Robert Graham's Father?

Who are the potential fathers for Robert Graham b. 20 Aug 1818 in Mississippi, m. Ruth Smith, d. 10 Feb 1890 in Rapides Parrish, Louisiana?  There are a number of candidates who were living in Mississippi just before the time that our Robert was born.

In February 1820, when the census was taken, young Robert Graham would have been 7 years old. That puts him in the males under 10 category.  All of the following Graham male heads of households, appearing on the 1820 Mississippi Federal Census, had male children under age 10 listed in their households. 

• Robert Graham (1820 Wayne County, MS - 3 males under age 10)
• Anthony Graham ( 1820 Wayne County, MS - 3 males under age 10)
• William Graham (1820 Wayne County, MS - 3 male under age 10)
• Zacharia Graham (1820 Wayne County, MS - 2 males under age 10)
• Joseph Graham (1820 Jackson County, MS - 1 male under age 10)
• Thomas Graham (1820 Lawrence County, MS - 1 male under age 10)
• William Graham (1820 Marion County, MS - 2 males under age 10)

 

Ancestry.com Trees:

The following claims have been made for the parents of Robert Graham m. Ruth Smith.  A quick search of Ancestry.com will find all three listed as his parents in various trees.  Unfortunately, none of these trees provides any sources for Robert's parents.

• William Graham  - no name of wife.  This was first proposed by Julian Dow Graham, a grandson of Robert and Ruth Graham.  The information came from a newspaper article he wrote, which was published in "The South Rapides Chronicle" 21 Feb 1973, Vol 4 No. 3.  It is unknown if William Graham had a son named Robert. 
  
• Robert Graham and Christian Keahey: This couple had a son named Robert.  James Morris Farmer suggested that the Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington was the son of Robert and Christian Graham (p.14 The History of the Graham Family).
  
• Anthony Graham and Assenith (various spellings): This couple may also have had a son named Robert.  Anthony Graham age 80 was living next to or very near Robert Graham in 1850.  In 1860 he was living with Robert and Charlotte Graham. (1850 & 1860 Newton County, MS., Federal Censuses) 

 

FamilySearch.org Pedigrees

A search of submitted pedigrees to FamilySearch.org revealed 5 charts for the Robert Graham who married Ruth Smith.  Only 2 of the pedigrees suggest parents for Robert:

• William Graham: this appears to be submitted by one of the same persons who submitted to Ancestry.com.  There is no accompanying discussion or sources.
  
  
• Robert Graham & Christian Keahey:  this pedigree was accompanied with several well known sources and discussion but no firm conclusions. The submitter does warn that the information needs to be proved.

I'll be exploring all these family relationships in future blogs.  The other Grahams living in Mississippi in 1820 with male children under 10 also must be researched to determine if any of them had sons named Robert. 

If anyone has any light to shed on any of the above Graham families, I would love to hear about it.