My Genealogy Hound

EDMON A. GRAHAM, agent of the Graham & Morton Transportation Company, manager of the steamer “May Graham,” and owner of the Graham Docks at St. Joseph, is doubtless more widely known than any other resident of this city by the lake. He is a native of Indiana and was born in the city of La Porte November 14, 1841. Tracing his lineage back through two generations, we find that his paternal grandfather was William Graham, who was of English descent, while his maternal grandfather bore the name of Phineas Nichols. Both were honorable and upright men, industrious and persevering, and were highly esteemed in the communities where they resided.

The parents of our subject, John and Lucinda (Nichols) Graham, were natives of New York, the former having been born in Chenango County. In his young manhood he emigrated to the West and, reaching Indiana, made settlement on a farm three miles from La Porte, where he resided a few years, and then moved to Ohio. Soon after he returned to Indiana, from there went to Illinois, thence to Iowa, and while the family remained in Iowa he made a trip to California. In 1864 he settled in Berrien County. Afterwards he returned to Boone County, Ill., and settled on a farm on which he died in 1875. He was a public-spirited and enterprising man of irreproachable conduct and kindly disposition.

The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood years in the several States above mentioned and at the age of twenty-one went to Elkhart, Ind. In 1864, he accompanied his father to Berrien County, where he engaged in the lumber business. He built a sawmill five miles south of St. Joseph, of which he became Superintendent, and continued in that capacity until he sold the mill in 1882. During the same year he removed to the city of St. Joseph and purchased the Morrison Dock, which he remodeled and rebuilt. Later he built the steamer “May Graham,” which during the summer months plies the waters of the St. Joseph River between St. Joseph and Berrien Springs, carrying both passengers and freight. With various important enterprises of St. Joseph Mr. Graham is closely identified and is the owner of a large amount of valuable property in this city. He is a stockholder and Director in the Union Banking Company, one of the solid financial institutions of western Michigan. In the business circles of Berrien County his name is a familiar one, and he is universally esteemed as an energetic man, loyal citizen and kind friend. While by no means pronounced in his political preferences, he nevertheless is devoted to the principles of the Republican party, believing its platform best adapted to promote the general welfare of the people. Socially, he affiliates with Burnett Lodge No. 19, I. O. O. F.

The Graham residence on Main Street is an elegant and commodious home, containing every convenience to enhance the comfort of its inmates. It is presided over with charming hospitality and grace by Mrs. Graham, who became the wife of our subject in 1869. She was formerly Edwina C. Bunker, of Hager Township, this county, and is the daughter of Nathaniel Bunker. The home is brightened by the presence of the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Graham, an accomplished young lady, May Belle.