Husband John Charles Graham 1 2
Born: 8 Oct 1868 - Butler, Butler Co, PA 2 3
Christened:
Died: 1950
Buried: - North Cemetery, Butler, Butler Co, PA
Father: Walter L. Graham (1831-1900/1900) 1 2 3 4 5
Mother: Margaret A. Zimmerman (1835-1919) 1 2 5
Marriage: 3 Jul 1913 - Clarion, Clarion Co, PA 2 3
Other Spouse: Harriet Lovey Ayres (1867-1907) 1 2 6 - 6 Dec 1894 2 3
Wife Elizabeth Wilson 2 3
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Hon. Theophilus Strattan Wilson (1837-1891) 3 7 8
Mother: Amanda Lowry ( - ) 9
Children
General Notes: Husband - John Charles Graham
He was a successful attorney and prosperous real estate dealer at Butler, has been engaged in business pursuits almost from boyhood. During his school days he was employed as a clerk in a country store and became interested later in a news agency and from 1879 until 1887, he earned some three thousand dollars through his own efforts. In the latter year, notwithstanding his application to business, he was able to graduate as the salutatorian of his class at school. He dabbled to some degree in a real estate business prior to entering Lafayette College, where he took a course of study and after his return in 1891 he resumed his interest in the same. He studied law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar in 1894.
In 1888, he joined the State Militia, in which he served for six years. When the Spanish-American War broke out, he assisted in the organization of the Twenty-first Regiment and was elected second lieutenant of Company G, and later was appointed battalion adjutant. He was a skillful athlete and won many honors in that line. He attended the First Presbyterian Church, of which he was secretary to the Board of Trustees for seven years. He was a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. For more than eight years he was secretary of the Butler Board of Trade.
He was educated in the public schools, graduating with the high school class of 1887 as salutatorian. At the age of eleven, he began to be a wage-earner, selling newspapers, continuing all through his school life until graduation, and earning about $3,000, his father having met with severe financial reverses. Notwithstanding this handicap he was graduated with high honors. After graduating he kept books, was a reporter for Pittsburgh daily papers, the age of twenty years had sufficient capital accumulated to begin trading in real estate. His ambition was to succeed his father in his law business, and this ambition never slept or slumbered, although deprived of any assistance in obtaining a college education. He was successful in his real estate ventures, and in the fall of 1890 entered Lafayette College, remaining one year. He then began the study of law under his father's instruction, and in 1894 was admitted to the Butler county bar, He at once began practice with his father, continuing until the death of the latter. Since then he has continued in practice alone, having been admitted to the State and Federal courts of the district. His private enterprise in the improvement of Butler has been along the line of the erection of homes of modern, tasteful design in Butler, and developing acreage in the suburban section. His public work has been in connection with the Butler Board of Trade, which he served as secretary for the seven years of Butler's greatest development, 1889 to 1906, when the population jumped from ten to twenty-five thousand.
The Board of Trade was largely instrumental in the phenomenal prosperity of those years, and as secretary Mr. Graham bore a conspicuous part. Aside from his legal and real estate interests, he was connected with many financial and commercial enterprises as a large stockholder and attorney. He was also actively interested in oil production and in all his undertakings was uniformly successful. He was interested in the Butler Savings and Trust Company; the Butler County National Bank; the Lyndont National Bank; the First National Bank of Bruin (Butler county) of which he was also attorney; the Allegheny Valley Foundry and Machine Company at Glassmere (Allegheny county) of which he was director, also attorney; and the Clay Products and Mineral Company of Freeport, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Graham was for many years connected with the National Guard of Pennsylvania. He enlisted first in 1888 in Company E, Fifteenth Regiment and served with his regiment at the great Homestead strike of 1892, ranking as corporal. He again enlisted in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, in Company G, Twenty-first Regiment (which he was active in organizing) and was elected second lieutenant. The company did not see actual warfare, although the regiment tendered their services to the government. He was mustered out after two years' service in June, 1900. In 1910 he was appointed adjutant of the Sixteenth Regiment, which position he held until his resignation in September, 1912. He was always fond of athletics, and from 1892 to 1896 was a member of the famous First Ward Running Team (which lowered the world's record for 25o yards run). He competed in many state contests, the Cotton States International Exposition at Atlanta and incidentally won $6,500 in cash prizes. He held the office of district deputy grand commander of the Knights of Malta; he was a member of Blue Lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic order, also an Odd Fellow and a member of the Sons of Veterans. For several years he was active in the Young Men's Christian Association as a director and a worker. For one hundred and ten years, and for four generations, the Grahams were pillars of strength in the First Presbyterian Church. He was a trustee of that church and for many years was a teacher in the Sunday school. In political faith he was a Republican and active in the party, but never yielded to the inducements of his friends, that he accept public office. His club was the Butler Country. Mr. Graham's chief recreation was travel, and such time as he could secure from his business was spent in journeying to the historic, romantic, or scenic wonders of America and Europe. He visited all such places in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and in 1911 toured the British Isles and the continent of Europe. [GPHWP, 510]