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Below is a family biography included in History of Lee County, Iowa published by Western Historical Company in 1879.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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GRAHAM, BENJ., far., Sec. 32; P. O. West Point; born in the Province of Upper Canada, near the Falls of Niagara, 1808; left an orphan at the age of 4; at the age of 16, he went to Ashtabula Co., O., where he learned the trade of brick mason, an occupation which he followed for fifteen years. In 1834, he married Mary Large, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1814; in the spring of 1837, they were among the pioneers of Lee Co., and settled where he now resides and owns 215 acres of land, now valued at $50 per acre, where he turned his attention to farming; in 1840, his wife died, leaving three children — David, Jacob and John; in 1841, he married Nancy Randolph, who was born in Illinois in 1824, and died in 1845, leaving three children — Mary, Henry and George, all deceased; in 1851, he married Catharine Jeffers, who was born in West Virginia, in 1824; they have had ten children, seven of whom are living — Abram, Benjamin F., Serena, Hannah, Dennis, Joseph, Charles, Ada, Lincoln and Melvin; Mr. Graham has identified himself in the improvement and educational interests of the county by starting the first school in his township, started by subscription at Peckanne Point; he also made the first farm between West Point and Salem.

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This family biography is one of 668 biographies included in The History of Lee County, Iowa published in 1879.  For the complete description, click here: Lee County, Iowa History and Genealogy

View additional Lee County, Iowa family biographies: Lee County, Iowa Biographies

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