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Twigs and Branches
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Graham Reunion 1907THE BLOOMFIELD NEWS, Bloomfield Friday, October 11, 1907 Volume XXXI, Number , Page 3, Columns 1-4, “GRAHAM REUNION — Graham Family Reunion Held at Owensburg Last Friday, October 4 — Paper read by J. G. Hert.” This celebration was originally planned to be an outdoor affair, and to have in connection with it a “sheep roast, ” but on account of unfavorable weather was held in the public hall at Owensburg. Barbecued mutton and all other food, sufficient for twice the number, was provided in the hospitable manner for which this community is noted. The meeting was called to order by J. G. HERT, who introduced Col. E. H. C. CAVINS, of Bloomfield, as the presiding officer for the occasion. Col. CAVINS in one of his characteristic speeches placed the audience in good humor, claiming Jackson Township also as his birthplace. He told of his practice as a lawyer in the justice courts presided over by Samuel GRAHAM and of the just and impartial decisions of the court. Mr. CAVINS also referred to the “military history of the sons of Samuel GRAHAM having been under artillery fire with one of them at Greenbrier, VA. He also mentioned the rare coincidence of all four of the GRAHAM boys being in the Battle at Stone River although in different divisions and corps. The following address was prepared and read by J. G. HERT: We have met today to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the birthday of a man who spent the larger portion of his manhood in this vicinity and who was known and respected by the generation that has almost passed away —the BOONES, STONES, HATFIELDS, DYES, BEATYS, SHORTS, LAMBS, DUGGERS, HERTS, and many other pioneer families of this vicinity have gone to their reward, the younger generations, their descendants only remain. Very few remain of his latest associates —fewer yet of his middle life friends and none of the friends and associates of his early manhood years. Well may we pause to set up a milestone at the end of the first century of this Patriarch —far too seldom are these monuments erected by posterity, far too ignorant and neglectful are we all as to our ancestors —from whence came they? Who were they? The genius of our democratic institutions may possibly account for a good deal of this lack of interest in our ancestors for we as American citizens do not measure a man by his “blue blood ” nor by his family heritage, but by what he himself is, it is with us the individual, not his ancestry. While this is proper to a large extent, I am not so sure but what we have gone to the extreme with this idea. Do we not carefully investigate and keep records of our blooded stock on our farms? Can we not trace their linage back for centuries? Are not human beings worth far more consideration than the beasts of the field? Most certainly they are. The ancient race, the Jews, keep and have kept for all the ages past, records of their family births and their records are handed down from father to son. The genealogy of our Savior was accurately and religiously kept through the centuries so that no mistake might be made in tracing fulfillment of prophecy. Is it not time that we, as Americans, now in our youth as a nation, were compiling and completing our family histories while we are yet only three centuries from the first English settlement? What prestige it gives to a family to be able to trace its origin to a signer of the Declaration of Independence, or to be eligible to membership in the Patriotic order, “The Daughters of the America Revolution. ” This good year, 1907, we are celebrating at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement made in the United States, now three centuries past. A century is not long in the life of a nation, but it is a great span in the history of a family, covering five generations. The subject of this sketch, Samuel GRAHAM, was born October 4, 1807, in that historic commonwealth Virginia, a state that has been called the “Mother of Presidents ” and the “Old Dominion, ” a state that was the asylum for the oppressed of all nations in its first century and that furnished the President of the United States for thirty-two years of its first thirty-six years ’ existence. About the close of the first century after Virginia ’s settlement, the Huguenots, Protestants against Catholic oppression in France, fled from their native country to find homes in our free land where they could live lives in accordance with their conscience, and later, about the middle of the second century, a great influx of that sturdy race, the “Scotch-Irish, ” also came to our shores — exiles on account of British religious oppression —dissenters from the “Established Church. ” These dissenters and Huguenots enriched Virginia, the Carolinas and other southeast Atlantic states with the best blood this nation has ever known. They and their posterity drifted into Tennessee and Kentucky, also across the Ohio River into Ohio and Indiana, all of which territory was at that time a part of the state of Virginia. George Rogers CLARK as a citizen of Virginia emigrated to Kentucky which was by his request made a county of Virginia by the governor, Patrick HENRY, and he also confirmed Virginia ’ title to Indiana by conquest from the British at Vincennes in 1779. Among the Scotch-Irish immigrants to Virginia at the close of that century was the father and mother of Samuel GRAHAM, the father dying while Samuel was yet a boy —his mother remarried and Samuel as a young man emigrated to Indiana early in its history as a state, locating in Lawrence County, at that time nearly a virgin forest. There was not a railroad, a telegraph or a telephone line in existence, but transportation was by water or overland, on foot or horseback. These pioneers were all on an equality and lived happy lives, free from the artificialities of our modern society. Their wants were few and simple. Here in 1827 he met and married the love of his young manhood, Mary KILGORE, also of Scotch-Irish descent, a race that gave to the world Edmund BURKE and Robert EMMET, also the sweet singers Tom MOORE and Bobby BURNS, and to our own country the dashing patriots, Phil SHERIDAN, Phil KEARNEY, and Judson KILPATRICK. Who has not been thrilled by the rehearsal of SHERIDAN ’S ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek, or “KEARNEY at Seven Pines ”? Samuel and Mary GRAHAM removed from Lawrence County to Patty ’s Garden, ” as it was then called, now known as Raglesville. From there they moved to a farm three-fourths of a mile northeast of Owensburg known then as the Lowry STONE place, from there they removed to a farm on the Troy road about three miles northwest of Owensburg, known as the M. B. NOEL farm. On this farm and in this vicinity he lived many years, his neighbors Henry WADE, Wesley FERGUSON, Ira ELLIS, the HUDSON families and others mostly of his own nationality have passed to their reward. It is supposed that while residing here, 1847 to 1854, he and his wife united with the Christian church, as there was an organization in this neighborhood before the Christian church was organized at Owensburg. They removed to Iowa in 1854, but returned and located on the farm known as the Ira ELLIS place in 1856 in the same neighborhood as his former home, renewing his acquaintance with the families heretofore mentioned and also with Benjamin DONEY, L. C. PRICE, M. B. NOEL, Minor PATE, J. M. RECORDS, Uncle Billy DOBBINS, Harrison MILLER and others, all of whom have joined the silent majority except L. C. PRICE. His next removal was to the town of Owensburg where he was for many, many years a justice of the peace. He was Whig in politics and an ardent admirer of Henry CLAY. He very naturally become a Republican at the demise of the Whig party and was equally as enthusiastic for James G. BLAINE, Richard W. THOMPSON and George G. DUNN, prominent in this District and state as Whig politicians, where his ideals and locally he was a personal friend of the ROUSEAUS, at one time the leading Whig politicians of this county. In the administration of his office as justice of the peace, he gave universal satisfaction as his re-election term after term testifies. He often sought as counsel the advisors in complicated cases the law firm of CAVINS & CAVINS, in whose opinions and integrity he had great confidence. He removed from Owensburg to Bedford. Living there a few years, he and his family returned to Owensburg where he spent the remainder of his life. During all these years he and his wife (familiarly known as Aunt Polly) were earnest and active members of the Christian church and their family of children for the most part (if not all) have accepted the faith of their father and mother. At the call of President Lincoln for volunteers in defense of the union in 1861 all the sons of this family of military age, namely —Basil, Marion, Lafayette and Charles —answered their country ’s call and served throughout the civil war or until disabled from duty. Uncle Sam GRAHAM had three traits of character that especially commend him to his posterity —his absolute regard for truth, as he had not patience with a man who would prevaricate; his intense, earnest and abiding friendship and his respect for age. Of his close friendship I can personally recall his love and admiration for Wesley FERGUSON, Ned STROSNIDER, O. T. BARKER and my father. Other Owensburg friends of his were Charles GASTINEAU, Lawrence WHARTON, N. W. WILLIAMS, Charles STROSNIDER, David LEWIS, Isaac T. BRIDGES and no doubt many others whose names I do not now recall. He was also an enthusiastic Free Mason and numbered among his later friends in the fraternity L. C. PRICE, M. B. NOEL, John R. HUDSON, Malachi PORTER, L. P. LEONARD and others of Owensburg Lodge, F & A. M. He was for many years Tyler of the lodge, always present and faithful to his post. Some of his peculiar expressions of speech yet cling to my memory, as in my boyhood days I have heard him say “Hue ’ Man. ” Another of his expressions when wanting to convey the idea of great quantity he would say “A churn full. ” And yet another common expression of his was “I wish I may never see Cuddy, ” or I wish I may never see Polly and the children. ” Aunt Polly was a woman of the old school, always the same —no double dealing, frank in her expressions, you always knew where to find her. She also was strong in her likes and dislikes. Pity that there are not more of her kind today. This couple lived a happy life and have gone to their reward, leaving no disgrace on their posterity, with nothing to apologize from them. They did the best they could for themselves and their children under the circumstances surrounding them and have left an example of true manhood and womanhood worthy of imitation by their children. Of the foregoing 147 names there are 118 now living, and of this number there are present today about 85 persons besides other friends and invited guests. (Of the immediate family of Samuel GRAHAM there is now living Basil, Avarilla, Minerva and John W. They with the wife of John W. and widow of Charles, were all present.) These reunions mean a great deal to our families. They serve to awaken and renew family pride; they educate us as to our ancestry; they inspire us to be better men and better women that we may not fall below the family standard, that we may add luster to our family name and admonish us that we should never be guilty of word or deed to tarnish our family name. They are also a source of great satisfaction in rekindling love and friendship in our hearts and the kindly greetings and smiling faces so impress us that we live over again in memory and joyous days of our youth —a desire so beautifully expressed in the poem, “Rock Me to Sleep ”:
May God bless you all! |
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