the small town of Camden, Missouri, this Elias Graham and family moved to that place and operated the hotel there for many years. Bosie (Rosie /gem) Graham Sanderson lived five miles west of Richmond on the main road but of that city, according to 'her granddaughter, Fanny Quarles Minnis, and I believe all of the other children of George and Eleanor Harrison Graham were residents of that section of Ray County for many years. I also know the son, George W. Graham and wife, Jane Braden. were in later years residents of Millville neighborhood some ten miles northeast of Richmond, Missouri. Originally, they resided in the western part of the county where the parents settled about the time Ray County was organized or possibly before.
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The only two descendants of the George, and Eleanor Graham family that I have known personally have been cousin Fanny Quarles Minnis and Mr. James F. Graham, the son of Elias and Catherine Graham of Candem, Missouri. As before mentioned, Mrs. Minnis has spent her married life in Carrollton and was closely associated with my parents. Of course, I knew quite well all of the children of these two descendants of the George Graham family because they were grown boys and girls when I was quite small in the home town of Carrollton. With cousin Fanny Quarles Minnis, my mother has always been very intimate and much closer in association than relationship.
I inquired of my mother as to why this distant Graham relation was always so close to our family and was informed there had been one or two members of each generation that were about the same age and always had great admiration for each other. Evidently thru two or three generations, there had been very close contact maintained with this Graham family by our immediate kin.
The other descendant of the George and Eleanor Harrison Graham family who was known by me was Mr. James F. Graham. Mr. James F, Graham was the son of cousin Elias and Catherine Graham of Camden, Missouri. He came to Carrollton as a young man and was an attorney in that city until his death prior to 1920. I well remember his impressive voice and all recognized his humor. Too, he was very bald and that impressed me as a youngster. With my mother's older sister, Mary William Campbell Mirick of Carrollton, he frequently visited in her home when she was confined with illness in her later years and his visits were always fully enjoyed. The old home of the James F. Graham fami1y stands today on the west side of the street in the 600 block on north Jefferson. My earliest recollection of this home is when all the children were living there and with them was Mr. Graham’s older sister. ********** ********** **********
WILLIAM GRAHAM, THE THIRD BROTHER TO IMMIGRATE FROM IRELAND, YOUNGER BROTHER OF FRANCIS & GEORGE GRAHAM
The third immigrant brother, William Graham, is the one about whom I have the least genealogical information. Of course, he is said by the Harvey Graham letter to have been the youngest of the three brothers and was in Kentucky during part of the time that Francis and George were residents there.
From records, I first learned of this William Graham when he married Susannah Caskey in Washington County, Kentucky in 1797. His second marriage was to Mary Whitecotton in the same county in 1804.
The exact number of children he had by his two marriages is unknown, but of some of these children I have knowledge that was gained from records and also from the Graham letter written in 1897 by Harvey Graham. One thing of which I am certain is the fact this William Graham and his second wife, Mary White- cotton, were pioneers in Boone County, Missouri, where they had lands in 1818, They were located four miles southwest of Columbia, Missouri, near what is known as Horse Shoe Lake. All evidence points to the fact this Graham family were residents of Missouri prior to 1818 because every census of Missouri in following
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years indicates their daughter Catherine Graham was born in the present state of Missouri in 1813. It was this Catherine Graham who married her cousin Elias Graham of Ray County, Missouri, and became the mother of James F. Graham of Carrollton, about whom I have previously written.
Unquestionably, this William Graham was the first member of our Graham family to cross the Mississippi River into Louisiana Territory that later became the Territory of Missouri and in 1821 the state of Missouri. When William Graham came to the present Missouri with his family is not known, furthermore, we do not know if he came directly to the current County of Boone in Missouri, because in 1813 there were very few settlers in this part of Missouri at that time. Until 1816, this part of the Missouri territory was incorporated in St. Charles County and then a part of Howard County from 1818 to 1821 when Boone was taken from that county. However, I do recall reading in the Stephens History of Boone County, Missouri, that one Graham was one of the first settlers in Boone County, but to say it was this William Graham would be questionable. I do know this William Graham obtained 160 acres of land by patent from the government on August 13, 1821. This land was located on the east half of northeast quarter of 19-48-13 and also the west half of the same section. In 1942, this land is known as the E. M. Williamson farm.
On February 24,1826, the land William Graham obtained by patent from the government was deeded for love and affection to John and Robert Graham. At that time, Marv Whitecotton Graham could not write and her mark was duly witnessed by a justice of the peace who swore the document had been read to Mary C. Graham and she stated it was not being signed as a result of duress or influence on the pant of her husband.
One would assume these two children, John and Robert who were the children of William Graham by his first wife, Susannah Caskey. That is quite sure because later census reports indicate the son, John Graham, was born in Kentucky in 1800. It was not until 1804 that William married Mary Whitecotton.
Evidently, when William and Mary Graham deeded this land to the sons, John and Robert, they were then preparing to move on west to Ray County, Missouri, where we find this family residing when the 1830 Census was taken. For some reason, not a member of this Graham family appear on the 1830 Boone County Census, but I feel sure the son, John Graham had not moved from there when his family went to Ray County. The son Robert did move to Ray County and is listed on the 1830 Census of that county with his wife who was shown as being in the age bracket of 10 to 20. Robert was then shown as being in the age bracket of 20 to 30.
The son, John Graham, who was deeded the land by William and Mary Graham, was a resident of Boone County, Missouri, in 1850. The census indicates he was born in Kentucky in 1800. He was the father of J. Harrison. Graham of Manderyille, Missouri, and about this J. Harrison Graham family I will be able to supply considerable information.
All evidence points to the fact this William Graham was the father of several children, but I have a record of only two lines of descent from this ancestor. The two descendants about whom I have information are his son, .John Graham of Boone County, and his daughter, Catherine, who married her cousin, Elias Graham of Ray County, Missouri. We know from the records of Boone County that John Graham of Boone County had a brother, Robert, who shared the farm with him. But other than the Ray County, Missouri Census Report on this member of the family, I know nothing more.
Why I believe William Graham and wife, Mary Whitecotton were the parents of several children is because of information obtained from the Ray County Census of 1830. That census lists William Graham, then age 50-60 and wife listed in the age bracket of 40-50, meaning he was about ten years her senior. The children of this household were listed as follows by the 1830 Ray County, Missouri Census: One male 5-10, two males in 10-15 age bracket and one male 16-20. One female under 5, two females 15-20 age bracket. In addition, there was the mother who was listed in the bracket of 40-50 years of age.
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If this William Graham, . who is listed in the 1830 Ray County Census, is our immigrant William Graham it is very evident there were a good many descendants about whom we have no information. He had seven children in his household and this, no doubt, did not include the older sons, John and Robert who were, no doubt, the children of his first wife, Susannah Caskey Graham. Of these seven younger children in his family in 1830, I have a record of only the daughter, Catherine Graham, the wife of her cousin Elias. She was born in 1813 and would fit perfectly into the age bracket of the William Graham children in 1830 at which time she would have been 17 years of age. A review or Hay County, Missouri, wills may, in the future, disclose some interesting facts concerning this family of William Graham and a great deal learned about those members of the family that are unknown to me now.
The 1840 Census of Ray County, Missouri, does not list this William Graham, so by that date he had died or moved into the adjoining County of Clay. It is possible that some future date will enable me to check records of Ray and Clay Counties to obtain more data on this branch of the Graham family.
Something found in the 1850 Ray County Census causes me to feel this William and Mary W. Graham had other children to grow to maturity in Ray County. That is the fact Page 59 Item #171, lists one William Graham, born in Missouri in 1821 who would have been nine years of age in 1830 and fit into the age schedule of the William Graham family census of that year as a male 5 to 10 years of age. This young William Graham who was listed in the 1850 Census of Ray County had in his household, his wife, Susan, who was twenty six years of age and born in Virginia. Their children were George, age 8; James, age 6: Adeline, age 5; David, age 2; and William H., age shown as 7/13th. As one can see, the names of the boys are all good Graham family names. Further investigation into Ray County records may reveal who this young William Graham was and his family connection with our Graham family. However, according to the 1860 census there was only Elias Graham and George W. Graham listed as residents of Ray County, Missouri, in that year, which means the others had died or moved elsewhere prior to the Civil War.
Concerning John Graham, the son of immigrant of Boone County, Missouri, I have the following information: John Graham married Elizabeth Freeman on April 26,1821 by Reverend Handerson of Boone County. Missouri. The 1850 Census of Boone County, Missouri, Under item 1198 reads as follows: William Graham, age 28, farmer, born Mo. (1822) John Graham, 21 Anne Graham, 15
I may add the fact the oldest child of John Graham and wife Elizabeth Freeman Graham was J. Harrison Graham, who was born in 1821 and had married Mary Jane Payne in Boone County, Missouri, September 15,1847 to make his own home prior to the taking of the 1850 Census. In the 1850 Census, I also found J. Harrison Graham with his wife Mary Jane Payne Graham, Boone County, Missouri, with their children, Isaac Graham, age 2, and Alphonso, age 1, Harrison moved to Carroll County before the Civil war and operated the general merchantile store at Manderville, Missouri, in partnership with my grandfather, Campbell, and great uncle, John-Reed Graham, for many years. When the partnership was dissolved about 1860, this J. Harrison remained there to rear a large family and he died there many years later.
Additional information is available concerning John Graham, the son of William Graham. We know John was born in 1800 in Kentucky and he married Elizabeth Freeman in Boone County. This family remained in Boone County, Missouri, and a letter from a grandson of Bogad, Missouri, in 1929, informs me this John Graham was buried at Providence in south Boone County, Missouri, when he died in 1873. It was this same John Graham who received the farm lands from his father and he added much to his original holdings which indicates he was a business man above the average. Two of his sons were J. Harrison Graham and another son, John Graham, of Carroll County, Missouri.
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J. Harrison Graham with his wife. Mary Jane Payne Graham, was the first member of this branch of the Graham family to move to Carroll County from Boone. He was loved by all Graham relatives and no doubt the leader of his entire family. My mother had great admiration for "Cousin Harrison" as he was known to all Graham relatives. I never heard any member of the family say anything but the highest praise for this relative and I would like to have known him. In October of 1940, I drove with my mother to the Manderville community in northwest Carroll County to learn what I could from any member of the Graham family residing there at that time. I was most fortunate in finding Will Graham, the Youngest son of J. Harrison and Mary Jane Payne Graham, residing in Manderville. This trip was well timed for it is only a few weeks following this trip that I learned Will Graham passed away. While discussing Graham relationship with him, I wrote the story as he told it to me and shall present it for your information. Addressing me, he said,
"Your mother's grandfather, William Graham, known to our family as cousin Billie Graham, came to Carroll County from Kentucky and brought Irvin Marples along with him. Marples was a young married man of no means and cousin Billie Graham staked him for a start in Missouri. Cousin Billie lived on what is now known as the. Dave Sugg place northwest of Bogard about thee and one half miles across the Brown School House. His son, W. Harvey Graham, who married a Minnis of Carrollton, then lived on the Foss place north of Bogard."
"Your grandfather, John Campbell, was interested in this store at Manderville with my father, Harrison Graham, and your grandmother's brother, John Reed Graham who was called Jack Reed. You know cousin Jack Reed never married and he drank a quart of whiskey a day. At that he could sell more goods than anyone in the store."
"I remember when your grandfather, John Campbell, came to Manderville to arrest Alex Powell. Cousin John Campbell was Sheriff of Carroll County and came right over there to the house where I live now and asked my father if Alex Powell was around Manderville. Powell was wanted for murdering a man in some county north of here and was known as a bad character. Cousin John did not have a gun and said he never needed one to arrest a man, but my father made him take our old shotgun to go after Powell who my father knew was cutting some timber to make staves in a woods not far down that hill to the west of the house. Cousin John walked upon Powell and placed him under arrest before Powell knew anyone was near. He brought Powell our house and had one of us hold the gun on him while cousin John handcuffed him to be taken to Carrollton. A wagon was borrowed from my father to take Powell to the jail in Carrollton."
"My father, Harrison, Graham, was born in Boone County, Missouri, at the old homestead south of Columbia. My grandfather, John Graham, is buried in Boone County. My grandmother Graham was a Freeman. They were the parents of my father, and two sons who died long ago, also one sister who married a Vanlandingham in Columbia. My dad raised their daughter, Emma who married a McElroy and moved to Oklahoma. My two uncles were Bill Graham, who married a Cook- and his second wife was a Goslin of Boone County. Uncle Bill’s children were Henry, John, Mary. and Eliza by his second wife. Uncle Bill Graham had a son, Will Graham, who lives a mile south of Bogard. This son, Will Graham, of south of Bogard has a son Clem Graham who is living in Carrollton. There were also several other brothers and sisters of uncle Will's family, but they are all dead and left no descendants."
"My other uncle was John Graham who married a Denham in Boone County and later came to Carroll County. His wife was a widow when he married her. Her husband was shot in Boone County. This Uncle John Graham had:
Noble Graham, who lived over west of here until his death a few years ago. Hamilton Graham who lives in Norborne now but is in bad shape physically. Mary Graham, who married a Heath around here. John Graham, who married a Heath and had one child Grace Graham
"The brothers and sisters of my family were: Wellington who married a Standley Alphonso (Fonse) married a Garrett and had on child, Estill Graham, who is now in a
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store at Bogard, Missouri. Josephine married a Fleming, had one son, Edgar Fleming who died recently in St. Joe, Missouri. Benny married John R. Edwards and his children are in Tulsa, Oklahoma and New York. Marshall married a Miss Long and had a daughter, Hester Graham who married a Luther Charles of Bogard. Hester is now dead and has one daughter about 20 years of age. Payne married a Mr. Simpson and had no children, Bell married a Mr. Evans, she is dead. William A. is myself. I married a Sheehan. My children are Alvin. who married a Horton And went to Bakersfield, California. Helen is married and lives in Tulsa. Lois married a Wilson and lives in Tiua. My son. Robert, is married and lives in Budlow, Missouri.
This is about all I know concerning my family, but I do remember my father and cousin, Harvey Graham from Texas, sitting out in our yard visiting all day long when cousin Harvey would come back from Texas to visit us a week at a time when he would come back here in the 1880's and 1890. I remember cousin Harvey telling me the story about Bill Anderson and his gang coming to cousin Harvey's house one evening during the Civil War and telling cousin Harvey to get on his coat. Cousin Harvey said he went into the house for his coat and told his wife who it was and that he had to go with them. Of course, both of them thought he would never return but would be shot by this gang of men. He got his horse and started out with these men. They spent the night over south of here on Bald Knob and it was there cousin Harvey learned from Bill Anderson that he and his men were lost in the Manderville hills and they wanted cousin Harvey to guide them into Ray County. Cousin Harvey told Bill Anderson the people would kill him when he returned home (meaning himself) and Anderson replied for Cousin Harvey to tell any man who touched him could expect to be killed by Bill Anderson Sure enough, when the Anderson gang got to where they knew their direction, they released cousin Harvey to go back home. Cousin Harvey was never bothered." (Note: This cousin Harvey is the W. Harvey Graham who wrote the Graham letter of 1897.)
In response to a question about where he thought some of the older members of the Graham family might be buried in that section of Carroll County, Mr. Will Graham said there was an old cemetery on the Marples farm and also on the Smithpeter farms that were in use at quite an early day. I had it in mind learning where Jane Jackson Graham, the widow of Francis Jackson, who died at the home of her son, William Graham in Carroll County might be buried.
The 1870 Census of Carroll County, Missouri, lists Harrison Graham on Page 22, Item #327.
Harrison Graham, Age 47, Merchant, Born Missouri Mary Jane 42, Born Missouri Isaac W. Male, 21, Born Missouri Alfonso, Male, 19, Born Missouri Louisa A., Female 14, Born Missouri Rufus M., Male, 12, Born Missouri Endava, Female, 9, Born Missouri Nemora, Female, 6, Born Missouri *Wm. A. Male, 1, Born Missouri
(*The son of Harrison Graham who told me the information he knew about his branch of the family was born in I869.)
When comparing the family names as supplied by Will A. Graham with those names on the census report, it is obvious the family did not use the legal name of the children within the family. Of this family, I never knew any of them except the youngest son, Will A. Graham, to whom I talked in 1940. I did know the son of Josephine Graham Fleming. His name was Edgar Fleming and he attended high school in Carrollton. He later married Una Smithpeter of the Family by that name residing north of Bogard. They were separated at the time of the death of Edgar Fleming, but they have four sons in the service in the present World War II.
All of my life I have heard reference made to cousin Harrison Graham. As a young girl my mother often went to Maudville from Carrollton for extended visits with these Graham relatives and all of the older generation of my family had great admiration for him. Although he was not especially close so far as relatives were concerned, yet in association with these two Graham families, they were very close.
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Another branch of this Graham family was found in the 1870 census of Carrollton County, Missouri. This young John Graham came to Carroll County after his marriage in Boone County in 1856 to Martha A. Denham. Her husband had been murdered while plowing a field and the account of this brutal slaying is in the 1881 Switzler Boone County History. A neighbor was tried for this murder on circumstantial evidence, but I do not recall the outcome of the case. In years gone by, I have discussed this with a Denham descendant in Columbia and cannot repeat his version of the case.
The 1870 census of Carroll County, Missouri, on Page #22, Item #360 is as follows: John Graham, Age 41, farmer, Born Mo. Mary S., 41, Ky. John W., 11, Mo. Hamilton R., 6, Mo. D. Denham, 19, Mo. Robert Denham, 16, Mo.
As evidenced by the census, the wife of John Graham had her children with her that were born when she was the wife of Denham in Boone County. Of this Graham family I only met Mr. Noble Graham who was three years of age when the 1870 Census was taken. On an occasion in 1927 when I was with my mother in north west Carroll County in search of the grave of my great grandmother, that we later found was in Ray County, we stopped at the farm home of Noble Graham for a short visit that Sunday afternoon. This Noble Graham was the father of several children and I would say they were born between 1890 and 1900. In about 1927, I met one of his sons in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was in the automobile business. This branch of the Graham family were not so well known by my immediate family but I have included them in this sketch for the purpose of enabling any one to have some record of the Graham family connection if they desire to complete it in the future.
It must also be added that the Boone County marriage records reveal that William Graham the younger brother of Harrison and John Graham of Carroll County, likewise the son-of John and Elizabeth Freeman Graham of Boone County, Missouri, married Deliah Cook June 9, 1851 and Phoebe Goslin in 1866, other than the information given to me by Will A. Graham of Mandeville in 1940, I know nothing further concerning this member of the Graham family. So far as is known, he must have remained in Boone County, Missouri, and died there.
Searching of the Carroll County records of marriages and wills would enable one to make a complete outline of these members of the Graham family in Carroll County, What little I have written concerning them is for the purpose of assisting any future generations in determining their respective family connections, Likewise, it was my desire to account for those descendants of the immigrant, William Graham, in so far as my investigation of this branch of the family permitted. There is a great deal of work to be done to in anyway complete this line, but I hope the skeleton form I have written will prove of some help to others in the future.
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William Graham of Carroll County, Missouri, and Wife Froman Graham.
The oldest brother of the three immigrant brothers from Ireland was Francis Graham who married Jane Jackson in Nelson County, Kentucky, in 1788. Their second son was William Graham who was born in Kentucky in 1796, married Harriet Froman. the daughter of Isaac and Sarah Froman of Washington County, Kentucky, in 1821. In 1839, they moved to Carroll County, Missouri, and took up lands as previously described. It was from this Graham, family that my immediate relations were descended.
William Graham (b 1796, d 1851) and wife, Harriet From Graham (b.1800, d.1868) were the parents of:
William Harvey Graham, Born Dec. 18, 1821, Isaac Froman Graham, Nov. 11, 1823 Sarah Jane Graham, Mar. 27, 1827 John Reed J. Graham, Apr. 23, 1834 Parelia Frances Graham, Aug. 8, 1836 Fletcher J. Graham, Mar. 8, 1841 Narciaca S. Graham, Mar. 4, 1845
The above dates were copied from the Harriet Froman Graham bible that was in the possession of Clen Young of Moran, Kansas. Since his death some two or three years ago, I understand this bible has been sent to his niece, Carrie Frances Young Flinton of Los Angeles, California. The bible also gave the birth date of William Graham the father of this family, as being Aug. 15, 1796 and the birth date of Harriet Froman Graham as being April 1, 1800.
The deaths recorded in this family bible were as follows: Isaac F. Graham, March 20, 1847 William Graham, Apr 9, 1851 Jesse Craft, Sept 14, 1867 John R. Graham, Mar 29, 1868 Harriet Graham (Craft), Sept 4, 1868
Evidently, this family bible did not contain the dates of marriages in this Graham family or it may have been overlooked by Clen Young when he copied and sent to me the above information from that valuable book. These dates can be obtained from marriage records of Carroll and Ray Counties, as well as from living descendents of each of the children of these Graham and a space shall be left to insert those missing dates.
When William and Harriet Froman Graham came to Carroll County in 1839, they had give children. The two younger children, Fletcher and Narcissa. were born in Carroll County, Missouri. William Graham purchased his farm north of Bogard and resided there until he went with a group of Carroll County friends and relatives to the gold rush in California in 1848. His wife then bought a home in Carrollton on North Main Street on the west side of the 300 block that in later years is known as the old John B. Hale home. I assume this property was the home of Col. John B. Hale and wife, Molly Cosby Hale, for some sixty years.
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It was while Harriet Froman Graham was living in this property that the body of her husband was brought from the boat on the Missouri River in 1851. On his return trip from California, he had died about the time his boat reached the Mississippi and his body was shipped from there to Carrollton by boat. Because there were no means of communications at that time, the family did not know of his death and had spent many weeks in preparation for his homecoming. They did not know of his death until the body was brought from the boat at the river landing in Carroll County. Aunt Molly Hale, the widow of Col. John B. Hale and a sister of grandmother Tull's, has often related the story to me. With her parents, she resided across the street from the Graham home and well remembered the grief stricken Graham family when they learned of his death. The Grahams had received word to expect the husband and father, William Graham. to return from California that spring and had spent much time making preparation for this event. For him to return a corpse was more than his wife could stand and the neighbors thought she would suffer the loss of her mind. Aunt Molly was then a girl less than ten years of age, but it made such an impression on her that she never forgot the story and often told it to me when she was upward of ninety years of age.
The body of William Graham was buried on the family lot in Oak Hill Cemetery in Carrollton, Missouri, but it was no doubt buried in the cemetery where the Dieterch School now stands before it was moved to Oak Hill, because Oak Hill Cemetery was not opened until about 1870. The grave marker carries the date of his death in 1851 and has an anchor cut on the stone. This family lot will be found at the southwest corner of the Oak Hill Cemetery where the hill overlooks the Missouri River bottom for some ten miles.
For some years after the death of William Graham, his wife, Harriet Froman Graham, remained in Carrollton with her children, John Reed, Permelin, Frances, Fletcher and Narcissa; none of who were old enough to marry at that time. With her in 1850 was also one Wilson Wright age 37, born in New York who was a "mental deficient". I assume he was the son of Aunt Polly Graham Wright, she being the sister of the deceased William Graham. At this same time I believe Aunt Polly Wight was either living or visiting some of the Graham relatives in Carroll County because I recall seeing her name listed with one of them on census records.
Before I860, Harriet Froman Graham moved to Millville, Ray County, Missouri, and married Jesse Craft, a native of Pennsylvania. In the 1860 census of Ray County, Missouri, I found only the youngest child, Narsissa Graham was residing with her mother in their Craft household. With them, however, was John Craft age 12, who was the son of Jesse Craft by his first wife.
Why Harriet Froman Graham moved to Millville, Missouri, after the death of her husband is a complete mystery to our family. I have searched census reports to learn the possibility of some of her Froman or Hite relatives being residents of this part of Ray County, Missouri, at that time, but found none. George W. Graham, the son of George the immigrant, was there with his wife, Mary Jane Braden Graham, but they were much younger than Harriet Froman Graham and I do not believe were so close to her that she would have gone there to live because of this family connection. The Mr. Craft she married was a resident of Millville for many years before Harriet Froman Graham moved there and I can find no one who knows why Millvillie was selected as her future home.
Table of Contents:
Index Pages 31 - 40 Preface Pages 41 - 50 Pages 1 - 10 Pages 51 - 60 Pages 11 - 20 Pages 61 - 70 Pages 21 - 30 Pages 71 - 81
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