John Graham (c1730s-aft 1778) and Mary Johnston of Horry Co., SC

Marty and Karla Grant

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John Graham (c1730s-after 1778) and Mary Johnston of Horry Co., SC

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John Graham and Mary Johnston Graham are my 6 times great grandparents.

John Graham’s proven son John was born 1755/65. John’s probable sons William and Joseph were born before 1755, though probably not long before then. This suggests that John Graham (Sr) was born ca 1737 or earlier if at least 18 when the oldest was born. I’d say 1730s most likely, though 1720s are possible. I can’t narrow it down any better than that.

I don’t know where John was born, perhaps in South Carolina. He was most likely of Scottish or English ancestry. I’ve seen some histories that say he was from Ireland (or Northern Ireland). I don’t know if there is any proof of that.

I found proof in Horry county records that John (1755/65) is a son of this older John. That and a few land memorials from the 1770s are all I’ve been able to find for the older John thus far.

What is now Horry County was part of Craven County until 1769 when Georgetown District was created from it. The area remained Georgetown until 1801 when Horry District was carved out from it. It remained Horry District until 1868 when all districts became counties, thus it was Horry County from then on. John died long before Horry came into being though.

I found a web page by Carolyn Buckley, (link below) in which she outlines her Graham ancestry which goes back to this John. There is some interesting information on more recent generations. Regarding John himself she lists his wife as Mary Johnston and further states that John is a son of William Graham of Argyll, Scotland, and wife, a Miss Nielson. She references a book (no title listed) by Beulah Holly Henderson, of Florida, deceased. No documentation is included on the page.

Carolyn’s web page: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~farmeranderwinfamilies/genealogy/Homepage/carolynshistory.htm

Upon further searching, I found an article by Harmon Graham and Betty McCall Graham and V. Chyrel Stalvey titled “The Grahams of Horry County,” as published in Independent Republic Quarterly, 2005, Vol 39., No. 1-4, pp. 15-28.). Available online at https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/irq/

The article is quite interesting. I won’t duplicate any of it here, but it is well worth reading.

Neither source above provide any proof that John Graham’s wife was named Mary Johnston unless I managed to overlook it, nor do they offer any proof that John and Mary were the parents of William and Joseph and Gilbert, though it does seem likely they were.

I am very interested in Johnston/Johnson of Horry because of her and another line I have, probably into the same family.

John Graham was deeded land by William Coachman in 1766 as proven by a later deed when his son John Graham sold the same land: On 13 Jan 1804 John Graham Senr and wife Martha, of Horry, sold land to William Graham for $200. The land was 660 acres on Mitchells Swamp of Little Pee Dee River originally granted to Thomas Waring in Feb 1739, and from him transferred to John Moor 10 Apr 1744, and from Moor to William Coachman and from Coachman “to my father John Graham deceased” by deed 19 Jun 1766. The land lays “betwixt the plantation on which the said William Graham now lives and James Johnstons old plantation on Mitchell Swamp.” The deed was signed by John Graham Senr and Martha Graham (her mark). Witnesses were Arnold Godwin and Mary Graham. Mary Graham proved the deed on 23 Aug 1804. Martha Graham, wife of John, relinquished her dower rights on the same date (23 Aug 1804). (Horry Co., SC Deed Book A1, pp. 226-227).

A land memorial dated 2 May 1768 showed that John Graham then had 500 acres between Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers in Craven County.

A land memorial dated 16 Mar 1772 shows John Graham with 3,300 acres in Prince George Parish, Craven county, “summarizing a chain of title to a grant to Thomas Waring Sr.” This would be part of the same land his son John sold in 1804 since it mentions Thomas Waring as original owner.

A land memorial dated 6 Aug 1772 shows John Graham with 100 acres on Little Pee Dee River in Craven County.

There is a John Graham Senr listed on a 1778 Jury list for Prince George Parish, along with a John Graham and a John Graham Jr (probably his son).

The above is the last record I have for him, other than being mentioned in chain of ownership in some later deeds.

John Graham died sometime between 1778 and 1790. I don’t know when Mary Johnston Graham died. There is a Mary Graham who witnessed the deed mentioned above from 1804 and another one earlier in 1801. That could be her, if still living then, or it might be someone else.

Children

John Graham has one proven son, also named John Graham (1755/65) and is likely the father of William Graham (bef 1755), Gilbert Graham (bef 1774) and perhaps James Graham (1755/65). I’ve noticed that other researchers leave James out of the list of John’s likely children though it seems to me he fits here just as well as the others. Of course he might be a grandson to old John or a nephew instead, or perhaps not related at all, though I think they are almost certainly closely related.

There were probably some daughters and perhaps other sons who didn’t remain in the Horry region, but I haven’t identified any yet.

For Family Group Sheet and other notes see my database pages for John Graham and Mary Johnston.

Revised: October 25, 2025

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