Managers of Florence Patton,
I am contacting you about this profile: Florence Patton
Hello:
Not sure if you are interested in the actual lineage of Florence Graham and her brother Judge John Graham. They both do descend from American Patriarch Christopher Graham but through his son John Sr. NOT his son William as has been surmised by the 1899 author David Graham; repeated by historian Dr. Willard Rouse Jillson, and then copied by family descendant and historian-Karen Salisbury.
As you know, John Sr. moved to Virginia in the early 1740's and took up 696-acres of land on the Calf Pasture River. He there raised his children and grandchildren. His second son-John Jr. and third son-James each had sons (their eldest) they named JOHN for their father-John Sr. Both of these sons were born c. 1750 and are named in John Sr.'s will with an inheritance. James is not given an inheritance in John Sr.'s will. He was a Knox (1769-1774) Kentucky Long Hunter and was probably in Kentucky when his father died. John Sr.'s will mention's Rebecca (Robinson) who almost assuredly was James' wife and John Sr.'s daughter-in-law. Joseph Robinson as a teste to the will was there to make sure Rebecca's interest in the will were maintained. James's son John is mentioned twice in John Sr.'s will: 1) for a cash inheritance, 2) for a cow (with Rebecca) indicating there are other minor children who will need milk. Only three of John Sr.'s many grandchildren are mentioned in his 1771 will indicating they only had reached the age of majority (21) and could accept an inheritance. This would have put their births by or before 1750. (*Florence was born in 1755 and is not mentioned in the will.)
When John Sr.'s brother-William died, John Sr. was granted guardianship of William's two youngest sons: COL James and David (born to his second marriage to Jane Mays). These two young men would have been raised alongside their first cousins (children of John Sr.) almost as siblings. COL James (b. 1740) and David (b. 1741-birth year proven) were about 10-15 years younger than their cousins John Jr. and James. COL James later married his cousin Florence and also became the "in-law" of these same cousins.
William's son David served in Preston's Rangers with is first cousin-John Jr. and his Uncle Robert Graham during the French and Indian War. David married his cousin Jane Walkup, a daughter of Joseph Walkup who was married to one of Christopher's daughters. David and Jane had only ONE SON (Joseph) who was named for his maternal grandfather-Joseph Walkup. When David died, John Graham Jr. obtained guardianship of his younger second cousin-Joseph Graham. Joseph, like his father, was raised amongst his cousins on the original Calf Pasture homesite. John Graham Jr. later petitioned for Joseph Graham to obtain land for his father-David Graham's War service. (See page 310 of Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Spells this out and states clearly that Joseph was David's ONLY SON.)
The author David Graham wrote his book as part of quest to both seek and capture information about his family. When David was born, his father was elderly. David didn't write his book until he was in the sunset of his life and first-hand sources were probably few if any. He knew a family member of his father's, named John Graham, had moved to Kentucky. Joseph had later gone to Kentucky to visit this John Graham. David Graham mistakenly believed this John Graham could have been his father's older brother without realizing instead he was an older cousin. He noted this in his 1899 book. Later, Dr. Willard Rouse Jillson took David Graham's book to be accurate in his portrayal that John Graham (Judge) was Joseph's older brother. He was not.
Jillson wrote an article for the Filson Club claiming Judge John Graham was the son of David Graham despite much of his evidence and history he cited in his article reinforced that it could not be true. Later, Karen Salisbury used David Graham's book and Jillson errant article to support her family genealogy placing William Graham as an ancestor of Judge John Graham.
James Graham was a significant figure, but has been overlooked by history for the most part. He floated down the Ohio River with George Rogers Clark in May of 1782 wit his new bride-Mary Ann Worthington. They would later have at least four children in Kentucky. James fought in the Western Campaigns during the Revolutionary War. James was at the Battle of Blue Licks (1782) where he was captured by Indians. The British held him captive until after the Revolutionary War. He moved his family to Nelson County, Kentucky and lived alongside other Graham family members descended from both John Sr. and William. He died there in June 1799. James' son Dr. Christopher Columbus Graham was a historical figure larger than life. In his 1872 biographical sketch in William B. Allen's book: History of Kentucky, he notes he had a brother named John who was prominent in his community and cited his wealth. It is easy to see that this was Judge John Graham by his description.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Best regards,
Michael (Graham) Moser
