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John Graham, of Floyd Co., KY
Facts and Events
John Graham was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia
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References
- Kleber, John E. The Kentucky encyclopedia. (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, c1992)
pg. 381-382.
GRAHAM, JOHN. John Graham, pioneer and surveyor, was born January 1, 1765 in Augusta County, Virginia, to David and Jane (Armstrong) Graham. His surveying and writing abilities suggest that he was formally educated, and is likely that he attended Augusta Seminary (now Liberty Hall), located about sixty miles from his birthplace. he served with the 9th Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War and was later a member of the Kentucky militia. In 1787 he first surveyed the Big Sandy River area. He later became the largest landowner in western Kentucky. He was a central figure in the formation of Floyd County in 1799 and became the official surveyor in 1805, reappointed by the county court in 1810, 1815, 1820 and 1830. He served two terms as circuit judge of Floyd County (1808-1812 and 1814-1815). On June 26, 1815, for the price of one dollar, Graham sold to Floyd County the property for the establishment of the streets and courthouse square of Prestonburg. Graham also was a banker (1800) and a merchant (1815).
Graham married Rebecca Witten on January 29, 1775.  They had seven children: Thomas Witten, Eleanor, Rebecca, Dorothy, Sophia, Tabitha, and Elizabeth Graham. Graham died at his home near Prestonsburg on April 20, 1835 and was buried on the old homestead at Dwale in Floyd County.
See Henry P. Scalf, Kentucky's Last Frontier (Pikeville, Ky, 1972).
- Note: John Graham would have only been 10 years old in 1775, so this date is in error. Virginia marriage records have their marriage date as 10 February 1803 in Tazewell County, Virginia, where Rebecca's family was from. The date listed in 1775 is more likely the birthdate of Rebecca [Witten] Graham, but that is just a guess at this point.
- Filson Historical Society (Louisville, Kentucky). The Filson Club history quarterly. (Louisville, Kentucky: The Club, 1930-2000).
John Graham became the official surveyor of Floyd County, Kentucky, and later had a number of deputy surveyors working for him. He was reappointed by the Floyd County Court in 1810, 1815, 1820 and lastly on November 15, 1830. (M. Hall, History of Johnson County, Kentucky, Vol. I, page 487; Kentucky Land Office Records, Frankfort, Kentucky.
John Graham, in 1800, began keeping a handmade leather covered ledger book of his business, merchandising and banking accounts. This book records many of his transactions down to 1819. It is now the property of Mrs. Rebecca Harris Dingus, of Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
John Graham was elected and served as Representative of the Floyd County district of Fleming, formerly Mason County, in the Kentucky General Assembly. (Richard H. Collins, History of Kentucky, Vol. II, page 547.)
1801:--John Graham was the owner of three tracts of land, one on the Ohio River, one on Quick's Run, and one on Cabin Creek in Mason County, Kentucky, in 1801. These three boundaries totaled 3,450 acres. This land was acquired from John Craig and Richard Graham. (Mason County, Kentucky, Tax List for 1801. Archives Kentucky State Historical Society, Frankfort, Kentucky.)
1803:--John Graham was married to Rebecca Witten, granddaughter of Judge Thomas Witten, Sr., the Pioneer, of Tazewell County, Virginia, February 10, 1803. Graham at this time was 38 years old. The marriage was solemnized, probably, at her father's or grandfather's home, by Judge David Ward of the Tazewell County Court. (John Newton Harman, Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia, Vol. I, page 49.)
The parents of Rebecca Witten were Thomas Witten, Jr., and Eleanor Cecil. Through her mother and grandmother, Elizabeth Cecil Witten, she was a direct descendant of William Cecil, Lord Burghlcy, who for many years was Prime Minister of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. (W. R. Jillson,
"A Sketch of the Life and Times of Rebecca Witten Graham of Floyd County, Kentucky, 1775-1843," in The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Vol. 37, No. 119, April, 1939.)
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