Two Robert Graham families of Scott County Mississippi

What we know:

Two Robert Grahams are known to have been born about the same time, 1816 - 1818, and both lived in Scott County, Mississippi in 1840: Robert Graham m. Ruth Smith (my direct ancestor) and Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington.  The problem is to determine the parentage of Robert Graham m. Ruth Smith.  Since there are no documents that tell us the names of either of Robert Graham’s parents, we are left to build a case through circumstantial evidence.  

We do know that an elder Robert Graham m. Christiana had a son named Robert.  This evidence comes from three different legal documents.  The first was the March 1827, guardianship order located in the Hinds County, Mississippi Probate Court records.  And on 3 December 1827, Robert is again noted as a minor in the disposition of the elder Robert Graham’s estate. (see previous blogs for more on these documents).

 The third document was the deed of gift registered in Scott County, Mississippi 19 Sept 1836, wherein Christiana Graham (Robert’s widow) gave the slave Aaron to her 2 youngest sons: Jackson and Robert.   Since there are only 2 Robert Grahams living in Scott County in 1840, we can assume with some confidence that one of them was the Robert Graham named in Christany Graham’s gift. 

In this blog I'll discuss Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington.  Many family historians, without explanation, have attributed this Robert Graham as the son of Robert & Christian Graham. While the evidence is not conclusive it does point to a different conclusion.

Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington

Robert Graham b. about 1816 – 1818, most likely in North Carolina (1860 and 1880 federal census).  Only the 1850 census lists his birth as South Carolina. 

Robert married Charlotte Pennington 24 Sept 1836 in Rankin County, Mississippi (FamilySearch, "Mississippi, Marriages, 1800-1911, [index]," database, FamilySearch.org , accessed 4 Feb 2013).

 Photo taken at the Rankin County Courthouse by Marty Cassidy 2013

Rankin County was one of the parent counties of Scott County formed in 1833.

Possible children of Robert and Charlotte Graham were:

1.  Unknown male  b. between 1837 and 1840 (possible son as Robert and Charlotte married in Sep 1836), or he may have been another related or unrelated male.
2.  Lafayette Graham b. 1838 Mississippi
3.  Frank Graham b. 1843 Mississippi
4.  Anthony Graham b. 1844 Mississippi 
5.  William Graham b. 1846 Mississippi

1840 Census

Robert Graham first appeared in the 1840 federal census for Scott County, Mississippi, with 2 males under 5 – these would have been the unknown male if he was born before or in 1840, and Lafayette b. 1838.  2 males between 10 and 29 – Robert fits this category.  The other male is unknown.  1 female between 10 and 29 was consistent with Charlotte’s age. 

Both Robert Graham were enumerated on the 1840 Scott County, Mississippi census. I have discussed the other Robert Graham’s 1840 census records previously.  

1841 Scott County Tax Rolls

Robert Graham Sr. and Robert Graham Jr. appeared on this year’s tax roll.  The sr. and jr. only designated  older and younger, not a father-son relationship.  

1845 Scott County, Mississippi State Census

Neither Robert Graham appeared on this census. 

1845 Newton County Tax Rolls

This was the first year that Robert Graham appeared in Newton County.  This would have been the Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington, as we will see them again on the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Newton County, MS.  

1850 Census

On the 1850 federal census Robert and Charlotte Graham were enumerated as family # 2 living in Newton County Mississippi, which was adjacent and to the east of Scott County Mississippi.  Family #3 appearing on the next line in the census was Anthony Graham b. 1770 in North Carolina.

Living with Anthony Graham were possibly his children:

·          

• Benjamin Graham b. 1830 in Mississippi
• Asenath Graham (f) b. 1833 in Mississippi (named for her mother Assenith?)

1860 Census

The family in 1860, was still living in Newton County, Mississippi. On this census Anthony Graham age 90 was now living with Robert and Charity Graham.   Perhaps Charlotte also went by the name of Charity, or the enumerator made an error.

 

Children living with Robert and Charity were:

• Benjamin Graham, b. 1840 in Mississippi (named for his uncle?)
•  Antony Graham, b. 1842 in Mississippi  (named for his grandfather?)
•  William Graham, b. 1845 in Mississippi

1870 Census

By 12 July 1870, Robert and Charlotte Graham were back in Scott County, Mississippi. None of their children were living with them.  

1880 Census

By 1880, Robert and Charlotte Graham had moved to Vernon Parish, Louisiana, and they were living with Robert’s brother Benjamin Graham.   He was indicated as the brother on this census.

Discussion:

Both Robert Grahams were residing in Scott County, Mississippi in 1840 (Federal Census).

Anthony Graham appeared next to Robert and Charlotte Graham on the 1850 Newton County, MS. Federal census.  And, more telling was that by 1860, the aging Anthony Graham had moved into the same household as Robert and Charlotte.  This certainly lends credibility to the hypothesis that this Robert Graham was the son of Anthony Graham, as both Anthony and Robert move from Scott County to nearby Newton County sometime before 1845. 

The Newton County Tax rolls list Anthony Graham starting in 1838, apparently he had already moved at least by that date, and Anthony Graham, age 70, did not appear on the Scott County, MS census. Of note is the fact that a Benjamin Graham living with Anthony Graham in 1850, was probably a son.   The fact that Robert is designated as Benjamin’s brother on the 1880 census lends weight to the evidence that Anthony Graham b. 1770 in North Carolina was also the father of Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington. 

It seems that Anthony Graham, age 90, probably died sometime between 1860 - 1870.  A search for Anthony Graham's grave on the Internet was negative. No search for Anthony Graham's probate records was conducted as the Newton County probate records only extend back to 1876.   

Still to be analyzed are land records of Anthony Graham. These may hold additional evidence for family relationships.