William A. Graham (agriculture commissioner)

William Alexander Graham (December 26, 1839 – December 23, 1923) was a North Carolina legislator and state Commissioner of Agriculture.

William Alexander Graham
9th North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
In office
1909 – December 1923
Preceded bySamuel L. Patterson
Succeeded byWilliam A. Graham Jr.
Member of the
North Carolina House of Representatives
In office
1905–1905
4th President pro tempore
of the North Carolina Senate
In office
1879–1880
Preceded byJames L. Robinson
Succeeded byWilliam T. Dortch
Member of the
North Carolina Senate
In office
1879–1880
Member of the
North Carolina Senate
In office
1874–1874
Personal details
BornDecember 26, 1839
Hillsborough, North Carolina
DiedDecember 23, 1923
Raleigh, North Carolina
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Princeton College
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/service Confederate States Army
Rank Major
Unit 19TH North Carolina State Troops Cavalry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

Graham was born on December 26, 1839[1] in Hillsborough, North Carolina to William Alexander Graham (1804–1875) and Susannah Sarah Washington. Graham was educated at private schools, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Princeton College. He served as an officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Graham became a farmer and led the North Carolina Farmers' Alliance. A Democrat, he was elected to represent Lincoln County in the North Carolina Senate in 1874 and 1879 and in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1905. In 1879 to 1880, Graham served as President pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate. From 1899 to 1908, Graham was a member of the state Board of Agriculture.

In 1908, Graham was elected Commissioner of Agriculture. He was re-elected several times and served until his death in December 1923. His son, William Graham Jr., succeeded him as Commissioner.

Graham died in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 23, 1923[1] and is buried in Machpelah Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Lincolnton, North Carolina.[2]

The William A. Graham Jr. Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[3]

References
  1. Hamby, Robert Palmer (1982), Brief Baptist Biographies, 1707-1982:, Volume II, Greenville, S.C.: : A Press, p. 159
  2. "Maj William Alexander Graham, Jr". Find A Grave. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
Political offices
Preceded by
Samuel L. Patterson		 9th North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
1908 – 1923		 Succeeded by
William A. Graham Jr.
Preceded by
James L. Robinson		 4th President pro tempore
of the North Carolina Senate
1879 – 1880		 Succeeded by
William T. Dortch
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