William Graham (1786 - 1857)

Born Oct 1786 in North Carolina, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Shields) Graham — married 31 Dec 1814 in Greene, Tennessee, United States

Descendants

Died 15 Sep 1857 at age 70 in Jefferson, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

William was born in 1786. He passed away in 1857. The age 71 at death places his birth date in 1786.

When his wife died, he sent his girls Eliza and Mary, aged 11 and 8, to live with their uncle Dr. Samuel Shields. Being left alone, William lived in the house beside his store.

Find a Grave profile has him linked to different parents: George Graham 1756-1832 Graham-2846 and Elizabeth Turnley 1764-1817 Turnley-56 This is based on "Notable Southern Families."

In 1830 the members of William's household were: one male aged 15-20, one male aged 40-50 and one male aged 50-60, 2 females aged 5-10 and one female aged 30-40.^[1]

In 1840 the members of William's household were: one male aged 50-60 (William), one female aged 20-30 and one female aged 60-70.^[2]

In 1850 William Graham was living with Jesse Moore age 25, Elisha Moore age 23, and Elihu Moore age 21. William was reported as age 63, owning real estate valued at $12,000. All born in Tennessee.^[3]

In 1850 William Graham had the following slaves: one black female aged 45, one mulatto female aged 30, one mulatto male aged 21, one black male aged 15, one black male age 12, one black male age 11, two black males aged 10, one black female age 8, one black female age 7, one black female age 5, one black female age 3, one black male age 1.^[4]

"One night--nobody knows what happened--there was a terrific explosion, the store was blown to atoms. The next morning thimbles and other articles from the store were found on the other side of the Chucky River, blown from the blast of the explosion."^[5]

An obituary was posted also to his Find a Grave profile: "Burned to Death--On the night of 17th September, 1857, the life of William Graham, of Jefferson County, Tenn., was destroyed by fire. As was the habit of the deceased, he was sleeping in his store house, when by some means the house was fired, and was entirely consumed together with the body of the deceased; also a large accumulation of goods, some money and valuable papers to a large amount to a large amount such as notes, accounts and public securities. A portion of the bones of the deceased were the only remains to be found which were buried beside his wife, deceased many years before.

There is doubt, suspicion, and mystery attached to this painful affair. The real origin of the fire may never be known. The deceased was 71 years of age and has been from boyhood to the day of his death a man of eccentric habits. Was possessed of extraordinary mechanical genius. Was more than half a century devoted to business and hard labor; a large estate consequently grew up around him.

Persons not intimately acquainted with Mr. Graham, sometimes misconstrued his eccentricities, but those who knew him can testify to a large share of the natural kindness and tenderness of heart and to the warm affection of which he was possessed, and which so often underlies the most unpromising exterior. He was universally distinguished for the rigid integrity [illegible]...honesty of purpose.

The only children left by Mr. Graham to lament his sad fate, are two daughters, Mrs. C. B. Nance, of Grainger County, and Mrs. W. F. Taylor, of Jefferson County."^[6]

Not found in index to wills and probate, Jefferson County, 1792-1971. The book of Jefferson County settlements between 1837 and 1869 is not available on FamilySearch. Not found in Jefferson County Wills, 1851-1868 vol. 5.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP9-812 : 7 September 2017), William Graham, Jefferson, Tennessee, United States; citing 305, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 180; FHL microfilm 24,538.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYG-M26 : 18 August 2017), William Graham, Jefferson, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 343, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 526; FHL microfilm 24,546.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDK-YKZ : 12 April 2016), William Graham in household of Lepe Moore, Jefferson county, Jefferson, Tennessee, United States; citing family 358, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
4. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVH8-SVP : 4 August 2017), William Graham, Jefferson county, Jefferson, Tennessee, United States; citing line number 6, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 444,860.
5. ↑ "Nance's Ferry," by Edith Scott, posted to William's Find a Grave profile.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 9 January 2021), memorial page for William Graham (10 Feb 1786–17 Sep 1857), Find A Grave: Memorial #12738180, citing Graham Chapel Cemetery, Jefferson County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Cleburne Smith (contributor 46816979) .

Trees

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:378J-72N : accessed 2016-12-04), entry for George Turnley /Graham/ Jr.

Acknowledgements

WikiTree profile Graham-2856 created through the import of Turnley_All_2012-05-16.ged on May 18, 2012 by William Turnley. See the Changes page for the details of edits by William and others.