The One and Only Christiana Elizabeth Graham

In my last blog, I shared my thoughts and the circumstantial evidence suggesting that Robert Graham’s and Ruth Smith’s daughters Christiana and Elizabeth were, in fact, one and the same person. Last week, I received the 37 page Succession packet from the Rapides Parish, Louisiana courthouse in Alexandria, LA for Mrs. Christian E. Merchant. I was really excited to receive this, as I already had the marriage records showing that Elizabeth Graham married Joel B. Merchant on 24 Jan 1867 at the home of R. Graham (probably her father as several of her sisters were also married at R. Graham’s home), establishing that Elizabeth Graham was also Elizabeth Merchant.

The Succession packet details all the events after Elizabeth’s death (1888), wherein, her husband Joel B. Merchant (aka J. B. Merchant) served as administrator to settle her estate. The front cover of the packet clearly states that the file is the court records pertaining to Mrs. Christiana E. Merchant,

and on the 1st page it says “Succession of C. Elizabeth Merchant” 

The text on the 1st page not only establishes the husband/wife relationship between Joel B. Merchant and Christian Elizabeth Merchant, but it also clearly establishes her full name as Christian Elizabeth Merchant, and their residence in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.

This next image is the upper half of the 1st page, which includes the last 2 short images.

[transcription of above image]

“To the Honorable the Judge of the Twelfth Judicial District Court in and for Rapides Parish, La. The petition of Joel B. Merchant a resident of our Parish of Rapides, Louisiana, with respect shows:

That his wife, Christiana Elizabeth Merchant departed this life recently leaving property in community with your petitioner, and leaving also community debts to pay situated in your Parish of Rapides Louisiana — Petitioner shows that it becomes necessary to have an administrator appointed to administer the Succession of the said deceased, and that is entitled to the appointment.”

The file date of Joel B. Merchant’s petition administration was 20 Aug 1888, which establishes that Christiana Elizabeth Merchant’s death as before that date, and the statement of “departed this life recently” suggests that she probably died during the summer of 1888, in Louisiana.

Throughout the document she is referred to by the following variations of her name,which lends credence to the fact that Christiana and Elizabeth were one woman, and demonstrates that she was known by both her first and middle names:

• Christiana E. Merchant
• C. Elizabeth Merchant
• Christiana Elizabeth Merchant
• Mrs. C. E. Merchant

With this new information along with the information in my last blog entry I feel comfortable in saying that Christiana and Elizabeth were the same woman, and that she died in 1888, while living in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.

The rest of the Succession packet deals with the assets, auction of assets, and payment of debts.

Source: Christiana E. Merchant Succession, Rapides Parish succ. File 535(reporting death and full name of Christiana Elizabeth Merchant wife of Joel B. Merchant) Clerk of Court’s Office, Alexandria.

Christiana or Elizabeth or both?

One of the things that bothers me about Robert Graham's and Ruth Smith's list of children is daughters 2 and 3: 

• Christiana E. GRAHAM (Cal 1842-After 1900).  Born in , , Mississippi.
• Elizabeth GRAHAM  (Cal 1842-          ).  Born in Louisiana, USA. 

The things that are causing me trouble are:

Christiana E. Graham 

She only appears on the censuses as a child with her parents Robert and Ruth Graham.

• 1850 Jackson Parish, Louisiana - age  8 born in Mississippi
• 1860 Rapides Parish, Louisiana - age 18 born in Louisiana

She never appears on any record (so far) after 1860.

While it is possible that Christiana E. Graham was married or had died by 1870, so far, I have not been able to locate any marriage or death/burial records in either Jackson or Rapides parishes, LA.

Elizabeth Graham 

She never appears as a child on the census, and only shows up once she is married to Joel E. Merchant.  

So far, I haven't found conclusive evidence that she is the daughter of Robert and Ruth Graham, but here is what I have found, relating to Elizabeth Graham:

• Marriage Bond and Marriage License - 19 Jan 1867 names Joel B. Merchant and Elizabeth Graham
• Marriage certificate from minister - 24 Jan 1867 (transcription follows - highlighting of names added by me)
• "Be it Remembered, That on the 24 day of January, 1867 Mr. Joel Merchant and Miss Elizabeth Graham personally appeared before me D H Willis minister of the Gospel in and for the Parish of Rapides, together with the witnesses G W Smith and D H Willis Jr all witnesses of full age, and resident in the said Parish, and that then and there said Mr. Joel Merchant and Miss Elizabeth Graham  having produced the License required by Law, signified their desire and intention before us the said Minister D H Willis Sr and witnesses to be united in the State of Matrimony. Whereupon, after due proclamation made, and no impediment being suggested, they, the said Mr. Joel Merchant and Miss Elizabeth Graham were by me, the said Minister D H Wills Sr in the presence of the said witnesses, JOINED IN WEDLOCK according to the Laws of the State of Louisiana, and by me the said minister duly pronounced to be Husband and Wife.
  In Testimony Whereof, The parties to the said Marriage hereunto affix their signatures together with me the said Minister D H Willis Sr and the aforesaid Witnesses on this 24 day of January 1867 at the residence of R Graham in the Parish aforesaid.
  [signed] Joel Merchant
  [signed] Elisabeth Graham
  WITENSSES:
  [signed] G W Smith
  [signed] D H Willis Jr 
  Given under my hand this the 24 day of January [signed] D H Willis Sr."
• The fact that they were married at the home of R. Graham (Robert?) is of interest.  The witnesses are also of interest:
• D H Willis Jr was married to another of Robert Graham's daughters: Julia Ann Graham
• G W Smith shares the Smith name with Robert Graham's wife Ruth Smith - a relative, perhaps?

• 1870 Census Rapides Parish - age 28 born in Louisiana
• living close to (listed next family to) William Jackson Graham family (Robert Graham's son) and only a few houses from Robert Graham's daughter Emily Butter and Robert Graham.  
• Additionally, Elizabeth Merchant and 3 of Robert Graham's daughters all have a minor female Walker child living with them. 
• And, living next (on the census) to Robert Graham are 2 Walker boys age 17 & 13 
• Further research on the Walker children shows they are all siblings on the 1850 census - more on them at a later time. 
• it would seem that there is a connection between the Walker children and the Grahams and Elizabeth Merchant. 
• 1880 Census Rapides Parish - age 38 born in Louisiana
• Elizabeth's ages in 1870 and 1880 would also be correct for Christiana E Graham
• Elizabeth Merchant died before 21 Dec 1888 - determined by the following evidence:
• Joel Merchant obtained Marriage license to marry Ella McCall on  21 Dec 1888; they were married on 23 Dec 1888 
• Louisiana Democrat April 10, 1889 page 3 (newspaper partial transcription)
  STATE OF LOUISIANA,
  Parish of Rapides - 12th Judicial District Court.
  Succession of Mrs. C. E. Merchant  No 535
  Whereas JOEL B. MERCHANT, Administrator of the above numbered and entitled Succession [...] -- 
• The initials C.E. certainly suggest that Elizabeth was not her first name, but probably her middle name.  And, the first initial C. matches with Christiana E. Graham. 
• I haven't been able to locate a death notice/certificate or burial place for Elizabeth Merchant
•  

While there is no one piece of evidence that resolves the problem of Christiana and Elizabeth C. Graham, there several lines of circumstantial evidence to suggest that these 2 women were one and the same.

I have ordered all 37 pages of the succession record of Mrs. C. E. Merchant from the Rapides Parish, LA courthouse.  I hope that this record will help solve this identity problem.  -- Stay tuned.

If anyone has any information that contradicts or add additional insight into these two female names I would love to hear from you. 

Robert Graham 1840 Census

After locating the Robert Graham family on the 1850 Census in Jackson Parish, Louisiana and learning that the oldest 2 children were born in Mississippi in about 1839 and 1842 the next logical step was to search for the family on the 1840 Mississippi census.  In 1840 the family would have consisted of:

• Robert Graham age 22
• Ruth Graham age 27 
• Sarah C. Graham age 1

A search of the Mississippi Census quickly turned up only 2 Robert Graham families.  One with 3 members and the other with 5 members, but both in Scott County.  After dismissing the Robert Graham family with 5 members a analysis of the ages of the other Robert Graham family appears to be a perfect match -- as perfect as the 1840 census can provide.  

Robert Graham is the very last entry on this page

The transcript of the census is:

• Robert Graham - male between 20 - 29 years old (Robert would have been about 22 in 1840)
• 1 Female age between 20 -2 9 years (Ruth would have been about 27 in 1840)
• 1 Female age under 5 years (Sarah C. would have been about 1 in 1840)

While this doesn't prove that this family is our Robert Graham family is it is a solid lead that requires some additional research for further evidence.  The next step would be to locate a marriage record for Robert Graham and Ruth Smith in Mississippi prior 1840.  

Other surnames of interest in Scott County, Mississippi in 1840

Other surnames on the 1840 census that could possibly have a connection to the Robert Graham family in Louisiana include the following surnames:

• SMITH (Ruth's maiden name) - there are several Smith families
• DUNN - Robert's grand-daughter Ella (daughter of Lorenzo Dow Graham) married James Dunn, who was born in Mississippi       
• BUCKALOO - the surname (Buckaliew) appears on a gravestone in the Graham Cemetery in Rapid Parish, Louisiana.  John Buckaloo is listed on the same census page as Robert Graham in 1840.

Some research on these surnames is required to determine a link to the Robert Graham family, if any exists.

Robert Graham - Jackson Parish, Louisiana

Three land registration records help to place Robert Graham in Jackson Parish from 1850 through 1859.

We already established that Robert Graham and family appear on the 1850 Census, in Jackson Parish, LA. 
And, that the family was counted on the 1860, Rapides Parish census, but it is these 3 land registration records that help to show that the family did indeed reside in Jackson Parish until late 1859.

Certainly the youngest children who were born in 1850s were born in Jackson Parish, Louisiana. And several of the older children born in Louisiana may also have been born in Jackson Parish.

• Lucy Graham b. 1851
• Mary Ann Graham b. 1853
• Annie Graham b. 1855

The following 3 land registrations can be found online at the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records 

10 Jan 1851 Land Purchase in Jackson Parish:

15 Jan 1858 Registration of Land Purchase in Jackson Parish, LA

7 Dec. 1859 Land Purchase Registration Jackson Parish, LA

Robert Graham Family 1850 Census

Exciting News!

It's taken awhile, but I've finally located Robert Graham and family on the 1850 census.

1850 Census Jackson Parish, Louisiana

Transcription:

1) Robert Greyham, 31, male, farmer, value of real estate $250, born Mississippi;
2) Routh Greyham, 36, female, born Kenty [sic], cannot read/write;
3) Sarah C. Greyham, 11 , female, born Mississippi, attending school;
4) Christina E. Greyham, 8, female, born Mississippi, attending school;
5) Wm J Greyham, 7, male, born Louisiana:
6)  Julia A Greyham, 5, female, born Louisiana;
7) Emily Greyham, 4, female, born Louisiana;
8) Lorenza D Greyham, 2, male, born Louisiana;
9) Demal, 1, male, born Louisiana;
10) James Albridge, 27, male, born Louisiana

Locating Robert Graham would have been much easier if the last name indexed on Ancestry.com hadn't been Gresham.   While the census taker had horrible handwriting and the spelling wasn't much better I feel confident from the names and ages of everyone, in this family, that this is indeed our Robert Graham family. 

New Information:

I was really interested to see that there was an older daughter Sarah C. born in Mississippi, whose name I hadn't encountered before.  

Also of interest, was that both Sarah and Christina (the 2 oldest children) were born in Mississippi; this certainly changes some of the history about this family.  With the 2 oldest children being born in Mississippi it is highly unlikely that Robert Graham and Ruth Smith were married in Natchitoches, Louisiana in 1841, as previously thought.  

Elizabeth Graham family connection:

I was hoping that once this census was located Elizabeth Graham, who married Joel Merchant, would appear with the Graham family, as a child.  She does not!  Family tradition tells us that Elizabeth was one of Robert's and Ruth's daughters, but to date I haven't found any hard evidence to support it.  

Some circumstantial evidence is that she and Joel Merchant did live next door toWilliam Jackson Graham's family and only a few houses from Emily and Julia (sisters of William J. Graham and known daughters of Robert Graham) and close to Robert Graham.  Another important point is that Elizabeth  and Joel's marriage license lists Elizabeth's last name as Graham.  So, while she was a Graham we cannot, at this time, be certain that she was Robert & Ruth Graham's daughter. I would like to find further documentation that links Elizabeth firmly to Robert & Ruth Graham, before I can say with complete confidence that she is their daughter.

Another interesting connection: 

In 1870, each of these Graham women: Elizabeth, Julia and Emily had a minor child, last name Walker, living in their households. Two additional Walker children were living next door to Robert Graham in 1870.  This Walker family becomes important in locating Robert Graham on the 1860 census.

The Walker Connection:

It was the Walker children who led me to find Robert Graham on the 1850 census in Jackson Parish, Louisiana.  

From the 1870 Census in Rapids Parish, Louisiana:

• William Walker age 17,  living next door to Robert Graham
• Thomas Walker  age 13, living next door to Robert Graham
• Sarah Walker, age 17, living in the household of Daniel H. Willis and Julia A. (Graham) Willis. 
• Dempsy Walker, age 12, living in the household of William Butter and Emily (Graham) Butter.
• Elizabeth Walker, age 7, living in the household of Joel Merchant and Elizabeth (Graham) Merchant.

All 5 children were born in Louisiana.

On the 1860 census, in Jackson Parish, Louisiana William, Sarah, Dempsy and Jefferson (who is probably Thomas) appear as the children of Thomas and Charity Walker and are living next to Lafayette Walker.  Both Thomas and Lafayette Walker were born in Mississippi.

The fact that the Walker's and Robert Graham were both living in Jackson Parish, LA in 1860, and all 3 were born in Mississippi, along with the fact that the Walker children living with various Graham children in Rapides Parish, LA in 1870 certainly suggests some kind of important connection.

In 1850,  both Thomas Walker and Lafayette Walker are found on the census as the children of Saunders Walker Sr., in Pike County Mississippi, which borders the Louisiana/Mississippi border on the north.   Based on the Graham-Walker connection, whatever it may be, it seems like Pike County Mississippi might be a good starting point to search for Robert Graham in Mississippi.

Robert Graham - Family Patriarch

I'm starting this blog to document my research of  the Robert Graham (1818-1890) family.

Robert Graham
photo obtained by Elizabeth Mix from family member

Robert Graham was my 3rd Great-grandfather on my mother's side.  Robert's parents are this family line's brick wall.  Much research has already been done with no concrete evidence of Robert's parents.  An Internet search for Robert Graham in Rapides Parish, Louisiana and on Ancestry.con will provide information about previous researches done on this family, so I won't repeat that here.

Research Goal:  Determine Robert Graham's parents.

Method:  Conduct a community study of Robert Graham, his wife, children and neighbors beginning in Rapides Parish, Louisiana to acquire clues to Robert Graham's parentage.

What we already know for certain: 

Robert Graham was born 20 Aug. 1818 in Mississippi and died 10 Feb 1890 in Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana (U.S. Federal Census 1860, 1870, 1880 and tombstone)

Robert Graham's Tombstone

location: Graham Cemetery
Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Photo by Elizabeth Mix

 In Memory of 

Robt. Graham

Born

Aug. 20, 1818

Died

Feb 10, 1890

Robert Graham appears on the 1860, 1870, & 1880 US Census in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  On all 3 censuses his birthplace is listed as Mississippi. In 1880, it also lists both his parents as being born in Mississippi.

The tombstone and the census records are secondary sources as we do not know who provided the information for any of these records.  But they are all consistent and that is a plus.

We also know that his wife's name was Ruth aka Lucy.  The family oral history suggests her maiden name was Smith -- that has yet to be proved. (US Census 1860; 1870 Mortality schedule, & tombstone)

location: Graham Cemetery
Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Photo by Elizabeth Mix

In Memory of

RUTH SMITH

Beloved wife of

Robert Graham

Born

Dec. 5, 1813

Died 

June 2, 1869

Ruth (as Lucy) appears as Robert's wife on the 1860 US Census for Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  It is very nice that she is listed by her maiden name on her tombstone.  And even better that the tombstone says she was the wife of Robert Graham. On the 1860 census, her birthplace is listed as Ky (Kentucky).   However on the 1870 Mortality Schedule her birthplace is listed as Mississippi, and that she died in July (not June as her tombstone says) of Typhoid Fever. Since there is probably at least the month of death error on the Mortality schedule it isn't unreasonable to think that just maybe her birthplace is also wrong -- it will take a thorough search to sort out her birthplace.  Again these are secondary sources and we cannot know who provided the information.  

Although Robert and Ruth do not appear on the US Census in Louisiana prior to 1860, it is evident, from the dates of the children's births that they were in Louisiana as early as about 1842 when the eldest child Christina was born. 

Their children, as listed on the 1860 census were:

1. Christina b. abt 1842 - Louisiana
2. William Jackson b. abt 1844 - Louisiana
3. Julia Ann b. abt 1845 
4. Emily b. 10 Aug 1846 (date on headstone)
5. Lorenzo Dow abt b 1848
6. Demarius b. abt 1850
7. Lucy M. b. abt 1851
8. Mary Ann b. abt 1853
9. Anna b. abt 1856

All the children's birth dates, at this time, are calculated from their age on the 1860 Census.   

It is worth noting that there is a James Graham age 59 also from Mississippi on the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  This James is worth taking a second look at as his about 18 years older than Robert and also was born in Mississippi. Perhaps he was a cousin, uncle or older brother.  Another interesting link is that in 1850 James Graham was living with Edgarton Willis and his wife Sophia.  A link between the Graham and Willis families will become more apparent in future blog posts.  But for now it is worth noting that Sophia Willis was also born in Mississippi, and that some of Robert Graham's daughters married into another Willis family.   

There was only 1 other Graham listed in Rapides Parish in 1860 - a George M. Graham age 53 from Virginia.  I think it is unlikely that he would have been related to our Robert, primarily because of the economic difference between George and Robert.  George M Graham, farmer's real estate was valued at 206,000 and personal estate at 14,970 while Robert's real estate value was 240 and personal estate was 690. These are vast differences in terms of personal wealth; it is obvious that George M Graham was a very wealthy person.   

There were 2 other Grahams listed in the 1850 census but for now there doesn't seem to be any connection to our Robert Graham.  They were Danl Graham from either Virginia or South Carolina and James Graham from England - there does appear to be a family connection between these 2 as they are living in at the same residence in 1850.