Raleigh, Dec. 24—Maj. William A. Graham, for 15 years commissioner of agriculture of North Carolina and the last remaining Confederate soldier holding a state office, died at 4:35 o’clock this morning at a local hospital of pneumonia following an attack of influenza. Major Graham lacked but two days of being 84 years of age, but had been able to attend to the routine duties of his office until a few days since.
He would have been a candidate for re-election to his office and in all probability would have succeeded to the post again. There was promised opposition, but nerve is required and money to go into a primary against a Confederate soldier who has a job.
Of course, his successor is being discussed, with the consensus of opinion, perhaps, favoring his son, William A. Graham jr., member of the state senate from Lincoln county. This because there was several months ago at a time that Major Grahm appeared feeble talk of his resignation to make way for his son, who is a member of the Democratic state committee and otherwise prominent in party and administrative councils.
If it should be decided to go out of the family, there are T.B. Parker, already an avowed candidate, who has been connected with the department of agriculture for many years; F.P. Latham of Beaufort County, am ember of the state board of agriculture, who is understood to have it in mind to become a candidate; or George Ross of Moore county, trustee of State college and interested in agriculture, especially the educational side. Ross did not care to try to take the Major’ job away from him; he could make it interesting for any candidate in the primary.
Major Graham’s years as head of the department saw North Carolina rise from the 23rd place in the list of agricultural states to fifth, with the main crops estimated this years as follows:
Cotton, $174,960,000;
Tobacco, $74,970,000;
Corn, $59,108,000.
No such growth as that is expected for his successor, for North Carolina’s growth is not so much now inf arming as in industry. However, there is a sizeable job for the new Commissioner of Agriculture, who will be called upon to fit his department more closely into the educational scheme of things and to work with State college.
Major Graham was born December 26, 1839, at Hillsboro, the son of William A. and Susan Washington Graham. His father was a secretary of the navy and governor of the state. The great-grandfather, Jseph Davidson, signed the Declaration of Independent; his grandfather, Gen. Joseph Graham was a noted office of the Revolution. Of Scotch Irish stock the family has been prominent throughout the history of the state.
At the outbreak of the Civil War while his father was one of the chief opponents of secession, Major Grham, just graduated from Princeton, entered the service as captain of Company K, second North Carolina Cavalry. Later he rose to the rank of Major, his father in the meantime becoming a member of the Confederate congress.
Major Graham in 1864 married Miss Julia Lane. Of this union there were 11 children. Mrs. Julia L. Grahm died several years ago.
Five or six years ago Major Grahm married Miss Sallie Clark of Raleigh, sister of Chief Justice Walter Clark. Domestic difference of opinion having arisen, Mrs. Graham the second and the Major agreed to live separately and for the past two or three years Commissioner Graham had paid Sallie Clark Graham an alimony of $100 a month by order of the court.
Major Graham is survived by the following sons and daughters: Mrs. S.W. Huff of New York; Senator W.A. graham Jr. of Lincoln county; Mrs. J.P. Parker of Black Mountain, Miss Caroline B. Graham of Raleigh; Mrs. M.G. Clark of Donalson, Georgia; Mrs. J.S. Calvert of Dunqueska, France; Joseph Graham of Akron, Ohio; and Miss Evelyn Graham of Raleigh.
The honorary pallbearers are Governor Cameron Morrison, W.N. Everett, B.R. Lacy, Baxter Durham, J.S. Manning, A.T. Allen, M.L. Shipman, Stacey W. Wade, W.T. Lee, Geo. Pell, A.J. Maxwell, Dr. E.C. Brooks, Judge W.A. Hoke, Hon. Armistead Jones, Capt. T.W. Davis, Capt. T.W. Fenner, W.N. Jones, T.H. Briggs, Gen. Julian S. Carr and Jas. A. Higgs.
The active pallbearers are: K.W. Barnes, B.W. Kilgore, Dr. Wm. Moore, J.L. Burgess, W.W. Vass, W.M. Allen, Andrew Syme, Dr. Hubert Haywood Jr., W.L. Wyatt, J.J. Taylor.
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Burial Wednesday
Raleigh, N.C., Dec. 24—The funeral of Major W.A. Graham, soldier, author, agriculturist—who died early this morning at a local hospital following an illness of several days with pneumonia, will be held at the First Baptist church here at 2:30 o’clock tomorrow afternoon. After the funeral, at 4 o’clock, the body will be accompanied by relatives to Lincoln county where burial will take place in McPhelia church cemetery at 11 o’clock Wednesday morning.
From the front page of the Durham Morning Herald, Dec. 25, 1923
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