George W. Graham (b. circa 1813 - d. 1863)
MSA SC 5496-13509
Slave Owner, Prince George's County, Maryland
Biography:
George William Graham was a slave owner in Prince George’s County, Maryland during the antebellum period. Graham was born around 1813 to Hon. John Graham and Susan Hill Graham of Washington. On November 14, 1842, he married Eliza Gaston, the oldest daughter of William Gaston, a Representative in Congress from North Carolina, and his wife, Eliza Ann Worthington Gaston of Georgetown, D. C. This marriage was truly a union of wealth and power as both the Gastons and the Grahams were prominent members of D.C. society. Eliza and George continued in their parent’s footsteps as leaders in the elite social circle of Upper Marlborough. Eliza and George were also devout Catholics who spent much of their time and money to benefit St. Mary’s Church in Upper Marlborough and other Catholic organizations in Prince George’s County. Since George and Eliza did not have any children, Eliza’s niece, Hannah Manley Hawks, a widow, and her three children became their heirs.
Graham owned Nihil, a 425 acre plantation near Upper Marlborough. The 1860 Census values this real estate at 100,000 dollars, an astronomical sum for the time. In addition, the census valued his personal estate at 90,000 dollars. These numbers show that George W. Graham was among the wealthiest landowners in Prince George’s County. Of course, Graham held many slaves who testified and added to his wealth. According to the slave schedule of 1850, sixty-four slaves lived and worked on Graham’s farm.
As a large slave owner, Graham had several slaves escape from Nihil. Aleck Bryan and Isaac Contee, two of Graham’s male slaves, ran away around Christmas 1850. Graham brought Bryan from Newbern, North Carolina in 1844, a sale perhaps arranged by some of Graham’s North Carolinian in-laws, the Gastons. It was, therefore, unlikely that Bryan had any relatives locally who would take him in. Contee, on the other hand, had lived in Washington D.C. and worked as Graham’s mother’s coachman. Contee’s mother still lived in D.C. and he was quite familiar with the city so it is very likely that he spent time in D. C. after running away. Since Graham did not advertise the men as runaways in the same ad, it is unclear whether they escaped together or not. The holiday season was a common time for slaves to run away as their masters were often busy with preparations and family during this period. In addition, slaves had their yearly vacation for Christmas and New Years and could get a head start on their escape before anyone noticed they were missing. Bryan and Contee might have taken advantage of these occasions to plan their flight.
Susan and Jenny, two enslaved sisters, and Mary Anne fled Graham’s estate in February of 1851. In a runaway advertisement in the Baltimore Sun, Graham speculated that the women might have went to Washington D.C. Mary Anne, despite being sold to Graham in Newbern, North Carolina, had relatives in the city, while Susan and Jenny’s father and aunt lived there. Since their escape occurred approximately a month or two after Bryan and Contee ran away, it is possible that Susan, Jenny, and Mary Anne were inspired or, at least, emboldened, by the men’s recent escape.
Dick Digges escaped from Nihil in December 1858, taking one of Graham’s horses and several sets of clothing. His burglary seems to suggest that he did not travel on foot, perhaps because he wanted to travel quickly and further than he could go on foot. Digges may have stolen the clothing to finance the trip and buy food along the way. It is not known whether Digges or any other of Graham’s fugitive slaves were caught.
George W. Graham died in July of 1863. In his will, he appointed his “beloved wife,” Eliza, the sole executer of his estate and left all of his property to her. Eliza Graham died in May 1874, leaving the remainder of their estate to her sister, Catherine Gaston, her nieces, Hannah Hawks and Susan Bailieff, and the Catholic Church.
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