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William married Oceania in 1919 in Phil., PA. Name: William H Graham
Gender: Male
Spouse: Oceania Doerubach
Spouse Gender: Female
Marriage Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Marriage Year 1919
Marriage License Number: 411391
Last edited by daliowa; 10-01-2015 at 05:15 PM..
Reason: edit
I can answer one question: Fall River is not near Boston. Fall River is an small, old city on the southern shore of Mass. That area was known for ship building and then for industry. There are a few towns around it but it's not really in the Boston area.
As I said above, there is a birth record for him in Fall River. Is that where the OP is getting the information or did the family already have that information. AND there is a birth record for a William (no middle name) Graham in Philadelphia in the same year.
OK, sticking with Fall River, and this may be a wild goose chase, but there is a death record for a William Graham in Sept 1886. This William Graham was from England, so that *may* lend some credence to the family story about William (the grandfather) being orphaned and sent back to England, since he'd have been 11. It would be interesting to get a hold of the will and see if W. H. Graham is mentioned. It could also mention who would care for him (assuming his Mom had also died). You could also look for departure records using his mother's name.
Name: William Graham
Gender: Male
Birth Date: abt 1836
Birth Place: England
Death Date: 3 Sep 1886
Death Place: Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
Age at Death: 50
Father: Joseph
Mother: Isabella
Wills and Probates: Search for William Graham in Massachusetts Wills & Probates collection
EDIT: Looked at the death record on Ancestor. The William Graham above died of Typhoid Fever. His occupation is listed as "lamplighter" which doesn't align with "engineer." But, might be worth trying to find out if this is the first William, father of William H. as that would at least confirm the family story about his being orphaned.
I do see that there was at least one other William Graham living and working in Fall River at that same time. According to the City Directory, his occupation was weaver. A "lamplighter" could more easily become "engineer" in a young man's recollection, I think.
He married his first wife Clara in 1911, but does not show up in the US census (that I can find) until he is close to 40 years old.
Well, it looks like he remarried Oceania Doerubach in 1919? If this is the same guy, then naturally he wouldn't show up in the US censuses with Clara, because it looks like he married her and either divorced or she died in between the 1910 and 1920 censuses.
Theoretically, he should show up on the 1920 census with Oceania but I couldn't find them.
Quote:
I cannot find GF's family in the Census, for either MA, PA or IL. GF shows up in US draft registrations for the first (1918) and second world wars.
His WWI draft registration records lists his address as 3115 N 28th St in Philadelphia. Have you looked for that address in the 1920 census? You can find the enumeration district it would be in using Obtaining EDs and streets for the 1880-1940 Census in One Step
Here's the 1920 census of William H Graham married to Oceania. I wasn't able to find it before because his age is off by more than a couple years - I found him by searching for Oceania instead.
William H Graham
in the 1920 United States Federal Census
Name: William H Graham
[William H Grahame]
Age: 36
Birth Year: abt 1884
Birthplace: Massachusetts
[Pennsylvania]
Home in 1920: Philadelphia Ward 37, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Street: Eleventh Street
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Boarder
Marital Status: Married
Father's Birthplace: Scotland
Mother's Birthplace: England
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Machanist
Industry: Automobile
Employment Field: Wage or Salary
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Grant Bechtold 55
Alice A Bechtold 51
Edith M Bechtold 20
Ruth K Bechtold 16
James G Bechtold 11
William H Graham 36
Oceania Graham 26
John W Nichols 47
My cousins and I have tried to find out more about our GF (William Haines Graham), but to no avail. His children (all dead except one) have nothing much to say about him, except that he was born in Fall River, MA on 21 August, 1878. ...............Anyone have any ideas?
I have it from good authority that as a 14 year old, he killed Lizzie Borden parents.
That's why he went into hiding.
Expanding on in-newengland's historical context about Fall River (which is about 50-60 miles south of Boston and about 20 miles southeast of Providence RI), there was an explosion of industry and population growth just before the time of your William's birth. Many men flocked to Fall River from everywhere including Canada (as well as to the Providence area, the Peabody/Salem/Beverly and Lowell/Lawrence areas of MA and others) because there were many jobs to be had. So, it's absolutely possible that William's parents left PA to seek work. It wouldn't be unusual if they only stayed for a very short time if that's the case.
From Wikipedia (to give a quick overview) ...
"Then, during 1871 and 1872, a most dramatic expansion occurred, when 15 new corporations were founded, building 22 new mills throughout the city, while some of the older mills expanded. The city's population increased by an astounding 20,000 people during these two years, while overall mill capacity double to more than 1,000,000 spindles. (One can only imagine the level of excitement and chaos that would have existed in the city at that time)....By 1876 the city had 1/6 of all New England cotton capacity, and one half of all print cloth production. "King Cotton" had definitely arrived. The "Spindle City", as it became known, was second in the world to only Manchester, England."
Expanding on in-newengland's historical context about Fall River (which is about 50-60 miles south of Boston and about 20 miles southeast of Providence RI), there was an explosion of industry and population growth just before the time of your William's birth. Many men flocked to Fall River from everywhere including Canada (as well as to the Providence area, the Peabody/Salem/Beverly and Lowell/Lawrence areas of MA and others) because there were many jobs to be had. So, it's absolutely possible that William's parents left PA to seek work. It wouldn't be unusual if they only stayed for a very short time if that's the case.
From Wikipedia (to give a quick overview) ...
"Then, during 1871 and 1872, a most dramatic expansion occurred, when 15 new corporations were founded, building 22 new mills throughout the city, while some of the older mills expanded. The city's population increased by an astounding 20,000 people during these two years, while overall mill capacity double to more than 1,000,000 spindles. (One can only imagine the level of excitement and chaos that would have existed in the city at that time)....By 1876 the city had 1/6 of all New England cotton capacity, and one half of all print cloth production. "King Cotton" had definitely arrived. The "Spindle City", as it became known, was second in the world to only Manchester, England."
Ah, that explains why there were so many "weavers" listed in the Fall River City directory around the 1880s. I was puzzling over that one because "weaver" seemed very non-industrial age to me as an occupation -- but of course a "weaver" in a "mill" is a totally different kind of weaver than a guy in colonial times. These are the little tidbits of knowledge that I really enjoy learning from genealogy.
Ah, that explains why there were so many "weavers" listed in the Fall River City directory around the 1880s. I was puzzling over that one because "weaver" seemed very non-industrial age to me as an occupation -- but of course a "weaver" in a "mill" is a totally different kind of weaver than a guy in colonial times. These are the little tidbits of knowledge that I really enjoy learning from genealogy.
Yes, Fall River is one of our old mill cities in this state. It mirrors the Industrial Revolution in England, same machines, same products for the most part. My own grandfather was a machinist who came over from England to work here in the mills. He was a shoe-in because the machines were MADE in England and HE knew how to repair them.
Most of the immigrats to MA during the late 19th C and the very early 20th C were mill workers. That's why our population is largely Irish, Italian, French Canadian, and a few others who came to work in the mills. (The mill towns are mostly run down now, sadly.)
Here's the 1920 census of William H Graham married to Oceania. I wasn't able to find it before because his age is off by more than a couple years - I found him by searching for Oceania instead.
William H Graham
in the 1920 United States Federal Census
Name: William H Graham
[William H Grahame]
Age: 36
Birth Year: abt 1884
Birthplace: Massachusetts
[Pennsylvania]
Home in 1920: Philadelphia Ward 37, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Street: Eleventh Street
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Boarder
Marital Status: Married
Father's Birthplace: Scotland
Mother's Birthplace: England
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Machanist
Industry: Automobile
Employment Field: Wage or Salary
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Grant Bechtold 55
Alice A Bechtold 51
Edith M Bechtold 20
Ruth K Bechtold 16
James G Bechtold 11
William H Graham 36
Oceania Graham 26
John W Nichols 47
Thanks very much for this! The age is off in the census, but this is the one! John Nichols must be an in-law from his first wife, Clara, who was a nichols..
I have it from good authority that as a 14 year old, he killed Lizzie Borden parents.
That's why he went into hiding.
Not such a joke! I had suspicions myself that he was a horse thief, etc, since no one would mention him. Maybe he was in jail for a while?
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