WWilliam Graham's War Between the States
William Graham
William Graham was my great grandfather. He was an immigrant from Ireland of Scots-Irish ancestry. To my knowledge, no photos exist of him.
As a young man, William was described as having a height of 5 feet 11 inches, light sandy complexion, blue eyes, and light hair. He likely emigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland (based on the later pension application by his widow) in 1852 with his father, James and sister, Elizabeth. Nothing is known of his mother. In 1852, William would have been 15, his sister 11 and his father 62. The custom of the men marrying in their 30s or later, which started with William's father James, continued among 'Graham' oldest sons into the present day. James may well have been following his older sister Elizabeth who emigrated in 1827, at about age 44, from County Down, Ireland with her husband William Bell and children. According to the 1855 NY State Census, William Graham, age 19, born in Ireland, was living in Tyrone, Schuyler County, New York. He was a boarder with Enoch Webster, wife and family, including 3 adult daughters and a son. In 1860, William Graham was working as a farmer in Orange, Schuyler Co., NY. He was living on the farm of Thomas Boyes and wife Mary and their seven children ages 10 to 24. |
Civil War
On July 18, 1862 in Elmira, New York, William, then 26 years old, enlisted to serve three years in Co. B, 107th New York Regiment of volunteers. He was discharged on June 5, 1865 when he was mustered out with the company near Washington, D.C. He entered as a private and was discharged as a Sergeant. He was promoted to corporal on November 1, 1862 and Sergeant, on April 1, 1865.
He participated in all battles with the regiment except two. After the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 the regiment marched to Harper's Ferry where they made their camp on top of Maryland Heights. Here they helped build gun emplacements, spending most of their days cutting down trees for that purpose. It was here that disease struck the regiment hard and for the period ending November 8, 1862, a total of 30 men died.
William became quite sick at this time. He was sent to St. Paul’s Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia on December 19, 1862. He was transferred on Feb. 18, 1863 to the USA General Hospital, Fort Schuyler, New York Harbor. The battles fought by the 107th regiment that William missed - Chancellorsville (April 29 - May 6, 1863) and Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) - occurred while he was hospitalized from December 1862 until August 1863.
Post Civil War
On March 1, 1869, at around age 31, William Graham married Mary Elizabeth Platt in Townsend, New York. She had been known to his sister since before 1860. Following marriage they lived on the farm of Brewster Platt, Mary’s father. They had two children: my grandfather Hiram Hovey Graham born December 9, 1870 (same birthday as mine) and Sarah born May 24, 1875.
William died at the young age of 40 on November 22, 1877. Mary Graham’s 1900 pension application said kidney & liver disease incurred during military service was the cause of William’s death. Doctor William Heist, who was his family physician, said on May 17, 1895, “the hardship and explosives during the war hastened his death. He was a man of the best habits strictly temperate in every respect. And one of the best men I ever knew.”
A Thomas Goundry and Elizabeth Pangborn, the sister of William Graham, submitted affidavits as part of Mary Graham’s pension application. Thomas served in the 141st NY regiment with Hiram Platt (Mary’s brother) and knew William per affidavit. Thomas Goundry in 1900 lived next door to Elizabeth Graham Pangborn. Elizabeth’s affidavit said she has known Mary Graham for more than 40 years (before 1860) and knew William Graham for his lifetime. She was present at the marriage of William to Mary in 1869.