John Richard Graham
aka John R
John Richard Graham (John R.) was born on January 1, 1869 in his parents' home at
604 Shotwell Street in San Francisco, California. He was one of oldest of thirteen
children born to
John Richard Graham and Elizabeth (Gardner) Graham.
John R. had very little formal education in comparison to his dad. He quit
school to help his parents and Uncle Jim. In a letter to Bruce Graham dated March
10, 1953, John R. explains his early childhood: "I was, when I was about 12,
1/2 way through the Valencia Grammar School, 2nd Grade. Mother and Father had
several of us and his brother Jim, who died with consumption, to support. Had a
hard time to get along. So I left school and went to work for the American Tract
Society, a Presbyterian bible company for the pacific coast at 727 Market Street.
Rev. F.E.Shearor paid me $2.50 a week. I walked down and back and carried
my lunch...gave most of it to Dad...worked there for two years..."
As
a young man, John R. then went to work for the Bank of British Columbia at California
and Sampson streets as an assistant messenger for $10 to $12 per week.
His duties included transporting canvas sacks filled with gold coins to the U.S.
Mint. At the age of 19, he went to work for the Los Gatos Ice Company. His
personal papers state that he "went to work as a swamper with my brother in law
Geo. W. Dodge, who was a driver [horse teams], at $75.00 per month."
Ice Company Apprenticeship
This was to be the apprenticeship of John R.'s career in the ice and fuel business.
He did very well for the Los Gatos Ice Company until the owner, S.B.Toby, consolidated
the Los Gatos Ice Company with the Union Ice Company in San Francisco.
With consolidation, the seven Los Gatos Ice Company drivers were
offered jobs with the Union Ice Company. They would put one of their new drivers
with the seven experienced drivers long enough to learn their routes and customers.
The Union then began to fire the Los Gatos drivers.
In an informal meeting, the remaining Los Gatos drivers agreed to break from
the Union, keep their routes and to buy ice from a new company, Consumers. The
agreement was short lived. In his papers dated March 1954, John R. says,
"we all agreed to start our own routes. Toby got wind of this and called us together
and made promises and they all backed out, except Jack Conway and me. We
agreed to make a try. In the meantime Toby sold our wagons by taking them apart
and selling them in S.F, Oakland and Sacramento. Joe Shoppell, who was the blacksmith
that dismantled the wagons and knew where they were, bought them for
us and re-assembled them..."
In the spring, John R. would take vacation
with his Uncle Jake Gardner in Central Point near Los Banos. During one of
this vacation Jake bought 4 good horses and harnesses for John R.'s startup business.
John R. says, "The day before we started we had about $50 in dimes
and nickels and threw them out for kids to pick up. We gathered a crowd. Men and
women joined in. City Marshall Tom Canyon made us stop. We [went] a few blocks
away and started again. He then threatened to arrest us. We gave out cards about
our business."
In the first year they established two good routes. It was at this time that
Joe Martin of the National Ice Company offered John R. and his friend Jack an
opportunity to start their own trade as long as it was not in Fresno, Stockton,
Oakland or Sacramento.
John R.'s papers state that, "Joe Martin was
the ice king of California who brought ice from Alaska in sailing vessels, covered
it with straw and sold it in S.F. and Oakland and Sacramento...When Joe made
his proposition I thought of Merced. Jack had friends in Modesto. I told Martin
I would take Merced. No telephone. I had to go to Modesto to phone Joe [later
on, John R. was one of the first residents of Merced to have telephone service
installed]. We built the ice house, Joe let us keep our horses, tools, wagons
and harnesses, and gave us money to start."
Wells Fargo Shotgun
John R. kept busy while slowly building up his ice and fuel business in Merced. As
an additional source of income he was a substitute shot gun messenger for Wells
Fargo Stages. As John R. tells it in his papers, he went from Mariposa "to Coulterville
on Mondays returning Tuesday to Mariposa...Thursday and back Fridays
getting $5.00 for each round trip."
Robert J. Chandler, Historical
Officer for Wells Fargo Bank, provides an article in the Mariposa Gazette, dated
January 13, 1900 which describes the stage coach run from Mariposa to Coulterville:
"On
one of the star-lit mornings of last week, I climbed into
the rear seat of one of James Robinson's stage coaches bound for Bear Valley.
These coaches are of modern manufacture, but the architect who modeled them is
long since dead.
"They are made for the convenience of the owner and also built for the stout, and
yet there is a charm connected with a stage coach that is hard to describe. The
rattle of the coach as it enters a town will bring every inhabitant to the door
or window of their houses.
"The clack of the wheels, the crack of
the whip, and the India rubber cataclinal of the passengers are also a feature
of the ride. 'A-l-l-a-b-o-a-r-d', too, has a musical charm that belongs peculiarly
to a stage driver. One of the poorest places on earth to sit and meditate
is in a stagecoach on a Mariposa county road. Silent thoughts are not indulged
in. The see-saw rhythm of the sage often ends with such speed that not a passenger
is left glued to the seat, but the next instance you are pressing it with such
weight that you wonder how the axle keeps from snapping short off, and you
also wonder if you are not internally injured, but a stage coach never stops (only
at stations)...WFR, Coulterville, January 9, 1900".
Saloon Peacekeeper
In conjunction with his messenger duties, John R. also kept the peace in one of the
local saloons. John R. says he would, "keep order on Saturday nights at China
Ida's and Jim Tucker's Blue Wing, getting 5:00 to 12:00 midnight and 10:00 to
5:00 am. I was the one officer the council would approve, as Sheriff Warfield
and his deputies and Marshall Corrigan did not have time to attend. The other deputy,
Pap Yoakum, was too old. There was no Work Progress Administration as such
and we never thought of asking for help. We created our own jobs and did most
anything honest to make a living."
One of the reasons John R. obtained
his job was that "the other constables and deputies had their women [in the
saloon], and did not command much respect. I had an advantage as if Tucker did
not close up when I ordered, he could not obtain a license for the next Saturday.
My orders were to maintain order and when they made too much noise, to close
them down. Tucker had enough sense to cooperate. I would sit on top of the piano
(Truie Potter, the old time fiddler, and Jesus Casuse, piano). It was waltz
around for a few whirls then up to the bar for drinks,
twenty-five cents per couple. China Ida served enchiladas - good ones - in the corner
at 12...things were hot.
"At times the electric lights went out
and Tucker would light up the Rochester oil lamps with large globes. Once in a
while Bob McFarlane or Too Fun Allie Hulse would shoot the globes off. It was
then time to quit. I never carried a gun, as I was afraid someone would take it
away from me and shoot me up. All the gang knew this and acted accordingly.
Al
Hulse was, apparently, a very rough character. He ultimately committed
suicide. His obituary in the Mariposa Gazette dated October 20, 1906
reads as follows:
Al Hulse, the notorious desperado and a pal of Bob
McFarlane, now serving a term in San Quentin, committed suicide in the Bakersfield
jail last Sunday by slashing his throat with a razor. Hulse had been convicted
of murder for the killing, with Kim McKinney, of Deputy Sheriff Tibbet in
Bakersfield about three years ago. As an appeal had been taken from the judgment
of conviction, Hulse remained in the Bakersfield jail. The dead man was well
known in Merced County where he resided for a number of years and engaged in more
than one shooting scrape. He was an ex convict, having been sent from Merced
county to the state prison, and was generally regarded as a desperate and dangerous
man.
John R. goes on to say "I was pretty roughly handled at
times. Dick Meekan, City Police Officer, and I would tell McFarlane and Hulse they
had fun enough for the night and they would deliver up their artillery and
knives. We would leave them at Johnnie Smith's Saloon for them to get the next
day. McFarlane was sweet on China Ida and Tucker caught him sneaking from
her room at daylight one morning. They fought it out with 45's, McFarlane shooting
Tucker in the heart, finally.
An article in the Mariposa Gazette dated March 2, 1901 has this headline and reads:
James
Tucker Killed.
Robert McFarlane has added another notch to his stick or pistol by killing James TUCKER in Merced. His record is now one of the State's
brightest
from a standpoint of notches on his pistol. His last victim,
like himself,
is known as a bad man and has simply found what all such
characters
are looking for. The killing according to the various newspaper reports occurred
in Merced's tenderloin, both men were shooting, who commenced it will be for
a jury to determine. But the chances are it was commenced by a mutual understanding,
not spoken but understood between them, as bad blood is said to have existed
for many years. McFarlane's career has been a stormy one. His first
real serious trouble happened in Merced when he killed a Portuguese in a dance
house and wounded two more. For this offense he was turned loose by the court after
the jury stood eleven for acquittal and one for conviction. Afterwards he
was sent to San Quentin for two years for shooting at Billy Webb. His previous
record is what convicted him of this charge, as there was nothing to prevent his
shooting Webb had he so desired. He was in the Visalia Jail for attempted murder
but broke jail with a man named McKinney. After over a year had passed he was
found in New Mexico and brought back but never tried. His next most prominent
act was to kill a Mexican in New Mexico in a gun fight. For this he was sent
to the penitentiary for twenty-one years but in some manner was turned loose. Bob
was once of Merced's most promising young men, but fate has been against him
and yet he is lucky to be alive.
John R. goes on to relate that "Bob
McFarlane's mania was Portuguese. When Bob came into the dance hall all the Portuguese
would disappear. Some through windows, glass and all. Bob had killed
and wounded some of them. His cousin at the Bucket of Blood Saloon afterwards killed
him at Merced Falls. That was one-half in Merced, one-half in Mariposa counties.
His cousin blew a hole through him with both barrels of his shotgun.
An article in the Mariposa Gazette dated November 13, 1915 reads:
Bob McFarlane, a notorious outlaw and murderer of several men, was shot and
instantly killed at Merced Falls, this county, Friday night of last week, near
Cliff House Saloon, by Frank ("Dyke") Dickinson, his second cousin and himself
a worthless character. Two loads from a double barreled shotgun were fired
into McFarlane's body. One load entered the right side tearing away part of
the arm and the other entered the left breast.
It appears the men have
been living together on a piece of land recently taken up by McFarlane and
both men had been drinking heavily. Upon going to his home McFarlane found Dickson
lying in bed in a drunken stupor and after a quarrel administered a severe
beating to Dickson and threatened to kill him. It is also alleged by Dickson that
McFarlane fired two shots at him with a 22- caliber automatic rifle, which missed
their mark. Dickson was brought to Mariposa by Sheriff Farnsworth and
placed in the county jail awaiting his preliminary hearing, which will be held
in Hornitos next Monday before Justice Adams. To the officers he expressed regret
that he was compelled to shoot McFarlane, but states that under the circumstances
he would do the same thing over again.
The body of McFarlane was
taken to Merced shortly after the killing by Coroner Nordgren of Merced county,
it being removed before Coroner JOHNSON of this county had arrived on the scene.
Mr. Nordgren, however, was compelled to return the body to Merced Falls and
the inquest was held by Mr. Johnson on Monday.
McFarlane in his long
and adventurous career in California, New Mexico and Mexico has killed several
men, and has been tried many times for assaults with attempt to murder. He has
been a prisoner in San Quentin and the penitentiary at Santa Fe, N. M., besides
occupying numerous county jails in San Joaquin valley and elsewhere.
McFarlane's first deed of bloodshed was in 1884, when he killed Antone Enos, a
Portugese, after a fist fight at a
tenderloin dance hall at Merced. Pleading self-defense, he was acquitted on that
murder charge. In 1892 he shot and killed a "bad man" Mexican in Secorro, N. M.,
and was found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang. Afterwards his sentence
was commuted to life imprisonment at Santa Fe, and when his health began failing
in captivity he was released through the efforts of Robert Prouty, then Sheriff
of Mariposa county, who promised to look after him.
In 1901 McFarlane
shot and killed James Tucker, on the porch of a Merced tenderloin resort,
interfering in a quarrel between Tucker and his divorced wife, owner of the resort.
McFarlane was the Tucker woman's consort at the time. He was convicted of
manslaughter for killing Tucker and served six of an eight year sentence in San
Quentin, being released on credits.
The past few years McFarlane has been
living in the Merced River section, and frequently on drunken sprees has terrorized
people by threats of murder, accompanied by boasts of the men he had killed.
Both McFarlane and Dickson came from families of good standing and have
many relatives of prominence in this state.
John R. sums up his experiences
with these desperados by saying, "Jim Collins, who afterwards killed his
wife and baby, was the only deputy I had any trouble with. When I gave Tucker
the signal for one more dance thumbs up, and he could not control the gang, I
gave him thumbs down and would not relent. Collins would then try to take charge
and challenge me to fight it out, knowing that I carried no gun. I would laugh
at him and walk off. Hulse's mania was to make some tender foot put his foot
down on the floor. Hulse would then outline it with bullets. I did not see any
of this, but did see the bullet holes soon after."
Train Robbers
In March 1898 John R. was involved in the hunt for Southern Pacific train robbers.
"We spent a week in the mountains around Hornitos and Indian Gulch with Warfield,
Tom Mack, Ed Stockard and a Wells Fargo posse hunting the Cross Creek train
robbers. Mack, Ed and I came on their campfire early one morning on one of the
three buttes. With coffee boiling on the rocks, they saddled without blankets
and got away...would go into a sheep camp and get meals...held up Johnnie Seminoles
at Indian Gulch. They obtained ammunition and grub, paying for them in battered
silver dollars they took from the express car after it was blown up.
"The
robbers sent word to Tom Mack that he, some old man (Sheriff Warfield)
and a kid with a Springfield rifle crawled by a camp where they were hiding.
They crawled in so close to them that they could have knocked their eyes out
with their rifles. But knowing Tom, and only wanting to get away, they let them
go by. The kid was myself with a Co. H Springfield rifle...Those were the days."
Further Adventures
John R. goes on to tell of further adventures during this time with the preamble
that '"This is a rambling story as written going back and forth from one period
to another as events come to my mind, written for Bruce and Donny's grandchildren,
also Elaine's and Marilyn's..."
John R. says "Tom Mack used to
inspect the hobo camp by the S.P. cattle corrals in the evenings when the hoboes
were eating their dinner. One evening as we approached the camp a Mexican with
a guilty conscience made a break. Tom followed. The Mexican fired a shot at Tom
and as Tom got nearer he fired a second. When Tom was close the Mexican fired
again but the cartridge was defective. Before he could fire a fourth time, Tom
thought he had enough. As the Mexican turned, Tom hit him between the eyes with
one shot."
"In the early nineties when the old time circus came to
town, all the gamblers from Bakersfield to Stockton (and our locals), would gather
to fleece the suckers. All circus outfits had their sharpers and ran all
kinds of skin games. They usually came after harvest. Our mountain population would
bring down a load of wood and their families a day or two before the circus,
and stay a few days afterwards. Some of them would sell their store if they
did not have money to see the show.
"There were 18 or 19 saloons open
day and night...no keys in those days. At circus time, they would cover the
billiard and pool tables with canvas and every [poker] game that was ever played
was run full blast. No ceilings. All gold and silver stacked all over the tables.
Thousands of dollars. Shooting and fights were numerous."
Merced National Guard
At this same time, John R. was involved in organizing Merced's National Guard contingent.
The May 6, 1893 edition of the Merced Express carried an article on the
"Merced Guards". It said in part that "Through indefatigable efforts of Hon.
F.H.Gould and John R. Graham, Merced has at last secured recognition from the Board
of Location and Organizers of the National Guard of California, and have induced
the Board to begin a company in this city. Messrs. Gould and Graham went
to Sacramento Wednesday and attended a meeting at which were present Governor
Markham, General Allen and Major Diamond, of San Francisco.
"Merced's
Company will be known as Company H of the Sixth Regiment...The people of Merced
should feel highly honored in having received so much consideration at the
hands of the board, and Hon. F.H.Gould and J.R.Graham will no doubt have the blessing
of the entire community showered upon them."
A nationwide
railroad strike occurred approximately one year later, and the Merced National
Guard was to see its first real action. On July 14, 1894 the Merced Express
carried a story with the following header: "MORE BLOODSHED - Company 'H' Receives
Orders To Go To Bakersfield".
The lead paragraph states that "Yesterday
afternoon at half past three, Captain Graham, of Company H, received a
telegram to assemble his men at Armory Hall, and to be ready to start out in the
evening. It was understood that the company was to be taken to Bakersfield to
prevent the strikers interfering further with the moving of trains, which they
did yesterday morning." The article continues with information of strike shootings
and riots across the nation.
John R.'s papers tell us of his observations during the mobilization of Company
H against the strikers. "I was Captain of Company H, 6th Inf. Reg., Third
Brigade of the National Guard of California, General Matthew W. Muller, Commanding,
at Fresno, Calif. The first train of Pullmans from Los Angeles, plus baggage
and express cars, started from Los Angeles in the morning on July 14th with
a company of United States Artillery on a flat car ahead of the engine. They brought
it to Bakersfield when Captain Beer of Company G brought it to Merced. My
telegraphic orders from Colonel T.J.Hay, Adjutant General, read 'Guard train #17,
until relieved, with 12 men.'
"The Captain informed me verbally
that there was no trouble between Merced and Lathrop of the U.S.Artillery. We
arrived there about noon and I sent Sgt. Bambauer to the eating house. Co. Simpson
said that they would have to be paid in advance...I offered him a receipt saying
the railroad or the National Guard would pay him and he said 'no soap'. I
had been riding on the engine with Sam Carson, full-blooded Cherokee Indian, who
understood orders, and with Johnnie Baker. When the fireman went to climb on
the engine, Sam stuck his bayonet up to within a foot of his face. He would have
to get personal permission from me [to board].
"No argument. The
conductor and agent came up to me and I insisted that we be fed. When they realized
what I meant, we went in and enjoyed a good dinner, taking our time. That
morning, the first train out of Sacramento met danger. During the night,
Worden and several others sawed the bridge timbers and when the train went over
they blew it up with dynamite killing several soldiers and civilians.
"As our train approached the crowd in Sacramento, about 2000 strikers and spectators
commenced to shoot out the windows. I ordered the engineer to back up and we
had a council of war. We were covered with dirt, we had on the blue Army uniform,
and on the other side of the train there was a high bluff with nobody in sight.
We had orders to let the passengers stay 20 feet away from the train and
come on one at a time. The mob crowded forward to uncouple the Pullman, which had
open platforms. They would then rock the Pullman's back and forth until they
were turned over on their side. When they moved forward to uncouple the cars,
Sam Carson had two 45-70 cartridges in his breech and the hammer pulled back.
"When
we pulled up my shoes were filled with water. I was scared to death.
I started to go back into one of the cars and crawl under the seats or get
off on the other side and start off for Merced. Sam said something and I recovered
myself. Sam shoved his bayonet within a foot of the mob against the train,
and with the crowd behind him urging him forward; he could not get away. Sam
said 'I've got two of you SB's and I said 'yes, and I have six more'. We wanted
revenge for our comrades that were killed the night before. The cry went through
the crowd that we were regulars and would shoot to kill. After that we had no
more trouble.
"On approaching the Oakland Mole it was the same story.
The mob shooting up. We stopped and backed up again. When we approached I could
see over the mob. A battery of U.S. Artillery was coming on the run and by
the time we got in the depot there was no one there but Army and railroad officials.
Colonel Graham (no relation) and A.D.Wilder, Superintendent of the Southern
Pacific Division, got it through the grapevine that we were coming in with
only 12 soldiers.
"The Colonel, in his words, sent for 'the damn
fool in command'. He said 'why in hell did you not wait at Lathrop'? I said
that we had expected to be relieved by a battery of the U.S.Artillery. He said
that they could not get a crew or an engine to come and that I should have waited.
I then told him that I was only obeying telegraphic orders. He then relented
and complimented us. A.D.Wilder said I could always have a pass to go anywhere.
Not having much business and little money, we could not take advantage of this
offer. We did accept a pass for a honeymoon to Truckee."
Marriage & Family
The honeymoon was not to be for another couple of years, however. John R. and Gran
were married in Merced on June 4, 1896, a few days after Gran's 17th birthday.
John R. met his wife-to-be while delivering ice in Merced to one
of his customers. John R.'s papers tell us that "I wound up my route serving the
Meanys and Judge Jas W. Robertson's widow, Aunt Johnnie. This was about 9:30
a.m. While sitting on the seat in front of the house, Elmer Smith and I saw a girl
climbing up a ladder picking oranges and she had on a large floppy hat. As
she reached up for an orange her dress would pull up beyond her knees, showing
the most beautiful pair of legs that I have ever seen...was well rounded in all
the right places and pretty as a picture. I told Elmer this is the girl I am going
to marry. After that I would sit with her on the back porch every morning".
Thus began a union lasting 56 years. The summer after they met, Gran
spent 6 months in Watsonville with Johnnie's sister, Gert, and her husband
Gene Shaver. During the summer Gran helped her aunt & uncle at their downtown watch
and jewelry store. Their separation during the summer of 1895 was difficult
for them both but it was more difficult for the 16 year old young woman in love
with the young man 10 years her senior. The following letters were written to
John R. during this time and kept, by him, for over 58 years.
July
20, 1895, Watsonville, California: "My Dear Johnnie, We arrived all right
and tired out. I am in the store with Uncle Gene and he is teasing me. Well,
I will close this time and will write tomorrow. Good night dear. Pleasant dreams.
Yours ever, Mabel".
July 26, 1895, Watsonville, California: "My dear
Johnnie, I have just finished dinner and the folks have all gone to sleep so
I thought it was a good time to sit down and write to you. I can tell you one
thing I am not going to stay here any six months I am homesick already. Last night
the first person to greet us was Mrs. Jolly. She lives opposite us and Aunt
Gert told her we were coming and she came over to see us.
"Lulu was
out to Mrs. Glough's folks and I have not seen her yet. I went to the store last
night and Uncle Gene gave me a real pretty pair of side combs, and he was putting
them in my hair who should walk in but Tom. Elsie has been over all morning
and I am going out with her this evening. I was real surprised she has grown
so fleshy. She says she is horrified at me. I look so thin. Everyone I have seen
tells me that. I think I lost a pound yesterday. I had the nosebleed on the
brain and afterward got here. Oh! Well, I will be so fat when I come home you
will not know me.
"Maybe you think I didn't cry after the train started.
Aunt Johnnie said something and that started me. I saw George Cressy in Modesto
and Will Dallas and Al Lathrop. I saw Mr. Halbro and he said as soon
as he saw me you are not a man of your word. He said he had the band and sixteen
fine looking young men all dressed in their best and standing in line waiting
for me.
"After the train went out he said he had to get two body
guards to take him home, they were going to mob him. I am sitting on the porch
and it is just as cold as it can be. I can look up and see the mountains about
a mile off and hear the ocean roaring. I think I will go to the beach this evening.
Elsie wants me to but I am so tired I do not know whether I will go or not.
I think I will just drive around town and see the improvements since I left.
"My
dear boy, I wish you were here. I am lonesome as I can be. I put
your picture on my dresser this morning and it made me feel sick. I wanted to
see you so bad. I think you will need a change in a week or so and you will have
to come and see me. Uncle Gene has given me a little ring to keep and he is going
to send it to the city to have it marked. Mrs. Clough told Mrs. Jolly we were
engaged and I wore a handsome ring. Just see how things turned around.
"The
first thing Uncle Gene said was how is the Captain? Mrs. Clough has
been down here a week or more, but some people can make whole cloth out of pieces.
Arch got home day before yesterday and they say he is as fat as a pig. Aunt
Johnnie has been sitting by the fire all morning and she is asleep.
"I
suppose you are suffering with the heat poor boy. Oh well Every one has troubles
but us. I want you to answer this as soon as you can because I am so lonesome.
I do not know what to do, and will count the hours until I hear from you.
Tell Else when you see her I will write in a day or two. My neck is getting
stiff and I feel like a fool when I go to turn my head. I have to twist my whole
body.
"Watsonville is the kindest little place on the coast. The streets
were crowded last night. There is a beautiful new brick building here. I
wish you could come down I know you would enjoy it and I should enjoy it much
more if you was here.
"Aunt Gert broke her wheel and had to send it
back to Mass. to have it fixed and I will wait patiently until that comes and then
Uncle Gene and I will ride every evening. He looks fine on a wheel; he is six
feet and weighs 200 pounds so you can imagine what a fine looking fellow he
is.
"He was teasing me and he said he was going to come to Merced and
join their Military Company. He heard they had such a fine one and their leader
was fine. Well Johnnie dear, I will close this dull letter this time. Hoping
to hear from you soon. I am yours with best love and kisses, Mabel. 427 Rodriguez
St."
July 30, 1895, Watsonville, California: "My Dear Jack, Your cheerful letter
came to hand last night and I thought I would sit right down and answer it. Jack,
I want you to write your letters so I will get them Mondays and Fridays. I
will write to you so you will get them Wednesdays and Saturdays if that is convenient
to you dear.
"Johnnie, I do not improve here at all. I am sick
today and homesick with it. You ask about how Mrs. Clough heard things; it is
one of the mysteries we cannot explain. Poor boy, did you cry for me? I am glad
someone thinks enough of me to cry when I leave. Which Mrs. Baker did you
mean? You can tell her 'that is your business'.
"Arch went down on
the train ahead of us so we just missed him. Poor Harley. I feel sorry for him
but Johnnie dear, I do not pity him so much I would change. I shall always be
true to you and as the old saying is 'till death do us part'. Which I hope will
not be soon. But if you do not come down or I go home, I think it will be soon.
"I have lost 4 lbs. since I have been here so I do not think I am
improving much. I tell you I will turn off and go home before I will stay here
six months. My Aunt and Uncle are just as good as good can be. They have not
stopped buying and giving me things since I have been here.
"Aunt Gert,
bless her heart, is in bed sick with a sick headache today and I pity her from
the bottom of my heart as I have them myself sometimes. I guess Else has Dan
but I do not envy her choice. Poor girl, she did not know when she was well off.
Do you see Ella often? I had a fuss with her the morning I left and I have
not written to her.
"You say it makes you sad to go to our house. Maybe you don't think it makes
me sad not to be there Johnnie. They say they are going to start me to school
Monday and if they do, that means three years. So you write to Aunt J. and tell
her to let me come home the last of October.
"You are a dear boy
to go to bed early and you will get along nicely. Sunday was the most lonesome
day I ever put over in my life. In the evening I longed for you dear. I must tell
you about Tom so if anyone get to telling stories you will understand.
"Tom
is only 18 years old and I told him I did not want to go out too much
with him and crowd. Some other girl and he laughed and he said he feels like
I was his sister. Aunt Gert is so fond of him and he is of her so I could not hurt
his feelings and I know you know how I feel toward him and know you would rather
I go with him than others here.
"Darling you know you are first
in my mind. Tom told me he was going to send his future brother a chest of cherries
so you see how he feels. I guess Elsie is happy and Elmer too. And brighter
days are coming to us all after awhile. Aunt J. thanks you for your kindness
and says she will let you know when she wants you to do anything.
"You
wanted to know what I have been doing. I went to the store the evening I
came. Next day stayed home until evening and went out with Else. The next day went
in the country to dinner and Sunday morning I went to church in the afternoon.
I went with Tom to the ranch and got some strawberries in the evening. I went
to a Young People meeting and came home and went to bed. I was so homesick
I cried myself to sleep.
"Monday I washed in the morning and kept
store for Uncle Gene in the afternoon. I ironed this morning and am writing
to you now. Dear, I do wish you could come down and go to the Grove with us. I
would enjoy it so much more. I will be very glad to get the Sun. Thank you dear,
for being so thoughtful. As I said before I am glad to have someone think of
me.
"I had my ring cut down and it is in the city being engraved now.
Aunt J. thinks it is very pretty and she was so afraid I would lose it she had
me get it cut down. Well I must bring this to a close or you will be saying to
me to give you a rest. Well dear. I will close this time. Give my love to Myrt.
and regards to Mr. & Mrs. Geffin. With lots of love for yourself & a kiss. I
am yours, Mabel."
November 7, 1895, Pacific Grove, California: "Your
letter just received and read with pleasure. Jack, I am not going to disappoint
you any more. We will be home next week. I will telegraph the morning we start
so you can meet us. Oh Jack, please do not say you spoil my life for I dare
not think what life would be if you did not form the largest part of it.
"I
have been out to seal rock today. Mrs. Carver took Aunt J. and myself.
She is the sweetest little lady I have ever met since I have been here. She is
very lovely to me always taking me out for a drive or having me dine with her.
Her home is beautiful.
"Was here last evening and spent the evening.
We played cards. First Willie was my partner and Mrs. Grose and Mrs. Ivett.
We beat one game and they one. We are boarding now at my cousin's and there is
an old crazy tailor here. He is disgusting. Mrs. Grose and Mr. Gale say he talks
about me all the time so of course I dodge him every chance I get.
"Grace
has not come home yet. I am afraid I will not see her before I start for
home. We are going to go to May's first. There we will look for rooms. Jack,
dear, answer this just as soon as you can so I will get it. I hope my dear you
will pass your examination all right. Give my love to Dan and tell him the same.
I can fill the blank when I get there. Good by dear. Supper time. From Yours
Ever, Mabel. Love and kisses."
John R. and Gran were married on June
4, 1896, seven months after she returned to Merced. John R. looked back on his
marriage in a letter that states "my wife Mabel died in March 1952. We had been
married for over [55] years. She was a good pal and we were very happy."
Their
first child, John Robertson [Jack] was born on May 24, 1897, 6 days
after Gran's 18th birthday and 11 days before their first anniversary.
Their second son, Donald Richard, was born a year and a half after that on November
17, 1898.
Obituaries
I have a vivid recollection of John R. walking in our house on Times Avenue in Hayward.
I was barely 4 years old but do have a vision of this tall, kindly old man.
I am very lucky to have this remembrance. Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bob say he
was the best.
John R. died on Monday, May 2, 1955. His obituary in the
Merced Sun Times has the heading "Death Takes Prominent Pioneer Resident Here"
and reads as follows:
"John R. Graham, a leading force in the development
of Merced County and widely known as an advocate and battler for better
roads, died yesterday afternoon in Hayward.
"His body was brought
here to Ivers & Alcorn Funeral Home where services will be held tomorrow at 2:00
PM in the Mission Chapel under the auspices of the Merced Elks Lodge. Burial
is to be in the family plot in the Masonic Cemetery.
"Graham was born
in San Francisco on January 1, 1869, the son of John and Elizabeth (Gardner)
Graham, both of whom had come to California in the early 1850's. The father was
a former Tuolumne County superintendent of schools who had entered into the grocery
and dairy business in the bay area.
"John R. attended public
schools in San Francisco. He began working as a boy of 13 for the American Tract
Society, next was with the Bank of British Columbia for three years, and then
was employed by the Los Gatos Ice Company of San Francisco for two and a half
years. As a youth he carried ice over the hills around San Francisco.
"In
1888 he was employed by the National Ice Company in the Bay City. Three years
later that firm sent him on a trip into the Central Valleys with the instructions
to 'choose a town with a future' as the site for a new agency.
"Graham
selected Merced, and in 1892 he opened an agency here where he dispensed
natural ice brought in from Truckee. The concern later took on the handling
of fuels, crude oil, road oil, gravel, cement, etc., and erected an ice manufacturing
plant in 1910. This successful young Merced businessman married Miss Mabel
Farnell, born in this city and a daughter of a pioneer family.
"When
Company H, 6th Infantry, National Guard of California was organized here
in 1893, Graham was elected company commander. He served in that capacity for
six years. He was both a former Merced county supervisor and a Merced City councilman.
"For
20 years he was a member of the El Capitan Hose Company,
colorful local volunteer fire group. He served two years as president of the
Yosemite-To-The-Sea Roads Association, organized in 1911 to push for an all-year
road linking Yosemite Valley and the Coast. The association was largely responsible
for the eventual construction of the All-Year Yosemite Highway, completed
in 1911.
"Graham was an ex-president of the California State Automobile
Association, and served as a director for that organization from 1914 to
1954 when he voluntarily relinquished his post as an active board member because
of failing health. His fellow board members then honored him by voting him but
one of two honorary life directorships that the organization has awarded.
"Graham
also served two terms as a member of the board of directors of
the nationwide American Automobile Association. He was an active speaker
and worker on behalf of the first and subsequent state highway bond issues.
"He was also one of the organizers of the Merced Irrigation District. He took
a leading part in bond drives, civil defense activities, Red Cross campaigns,
chamber of commerce programs, and other civic movements.
"He was a
member of the Masonic Lodge, the Royal Arch Masons, the Rotary Club, the Elks
Lodge, and the Yosemite Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West here, and
of the Fresno Consistory of the Scottish Rite and Islam Temple AAONMS of San Francisco.
"Graham
was preceded in death by his wife and their two sons
- John R. Jr. and Donald R. Surviving are two daughters-in-law, Mrs. Pat
Graham and Mrs. Yvette Graham of Merced; a sister, Mrs. Ethel Sullivan of Hanford;
four grandchildren, Bruce Graham of Hayward, Donald Graham of Merced, Mrs.
Marilyn Fister of Merced, and Mrs. Elaine McDairmant of Washington, DC; and eight
great-grandchildren. For the past several months the deceased had been making
his home in Hayward with his grandson, Bruce."
The obituary in the
San Francisco Examiner has the headline "John R. Graham, Road Booster, Dies"
and reads as follows:
"John R. Graham, past president of the California
State Automobile Association and a pioneer in the development of the State's
highway system, died yesterday at his grandson's home in Hayward after a lengthy
illness. He was 87.
"Mr. Graham, who spent most of his life in
Merced, where he served on the city council and the county's board of supervisors
several times, was for forty years a member of the association's board of directors.
"An Army Captain during the Spanish-American War, Mr. Graham
served as president of the association in 1934 and was elected an honorary life
board member last year.
"His avid interest in highway development
began in 1911 when he helped organize the 'Yosemite-to-the-sea' Good Roads Association.
This group was responsible for the construction of the old Yosemite
Road, the forerunner of the present day Pacheco Pass.
"As a Merced businessman
for many years, Mr. Graham represented several major oil firms in that
area. He's survived by four grandchildren: Bruce Graham of Hayward, Donald Graham
of Merced, Mrs. Marilyn Fister of Merced and Mrs. Elaine McDairmant of Washington,
DC.
"Funeral services will be held in Merced, tomorrow at
the Ivers and Alcorn Funeral Home."
Submitted by:
Randy Graham
07 July 2003
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