John Graham, born in 1810, was the eldest child of William Graham Sr. and Sarah Jacobs-Graham. He married Mary Jane Little, also born in 1810, and together they established their home in the Carvers Creek community of Bladen County, North Carolina. Their descendants continue to live throughout the surrounding region, including Carvers Creek, East Arcadia, Buckhead, Garland, Phoenix, Seabreeze, Bolivia, and Council.
John and Mary Jane are believed to be buried on or near the family’s ancestral land. The Graham family’s early settlement, associated with land purchased by John’s mother, Sarah Jacobs, during the nineteenth century, is thought to lie in a wooded area north of Buckhead, south of Youngstown, and west of East Arcadia. These lands remain an important connection to the family’s history and heritage. Many descendants identify as African American, Native American, or both.
Their son, John N. Graham, was born around 1834. During the 1860s, he relocated from Bladen County to Robeson County, leaving behind his wife and three children. In Robeson County, he married at least twice: first to Gainor Locklear-Graham (1839–1890) and later to Beadie Locklear-Graham, born around 1857. Many of his descendants are now members of the Lumbee Indian Tribe.
By the turn of the twentieth century, Southern states had imposed discriminatory voting restrictions that undermined the protections of the Fifteenth Amendment. North Carolina’s 1900 constitutional amendment introduced a literacy requirement alongside poll-tax requirements. Its grandfather clause permitted a man to register without meeting the literacy requirement if he, or a direct ancestor, had been legally entitled to vote on or before January 1, 1867, provided he registered before December 1, 1908. The provision was designed to preserve voting access for white men while excluding many Black and Native American men.
Within this discriminatory system, some descendants of free people of color sought to preserve their voting rights by documenting an ancestor’s earlier eligibility. According to the 1902 Robeson County voter registration record described in this family history, John N. Graham identified his grandfather, William Graham Sr., born around 1790, as the ancestor through whom he claimed eligibility.
This registration record carries both historical and genealogical significance. It documents John N. Graham’s effort to retain access to the ballot while recording his stated relationship to William Graham Sr. For the Graham family, it preserves a connection between generations and reflects the determination of ancestors who pursued their rights despite racial discrimination.
James Graham (1814–1884) married Winniford “Winnie” Blanks (1824–1913), daughter of Alfred Blanks Sr., born in 1783, and granddaughter of John Blanks Sr., born in 1745. Historical records document John as a free person of color in the Bladen County, North Carolina, tax lists of 1770, 1774, 1775, 1779, 1786, and 1789, as well as the 1790 United States Federal Census.
In 1774, John acquired 100 acres in Bladen County through a royal land grant. He later served in the American Revolutionary War, and his service has been recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). He is believed to have relocated to Robeson County after selling his land. Many of his descendants later became members of the Lumbee and Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribes.
James and Winnie established their home in East Arcadia, North Carolina, where they raised their family. Many Graham families in East Arcadia, Bolton, Freeman, Leland, Navassa, Whiteville, Chadbourn, Clarkton, and Riegelwood trace their ancestry to this couple.
A skilled cooper, James made and repaired wooden barrels and other containers. His contributions also extended to the religious life of his community. He helped establish and construct Graham Chapel AME Zion Church and served as one of its original trustees. The church is believed to have been named in his honor, preserving his legacy within a congregation that became an enduring part of the community’s history.
Through their descendants and their ties to East Arcadia, James and Winnie left a lasting legacy of family, faith, craftsmanship, and community.
Elizabeth Graham-Bowen-Freeman (1819–1911), daughter of William Graham Sr. and Sarah Jacobs-Graham, was a matriarch whose life and family were deeply rooted in Bladen County, North Carolina. She married at least twice—first to Henry Bowen, born in 1812, and later to a man with the surname Freeman. Following her second marriage, she established her family’s home on ancestral land near East Arcadia and San Domingo.
Elizabeth also helped care for her elderly mother, Sarah Jacobs-Graham. The 1860 United States Federal Census recorded Sarah, listed as 78 years old, living in Elizabeth’s household, documenting the close connection between mother and daughter.
Elizabeth’s grave is marked in the family cemetery at Graham Chapel AME Zion Church. Her legacy continues through generations of descendants, many of whom remain in the East Arcadia, Bolton, and Buckhead communities. Through marriages with the Blanks, Jacobs, Freeman, Patrick, Moore and other local families, her descendants have maintained enduring kinship ties and helped preserve the region’s shared family history and cultural heritage.
Joseph Graham (born 1827) and his wife, Margaret Young (born 1836), were prominent early residents of Bladen County, North Carolina. Margaret was the daughter of Isaac Young (1797–1860) and Elizabeth Young (born 1793). Joseph and Margaret are believed to be buried either on Joseph’s homestead or in the historic Gum Swamp Graveyard in Bolton, North Carolina.
Their descendants continue to reside in the Buckhead community, contributing to both the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe and the African American community. Through marriages with the Jacobs, Freeman, Patrick, and other local families, Joseph and Margaret’s descendants established lasting connections across generations.
Joseph and Margaret Young-Graham’s descendants include five chiefs of the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe. Their grandson, William James Freeman, served as the tribe’s first chief. Four of their great-grandchildren—Clifton Freeman, Priscilla Freeman-Jacobs, Lacy Freeman, and Micheal Jacobs—also served as chiefs. Together, their leadership and enduring contributions have helped preserve the cultural heritage and shape the history of the Waccamaw Siouan people.
Margaret “Peggy” Graham-Baldwin (born 1827) and her husband, Mathew Baldwin (born 1825), established their home in the Carvers Creek area of North Carolina, Margaret’s ancestral homeland. By 1900, the couple was recorded together in the U.S. Federal Census as residents of Bladen County, North Carolina.
Their descendants remain an integral part of the Buckhead Community and are proud members of the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe. Through marriage, their lineage became interwoven with prominent local families, including the Skippers, Jacobs, Moore’s, Chavis’s and Patrick’s.
William “Jack” Graham Jr., born in 1836, was the youngest child of William Graham Sr. and Sarah Jacobs-Graham. He married Ann Eliza Moore, born in 1834, and together they established their home on the Graham family homestead in the Carvers Creek/Youngstown area of Bladen County, North Carolina.
Following Jack’s death, sometime between 1880 and 1900, Ann Eliza relocated from his family homestead to the area now known as the Saint James community in Columbus County, North Carolina. The 1900 federal census for Waccamaw, Columbus County, lists her as a widow living with her children, Benjamin, James, and Sarah Graham. Two of her granddaughters, Adaline and Lula Graham, also resided in the household.
Many descendants of Jack and Ann Eliza continue to embrace their Native American heritage and are members of the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe of Bladen and Columbus counties. Members of this family line also migrated to New Jersey, where they helped build the Whitesboro community. Whitesboro, NJ was named in honor of their cousin, U.S. Congressman George Henry White (1852–1918), a native of Bladen County, North Carolina.
Jack is believed to be buried on the family homestead in the Youngstown community of Bladen County. Ann Eliza Moore-Graham is believed to be buried in Blanks Graveyard in Council, North Carolina.
Considered one of Bladen County’s oldest burial grounds associated with free families of color, Blanks Graveyard is thought to have originated as a Blanks-Mitchell family cemetery connected to Elijah Blanks Sr., born in 1808, and his wife, Elenorah Mitchell-Blanks, born in 1815. Elijah was the son of Alfred Blanks Sr., born in 1783, and the grandson of American Revolutionary War Patriot John Blanks Sr., born in 1745. Descendant applications tracing this lineage have been approved by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The cemetery is believed to contain the graves of members of the Blanks, Spaulding, Freeman, Jacobs, Mitchell, and Young families, whose histories as free people of color predate the Emancipation Proclamation.
Through marriages with the Spaulding, Mitchell, Blanks, Meares, Webb, Campbell, Burney, and Thompson families, the children of Jack and Ann Eliza strengthened longstanding kinship ties across Bladen and Columbus counties. Their descendants continue to carry forward a legacy of family, community, and cultural heritage deeply rooted in southeastern North Carolina.
Their Children
Elizabeth Graham-Bowen-Freeman (1819-1911) Headstone
Martha G. Graham was the seventh child born to William Graham, Sr. and Sarah Jacobs Graham. Martha was born in 1834 in Bladen County, North Carolina and had only one child. In the 1850 US Federal Census, Martha is listed in a household with Armstrong Webb, and his sister, Mary Webb, all classified as Mulatto.
After extensive research to locate Martha in additional records, like several of her other siblings, little was discovered.
In March 1868, Martha’s only known daughter, Joanna Josephine Graham, was born. Joanna appeared in each of the following US Federal Census Records: 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930.
Henry Graham Sr. (born 1830) married Lucy Blanks (born 1831), daughter of Alfred Blanks Sr. (born 1783), who is recognized in the family’s history as the patriarch of nearly all Blanks families in Bladen and Columbus Counties, North Carolina. Henry and Lucy lived in a community historically known as Zara, situated between the Cape Fear River and Buckhead, in the area now known as Youngstown.
In the early 1900s, their son, Clifford Graham, and his brother-in-law, Owen Young, acquired land from the Sarah Jacobs estate. The estate originally included 100 acres owned by Henry’s parents, William Graham Sr. and Sarah Jacobs-Graham. According to the family’s account, the property was confiscated by the Bladen County sheriff in 1911.
The property included a family cemetery where, according to Clifford’s son, Ottis Edward Graham, Henry and Lucy were buried. Clifford maintained the cemetery for many years because it was near his home. Family members who worked in the surrounding fields recalled at least fifteen graves marked with glass or wooden markers. Over time, these markers were displaced or buried, leaving the graves increasingly difficult to identify. In 2020, some of Clifford’s grandchildren helped preserve the burial ground by installing a permanent marker and registering the cemetery with Bladen County.
Henry and Lucy’s children established lasting connections with local families through marriages into the Freeman, Jacobs, Young, Blanks, Rhodes, and Lacewell families. Their son, William Graham (1851–1924), married Isadora Jacobs (1888–1938), and they raised their family in the Waccamaw Siouan Indian community of Buckhead, North Carolina. Their descendants continue to honor both their Native American and African American heritage.
The family’s connections to the Blanks lineage extended further through Henry’s brother, James Graham, who married Winniford “Winnie” Blanks, another daughter of Alfred Blanks Sr.
Another son, Henry Graham Jr. (born 1872), moved to Florida, where he married Victoria Porter (born 1884). They settled in the Flemington area of Marion County and raised eight children: Cora Lee, Henry, Dessie, Robert, Clifford, John, Willie, and Walter Graham.
Through their descendants, the legacy of Henry and Lucy Blanks-Graham extends from southeastern North Carolina to Florida, preserving generations of family history, community ties, and cultural heritage.
The Descendants of William Graham Sr. and Sarah Jacobs
