John (Graham) Graham XIII of Fintry (1778 - 1821)

Born 24 Apr 1778 in Fintry, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Johanna Catharina (Cloete) Danford — married 1812 in Cape Town, Cape Colony

Descendants

Died 13 Mar 1821 at age 42 in Wynberg, Cape Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dawn Britz [send private message]

Biography

John (Graham) Graham XIII of Fintry is Notable.

Family

John was born on 24 April 1778, in Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland. He is the second son of Robert Graham and Margaret Milne. ^{[1] [2]}

He succeeded as XIII of Fintry after the death of his elder brother Robert in 1799, and his father in 1815. ^[3]

Siblings:

He had many siblings^[2] including:

• Robert Graham, 1774-1799
• Thomas Graham
• Ann Graham

Military Service

He joined the military at the age of 13 years and at the age of 16 he joined the 90th Regiment, served on an island on the French Coast, later serving under Colonel Graham of Balgowan. In 1799 he was appointed aid-de-camp to the Earl of Chatham. He served with his regiment in Guernsey, until he was sent to Ireland in 1803. In January 1806, as a major in the 93rd regiment, he took part at the Battle of Blouberg, in the British conquest of the Cape, when the Dutch Cape Colony was annexed by the British Crown .^[4]

In 1811, he was sent with his Corp with British regulars and Boer commandos from Swellendam, Graaff-Reinet and Uitenhage to clear around 20,000 Xhosa tribesmen who had settled in the Zuurfeld (Albany) area between the Bushman's and Fish Rivers. The Zuurfeld was mistakenly assumed by the British to be part of the Colony, by the misreading of the borders.

John Graham Image 3

He accomplished the task by employing "A Proper Degree of Terror" ^[5] aka a slash and burn policy.

In 1812 when the clearance was complete, he established Grahams Town, on the site of a deserted farm, as a central Military post with a string of linked forts along the Fish River. He became known as the Founder of Grahamstown. ^{[3] [6] [7] [4]}

Marriage and Children

He married Johanna Catharina Cloete daughter of Roedolph Cloete on 24 July 1812 in Cape Town, Cape Province ^{[8] [9]}, and had 3 daughters and a son, Robert, who became the Commissioner of Albany

• Johanna Catherine Graham 1813, no Records, possibly died in infancy.
• Robert Graham 1816-1887 born 16 January 1816, bp 3 February 1816 in Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa ^[10]
• Elizabeth Margaret Graham 1817, no Records, possibly died in infancy.
• Isabella Hester Anne Graham 1819-1901 bp 7 August 1820 in Cape Province, South Africa ^[11]

Death

He died on 13 March 1821 and was buried in the Somerset Road Cemetery. ^[12]

Legacy

In 1912 a monument was erected in the High Street in Grahamstown, on the site of the Thorn tree, where he decided to establish the settlement.

John Graham Image 2

In October 2018, the name Grahamstown was changed to Makhanda after the Xhosa warrior.

Sources

1. ↑ (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) #record-type ScotlandPeople.uk.gov search, Old Parish Registers: NAME: GRAHAM, JOHN; Parents: ROBERT GRAHAM/MARGARET ELIZA MILNE FR1216 1089 (FR1216) Gender: M, Birthdate: 24/041778, Parish Number 310, Ref: 40/45 Parish Name MONIFIETH
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Familysearch personal ID for John Graham M8P3-2WY, with parents, wife, children, and various sources for life events
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Strathendrick, and its inhabitants from early times, Histories of Scottish Families, National Libray of Scotland page 164
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "How Grahamstown Got Its Name" Ancestors Research SouthAfrica (https://www.ancestors.co.za/grahamstown/)
5. ↑ Maclennan, Ben, "A Proper Degree of Terror" published by Ravan Press, 1986, Cape of Good Hope (South Africa)
6. ↑ Page for Graham at thegreatkaroo.com
7. ↑ "South African History Online" https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/grahamstown
8. ↑ "South Africa ,Church of the Province of South Africa Parish Registers, 1801-2006" database Family Search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DXS2-N72M : 12 March 2024), Entry for John Graham and Johanna Catharina Cloete, 24 July 1812
9. ↑ Familysearch image marriage of John Graham and Johanna Catharina Cloete in 1812 from "South Africa,Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2006"
10. ↑ "South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004" database Family Search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DTGP-KHMM: 30 December 2022), John Graham in entry for Robert Graham, 1816
11. ↑ "South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2006" database Family Search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6NF9-GD35 : 3 June 2023), John Graham in entry for Isabella Hester Anne Graham, 1820
12. ↑ "South Africa Settlers Index, 1820-1920" database Family Search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZL2-DPDF : 19 May 2021), John Graham, 1821

See Also:

Wikipedia: John Graham (British Army officer, born 1778)

Wikipedia:Battle of Blaauwberg

Wikipedia: Grahams of Fintry

Wikipedia: Makhanda, South Africa