[ History
of the Graham Family ] [ Cover page ] Preface Grahams are Scotch Irish From Scotland to Virginia John Graham's Will John Graham's Children Anne, daughter of John Graham, Sr. [ The descendants of Lanty Kincaid ] [ Betsy, daughter of John Graham, Sr. ] Florence Graham married House of James Graham, Sr., at Lowell Early settlement of Lowell [ The descendants of Samuel and James Guinn ] [ Other Early Settlers ] James and Florence Graham's Family Joseph and Rebecca Graham Joseph and Rebecca Graham's children More concerning early settlement of Lowell Elizabeth Graham captured by the Indians Col. Graham rescues Elizabeth from Indians Elizabeth Stodghill, nee Graham Civil jurisdiction of Lowell James Graham's estate John Graham, Joseph's brother Robert Graham of Fort Chiswell Michael Graham's family Slaves of James Graham, Sr. Clayton's balloon ascension |
Having traced the lineage of John Graham, Sr.,
through the descendants of his daughter, Florence, and her husband, James
Graham, Sr., to the present time, the attention of the reader is now directed
back to the early settlement of the Lowell neighborhood. As has been previously
stated, the pioneer settlers of this community located here at a time when
the savage, red warrior was still to be seen treading stealthily in this
valley, the dim paths known only to the hunters and warriors of his own
people. Thus, were those sturdy and brave pioneers ever kept on the outlook
for terrors daily expected. While some worked to clear away the heavy forest,
others with rifle in hand watched for this treacherous foe. The cause of
the strange barking of a cur, the snapping of a twig, the indications of
fresh [89] footprints or the rustle of a leaf
were looked into with as much scrutiny and precision as if their life depended
on it, which, indeed, in many cases it did. Therefore, to better protect
themselves from an attack from these marauding Indians, the pioneer settlers
whom we have named, very soon after locating in their new homes, built
a fort on the south bank of the river on the exact spot where now stands
the Lowell hotel. This fort soon became a nucleus around which settlers
sought homes and the protection it afforded. New homes were thus made more
remote from the older ones, yet near enough that when an Indian alarm was
sounded, they sought safety within the walls of the fort. It is to be presumed
that many alarms, false as well as true, were heralded from house to house
in these days of dread and terror. How often these alarms were followed
by the actual presence of the Red man in these settlements or whether he
was on missions of peace or painted for war, tradition does not say; but
it is believed that this little community, though living in con- [90]
stant fear, increased and prospered, with no known fatalities until the
spring of 1777, when an Indian alarm was again heralded from home to home,
which for once proved to be too true. This rumor seems to have been founded
by a report of someone having seen Indian signs in the neighborhood. From
this report the whole community collected themselves to the fort. After
being in the fort for a short time, possibly two or three days, and no
further signs of Indians having been seen or reported, James Graham, hoping
the alarm to have been ill-founded, proposed to those in the fort that,
if some of the men would go and stay with him a night, he and his family
would go over home. Accordingly, they did so, some of the men in the fort
volunteering to go with him. Shortly after he went home, either the same
night or later, his house was attacked by the Indians.
The assault was made in the after part of the night before daybreak. Not feeling well, Graham had luckily lain down on a bench against [91] the door with his clothes on. The Indians made the assault by trying to force the door open, which they partly succeeded in doing. Thus aroused, Graham and his men placed the heavy bench and a tub of water against the door, and in this way prevented the Indians from gaining an entrance. A man named McDonald (or Caldwell), who was assisting in placing the tub against the door, while reaching above the door for a gun was shot and killed, the ball passing through the door. Thwarted in their effort in affecting an entrance into the house, the Indians next turned their villainous assault upon an outhouse or kitchen standing near the main dwelling. in this outbuilding slept a young negro man and two of the Graham children. The negro, whose name was Sharp, tried to escape by climbing up the chimney (chimneys in those days were large and roomy), but when discovered was ruthlessly hauled down from his hiding place, tomahawked and scalped. As this tragedy was being enacted, the cries of the two children who were sleeping [92] on the loft above next directed the attention of the Indians to that quarter. They shot up through the floor and wounded the eldest of the two, a boy named John in the knee, then dragged him and his sister down and out into the yard. Finding that John was wounded so badly that he could not stand upon his feet and that he would be a burdensome prisoner, they at once dispatched him with a tomahawk and carried off his bleeding scalp as a trophy of their crime. While this bloody scene was going on in the kitchen, Colonel Graham had gone upstairs and was shooting through a porthole at the Indians in the yard as best he could. The men in the lower part of the house loaded the guns and handed them up to him and he did the shooting. About the time they were trying to make the wounded boy stand up, several of them huddled together and fired at the bulk; when they suddenly dispersed. It is believed that one or more of the Indians were killed or wounded. |