James Graham (c. 1650 – January 27, 1701) was a Scottish born colonial American politician who served as the

Speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in Province of New York, New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of ...

Early life

Graham was born in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in about 1650 and was the son of John Graham and Isabella (née Affick) Graham. His paternal grandfather was Scottish nobleman

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet, soldier and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequ ...

, who supported King Charles I in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, and was executed in Scotland in May 1650 after which the Montrose estates were forfeited.Buchan, John (1928). ''Montrose: A History''.

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

: The Riverside Press. His father's older brother, James Graham, 2nd Marquess of Montrose, succeeded to the title after his grandfather's death.

Career

In 1678, as a member of the entourage of Governor Edmund Andros (who was appointed by the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

to be the first proprietary governor of the Province of New York in October 1674), Graham sailed to New York aboard the ''Blossom''. Once in

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

, he became a merchant and practiced law. He was granted patents to large tracts of land in

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. From its inception in 1683, until , Graham served as the first recorder of New York City, essentially the deputy

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

(under mayors Cornelius Van Steenwyk, Gabriel Minvielle, Nicholas Bayard, Stephanus Van Cortlandt and Peter Delanoy). On December 10, 1685, while serving as Recorder, Graham was appointed the Attorney General of the Province of New York to succeed Thomas Rudyard. In 1687, he was appointed to the Governor's Council under Governor Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick. In 1688 when New York was annexed into

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was a short-lived administrative union of English colonies covering all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies, with the exception of the Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvani ...

, he moved to Boston and became the Attorney General of the Dominion. Following its collapse in April 1689, he was imprisoned along with Governor Andros and was exiled to England.

Return to New York

In 1691, Graham returned to New York after the Leisler Rebellion was put down by Governor Henry Sloughter, and was elected as a member of the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Province of New York d ...

(the first representative governing body in New York), representing

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

(the current New York County,

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), from 1691 to 1693 and again from 1695 until his death in 1701. From 1691 to 1694 and again from 1695 to 1698, he served as the Speaker of the Assembly. In April 1691, Thomas Newton, then the Attorney General of the Province, left New York and George Farewell was appointed to succeed him but the General Assembly considered Farewell incompetent and, in May 1691, Graham was again appointed Attorney General, which he held until January 1701. In 1696, he was appointed Advocate General of the Court of Vice-Admiralty and in May 1699, he was again appointed to the Governor's Council under Governor

Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont (1636 – 5 March 1700/01In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, d ...

. He was appointed to serve as Recorder again in 1693 and served (under mayors Charles Lodwik, William Merritt, Johannes de Peyster, David Provost, and Isaac De Riemer) until 1700 when he "lost favor" with Governor Bellomont and was replaced in January 1701 by Abraham Gouverneur.

Personal life

Graham was first married to Mary Home. Together, they were the parents of: * Isabella Graham (1673–1752), who married Gov.

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Conti ...

(1671–1746) on November 3, 1691. * Mary Graham (b. ), who married John Corbett on December 14, 1703. * Sarah Graham (b. ), who married Mr. Chappel, emigrated to England and was the mother of Rev. Graham Chappen, a clergyman in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. * Margaret Graham (b. ) * John Graham (b. ) After Mary's death, Graham was married for a second time to Elizabeth Windebank (1655–1701) on July 18, 1684. Together, they were the parents of: * Augustine Graham (d. 1718), who married Jane Chiswell on April 8, 1703. He served as Surveyor General (from 1691 to 1719) and was a patentee in the

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

and Little Nine Partner grants in Dutchess County. Graham died at his daughters residence, Morrisania, on January 27, 1701.

Descendants

Through his son Augustine, he was the grandfather of James Graham, who married his cousin (and James's granddaughter) Arabella Morris in 1738. Through his daughter Isabella, he was the grandfather of twelve, including fellow Speaker Lewis Morris Jr. and New Jersey Chief Justice Robert Hunter Morris.

References

External links

James Graham
at the Historical Society of the New York Courts. {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, James 1650s births 1701 deaths Speakers of the New York General Assembly Members of the New York General Assembly New York City recorders People from colonial New York People from Midlothian Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies