Graham, Benjamin

Born: 1808-05-05 Scotland, United Kingdom

Died: 1864-01-25 Geneseo, Illinois

Flourished: Henry County, Illinois

Benjamin Graham was a farmer, county government official, and state legislator. Born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Graham immigrated to the United States, settling in Henry County, Illinois. Graham operated a livestock farm in Osco Township in north central Henry County, Illinois. By 1850, he owned real property valued at $4,000. From 1850 to 1852, he served as clerk of the Henry County Circuit Court. In 1852, Graham won election, as a Democrat, to the Illinois Senate, serving in that body until 1855. In 1853, Graham was among the founding members and first corresponding secretary of the Henry County Agricultural Society. In 1860, he was farming near Geneseo and owned real property valued at $17,500 and had a personal estate of $2,000. Benjamin and his wife Evelina had at least five children together.

Portrait and Biographical Album of Henry County, Illinois (Chicago: Biographical, 1885), 741, 811, 813; The History of Henry County, Illinois (Chicago: H. F. Kett, 1877), 555; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 218, 220; List of Members of the Illinois Legislature in 1855; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Henry County, IL, 140; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Geneseo, Henry County, IL, 46; Gravestone, Oakwood Cemetery, Geneseo, IL.