James Graham Biography


	This biography appears on pages 260-263 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				JAMES GRAHAM

	James Graham is general manager of the Hill City Lumber Company, 
which concern owns the electric light, heat and power company of Hill 
City, and he has a number of other business interests, being a 
representative citizen of Pennington county. His birth occurred in 
Potosi, Grant county, Wisconsin, on the 15th of February, 1866, and he 
is the youngest of five children, whose parents were Dr. Theodore and 
Serena (Lewis) Graham, natives of Pennsylvania and Lancaster, 
Wisconsin, respectively. The father, who was a physician and surgeon, 
removed to the Badger state about 1850 and located at Potosi. The 
region was still sparsely settled, and as he was the only medical 
practitioner within a radius of from twenty-five to thirty miles, his 
life was that of the pioneer physician who is compelled to make long 
journeys over bad roads at all times of the day or night and who must 
to an unusual extent forget all personal considerations in the 
performance of his work of healing disease and relieving suffering. He 
continued to practice until his death, which occurred about 1875. He 
had survived his wife since 1866, her demise occurring when our subject 
was but an infant. 

	James Graham attended the Cumberland Valley State Normal School 
at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and thus received a good education that 
has proved of much value to him in his later life. He was but five 
years of age when he went to live with an aunt, his father's sister, 
who resided in Pennsylvania, and he remained with her until her demise, 
which occurred when he was nineteen years of age. He then went to 
Seymour, Indiana, where he was employed in a hotel for about two years. 
At the end of that time he became manager of the hostelry and continued 
in that capacity for three years, after which he went to Louisville, 
Kentucky, and entered the employ of the E. Bull Medical Company as a 
traveling salesman. Following the demise of Dr. Bull, the head of the 
company, Mr. Graham went to Florida as the representative of his widow. 
He remained in the Peninsular state for a year, looking after her fruit 
groves and real-estate interests, but at the end of that time came to 
South Dakota, locating in Hill City and entering the employ of the 
Buckeye Mining Company. He continued to mine until 1904, when he 
established the Hill City Lumber Company, of which he has since been 
general manager, secretary and treasurer. The concern has branches at 
Ardmore, Edgemont and Argentine, South Dakota, and is now rebuilding 
its plant at the last named place, which was destroyed by fire. The 
company not only does an extensive business in lumber and is well and 
favorably known to the trade, but also owns the electric light, heat 
and power company of Hill City. Their continued success has been due 
mainly to the constant vigilance and wise management of Mr. Graham, 
their general manager. He also conducts a stock and hay ranch four 
miles from Hill City and is a stockholder in the Gopher Mining Company 
and in the Cumberland Mining Company, of which he has been secretary 
and treasurer for a number of years. 

	On the 29th of January, 1902, Mr. Graham was joined in marriage 
to Miss Agnes Borkey, who was born at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a 
daughter of Solomon and Cecilia (Willebrand) Borkey, also natives of 
Pennsylvania. About a quarter of a century ago they removed to South 
Dakota and located at Ardmore, where the father was extensively engaged 
in ranching and farming, operating about five sections of land. To him 
and his wife were born ten children, of whom Mrs. Graham is the fifth. 

	Mr. Graham is a republican, but, although he is not lacking in a 
proper interest in public affairs, he has never desired to hold office. 
His membership in the Elks Lodge, No. 1187, of Rapid City, affords him 
opportunity for the expression of his capacity for comradeship and he 
is popular in that organization. Since taking up his residence in Hill 
City he has made for himself an important place in the business life of 
the city and many of those who have come in contact with him have 
become his warm friends.