This report is the culmination of my research to find the parents of Robert Graham. I am grateful to the 30+ years of research by many family historians who tackled this problem before me, as they provided many excelent references and clues for me to build upon. It is my hope that those who find errors or who have evidence that reinforces or challenges my conclusions that they will let me know.
Unfortunately, I was unable to make the footnotes work correctly in blogger, so anyone wanting a copy of the this report with all its footnotes/sources, please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll be happy to email you a fully sourced copy.
Two men named Robert Graham lived in Scott County,
Mississippi in 1840. Both men were born during the same time period
(1816-1818).
No documents specifically tell us the names of either of the Robert Grahams’ parents;
therefore, we must build a case for each man through a thorough search and
analysis of the available circumstantial evidence.
Possible
candidates for Robert Grahams’ fathers were those Graham men living in Wayne
County, Mississippi between 1816 and 1820:
1.
Robert
Graham(1)
2.
Anthony
Graham
3.
William
Graham
4.
Zachariah
Graham
Both Robert
Graham(1) and Anthony Graham had sons named Robert Graham. Since there were only two Robert Grahams
living in Scott Co., MS in 1840, the assumption is that one was the son of
Robert Graham(1) and the other was the son of Anthony Graham
Sr. Researchers have struggled with
assigning the correct Robert Graham to his parents for decades. Sorting out the two families and determining
the parents of each Robert Graham is the goal of this research and analysis.
The easiest way to distinguish the 2 men from one another is
through their wives:
- Robert Graham(2) m. Ruth Smith
- Robert Graham(3) m. Charlotte Pennington.
Robert(2)
and Ruth Graham were known to have lived in both
Mississippi and Louisiana, and family lore says Robert lived in Texas prior to
1838 and again during the Civil War. N
o marriage record for Robert Graham(2)
and Ruth Smith was located in Mississippi,
Louisiana or Texas. A Scott County, MS
land record between Robert & Ruth Graham and Jackson Graham dated, 28 Aug
1838, establishes them as a married couple. A marriage record, dated 24 Sept
1836, for Robert Graham(3) and Charlotte Pennington
was found in Rankin County, Mississippi, one of the parent counties of Scott
Co., MS.
We know that the elder Robert(1) & Christian(a) Graham’s youngest son was
also named Robert. This evidence comes
from three different legal documents.
- March 1827, Hinds County, MS Probate Court
guardianship order making John Graham the guardian of Robert Graham’s minor
children lists Robert as a minor.
- On 3 December 1827, Robert is again noted as a
minor in the disposition of the elder Robert Graham’s estate.
- Deed of gift registered in Scott County,
Mississippi 19 Sept 1836, wherein Christiana Graham (Robert’s widow) gave the
slave Aaron to her “two youngest sons, Jackson Graham & Robert Graham”.
This direct evidence provided by a mother of her sons’ names is clear and
convincing.
Because there were only two Robert
Grahams living in Scott County in 1840, we can be confident that one of them
was the Robert Graham named in each of these legal documents.
Timeline for Robert Graham(3) m. Charlotte Pennington
Robert Graham(3) was born about 1816 – 1818, most
likely in North Carolina (1860, 1870 and 1880 federal census). Only the 1850 census lists his birthplace as
South Carolina. And,
no records indicated that he was born in Mississippi.
Robert and Charlotte Graham’s children:
·
Unknown male b. between 1837 – 1840
·
Lafayette Graham b. 1838 Mississippi
·
Frank Graham b. 1843 Mississippi
·
Anthony Graham b. 1844 Mississippi
·
William Graham b. 1846 Mississippi
1838 Scott County
Tax Rolls
Robert Graham (3) first appeared in the government
records, in the form of poll taxes. “Poll taxes [general revenue] were a tax
specified by law for every free man above the age of 21 […].” At this time he paid taxes for 1 white poll
(himself) and 2 slaves. Prior to the
Civil War he was consistently enumerated with slaves.
Robert(3) appeared in the 1840 federal census for Scott County,
Mississippi with two males under 5 – these would have been the unknown male if
he was born before or in 1840, and Lafayette b. in 1838. Two males between 10 and 29 – Robert fits
this category. The other male is
unknown. The one female between 10 and
29 is consistent with Charlotte’s age.
Again Robert Graham(3) paid $1.62 ½ for 1 white poll and 2 slaves
1841 Scott County
Tax Rolls
Robert Graham Sr.(3) and Robert Graham Jr (2)
appear on this year’s tax roll. The sr.
and jr. only apply to which is older and which is younger, not to a father-son
relationship. The sr. would have been
Robert(3) m. Charlotte and the jr. Robert(2) m. Ruth.
1845 Scott County,
Mississippi State Census
Neither Robert Graham appeared on this census. By this time Robert(2) and Ruth
Graham were in Jackson County, Louisiana, while Robert(3) and
Charlotte Graham had moved to Newton County, Mississippi, most likely to be near
his aging father, Anthony Graham and his siblings.
1845 Newton County
Tax Rolls
This is the first year that Robert Graham(3)
appeared in Newton County. This would
have been the Robert Graham(3) m. Charlotte Pennington; they were
enumerated again on the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Newton County, MS.
1850 Census
On the 1850 federal
census Robert(3) and Charlotte Graham are enumerated as family #
2 living in Newton County Mississippi, which borders Scott County Mississippi
on the east. Family #3 appearing on the
next line in the census is Anthony Graham b. 1770 in North Carolina.
Living with Anthony Graham are most likely his children:
·
Benjamin Graham b. 1830 in Mississippi
·
Asenath Graham (f) b. 1833 in Mississippi
The family in 1860, was still living in Newton County,
Mississippi. On this census Anthony Graham age 90 is now living with Robert (3)
and Charity Graham. Perhaps Charlotte
also went by the name of Charity, or the enumerator made an error.
Children living with Robert and Charity are:
- Benjamin Graham, b. 1840 in Mississippi
- Antony Graham, b. 1842 in Mississippi
- William Graham, b. 1845 in Mississippi
During this year, Anthony Graham along with Robert
(3)
and Charlotte Graham, among other probable relatives, sold property located in
Rankin County, Mississippi.
This further strengthens the theory of a
familial tie between Anthony and this Robert Graham
(3).
Robert(3) and Charlotte had moved back to
Scott Co., MS by 1870. We can assume
that Anthony Graham died before 1870, as he would have been about 100 years old
in 1870.
By 1880, Robert(3) and Charlotte Graham had moved
to Vernon Parish, Louisiana, where they were living with Robert’s brother
Benjamin Graham. He was indicated as
the brother on this census.
Naming Patterns for Anthony, Benjamin and Robert Graham:
The chart
below compares the children’s names of Anthony & Assenith Graham and some of their children. Benjamin and Robert are possible children of
Robert & Asmeth Graham; Robert(3) m. Charlotte Pennington is only 1 possible choice of the
Robert, who was their son.
Anthony & Asmeth/Assenith
|
Robert & Charlotte
|
Benjamin & Martha
|
|
|
|
Benjamin
|
Benjamin
|
George
|
Asenath
|
Lafayette
|
Sarah
|
|
Frank
|
Samuel
|
|
Anthony
|
Florence
|
|
William
|
Orphelia
|
|
|
Clinton
|
Although the naming pattern is weak, Robert & Charlotte
Graham did name 1 son Benjamin (after a brother?) and 1 son Anthony, perhaps
after the father of Robert.
Timeline for Robert
Graham(2) m. Ruth Smith
Children of Robert (2)
and Ruth Graham:
- Sarah
Graham b. abt. 1839 Mississippi
- Christiana
Elizabeth Graham b. abt. 1842 Mississippi
- William
Jackson Graham b. 1843 Louisiana
- Julia
Ann Graham b. 1845 Louisiana
- Emily
Graham b. 1846 Louisiana
- Lorenzo
Dow Graham b. 1848 Louisiana
- Demerious
Graham b. 1850 Louisiana
- Ruth
M. Graham b. 1851 Louisiana
- Mary
Ann Graham b. 1853 Louisiana
- Annie
Graham b. 1855 Louisiana
1836 land purchase
Robert Graham(2) and
wife bought
property on Feb. 1, 1836. Deed Book C,
Page 63. This is the first instance of a
record showing that Robert (2) was already married.
Ruth Smith was the only known wife of this Robert Graham (2) and she did appear on the land sale of this
same property in 1838.
1838 land sale
Robert(2) and Ruth Graham sold 164
acres of land to Jackson Graham in 1838 for $200. This land was adjacent to
land already owned by Jackson.
Free males
over 21 in Mississippi paid a poll tax every year. It is worth noting that this Robert did not
appear in the tax records for 1838. The
1839 records are unavailable. However,
he paid a poll tax in 1840, so he would have turned 21 between 1838 and 1840.
This is consistent with his gravestone birthdate of 18 Aug 1818.
1840 Tax Roll
Robert Graham
(2) paid 1 white poll tax.
Robert Graham(2) appeared on the 1840
Scott County federal census enumerated as:
1 male 20-29
years – consistent with Robert’s age, 1 female under 5 years – consistent with
Sarah’s birth before 1840, and 1 female 20-29 years, which could be Ruth.
Robert
Graham(2)
paid 1 white poll tax.
Robert
Graham(2) was enumerated as 2 males and 2 females. We don’t know of another male child born
between 1840-1841, but perhaps this child died, or there is an error on the
census.
Robert(2) and Ruth Graham moved to
Jackson Parish, Louisiana. Their two
oldest daughters were born in Mississippi.
Their 3rd child, a son, was born in Louisiana, so we know
that the family moved between the births of the 2nd and 3rd
children − sometime between 1842 and 1843.
Robert also
took out 3 land patents in Jackson County, LA: 1851, 1858, and 1859. A patent was a process and was not
granted until the person had resided on or used the land for a specific number
of years – usually about seven years. The patent dates are consistent with the
calculated move date of 1842-1843.
By the time
of the 1860 census Robert(2) and
Ruth Graham with their children were living in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
1861 – 1865
Family
tradition says that Robert(2) took his family to Texas during the Civil
War. This was probably true, as there were
many reports of thousands of refugees fleeing Louisiana and sitting out the war
in Texas. Many of Robert(1) and Christian (a) Graham’s children migrated to Texas before the
Civil War, so it would be natural for Robert to take his family to safety where
he might already have other family ties.
Robert
Graham(2),
now a widower, is still living in Rapides Parish, LA, with 4 of his youngest
daughters.
This is the
last census record for Robert Graham,(2) as he died on 10 Feb 1890.
Comparison
of Children’s names across Robert(1) & Christiana Graham and some of their known children:
John,
Reuben, Archibald, George Jackson were all children of Robert(1) & Christian Graham; Robert(2) m. Ruth is only 1
possible choice of the Robert, who was their son.
Christian,
Sarah and Jackson are obviously family names as they appear in several of the
families.
John &
Christian
|
John &
Demarious
|
Reuben
|
Archibald
|
George Jackson
|
Robert(2) & Ruth
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christian
|
Christian
|
Robert
|
|
Christian
|
Christian
|
George Jackson
|
William Jackson
|
Mary
|
|
|
William
Jackson
|
Archibald
|
|
Maranda
|
|
|
|
Sarah
|
Sarah
|
Anjaline
|
|
Sarah
|
Sarah
|
Reuben
|
Lorenza
|
David
|
|
|
|
Robert
|
|
Rebecca
|
|
Robert
|
|
John
|
|
Matilda
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ruth Demarious
|
Demarious
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ruth
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lorenzo
|
Conclusions:
Robert
Graham(2)
who married Ruth Smith
was born in 1818, in Wayne County Mississippi.
His birthdate overlapped with the same dates (1816-1820) that the Robert(1) and Christian (Keahey) Graham were living in Wayne County
Mississippi.
Robert and
Ruth Graham(2)
lived in Scott County, Mississippi from about
1836 until sometime between 1842, when their daughter Christian Elizabeth was
born in Mississippi, and 1843, when their son, William Jackson was born in
Jackson County, Louisiana. Was their
son, George Jackson Graham, named for the county of his birth or because the
Jackson family name was passed on to baby George? Christian Keahey Graham was likely the
daughter of John Keahey and Martha Jackson, and the grand-daughter of Samuel
and Christian Jackson. Both Christian and Jackson were
family names. However Jackson may also have
been a popular name because of President Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of
New Orleans.
Jackson
Graham and Robert Graham(2) were
both named by Christian Graham in her deed of gift, dated 19 Sept 1836, as her
2 youngest sons. In 1838, while living
in Scott County, Mississippi Robert and Ruth Graham(2) sold property to Jackson
Graham. They also named their oldest son
William Jackson. While not direct
evidence of a family connection, these three facts are interesting and suggest
at least some kind of family connection between Robert Graham(2) and Jackson Graham. This
Robert also named children:
- Christian
(after his mother?)
- William
Jackson (Jackson after his brother or his great-grandmother’s maiden name?)
- Demarious
(after older brother John’s wife?), John was the guardian of Jackson and Robert
when they were minors.
- Sarah
– this name comes up in other Graham sibling families.
The
parent/child evidence that Robert Graham(3) m. Charlotte Pennington was the son
of Anthony Graham is very strong. The
only other parent option for Robert Graham(2) m. Ruth Smith would be Robert(1) and Christian Graham. The
evidence of birth date/place and family naming patterns for Robert Graham(2) m. Ruth Smith solidifies the parent/child relationship to Robert
Graham(1)
and Christian(a)
Keahey. Until new evidence is uncovered
that proves otherwise, we can be confident that Robert Graham(1) and Christian Keahey
were the parents of Robert Graham(2) b. 20 Aug 1818 in Wayne County, MS.
Report prepared 25 Oct 2013 by:
Norah Glover
