COLONEL WILLIAM GRAHAM CEMETERY This cemetery is located in No. 2 Township, Cleveland County, N.C. on west bank of First Broad River just above Chambers' Old Ford. It is reached by Shelby-Boiling Springs hard surfaced road by way of South Shelby, Zoar Baptist Church, Sharon M. E. Church to old cross roads at the Landrum Smith old Home Stead known as the Rutherfordton-Yorkville road, thence turning eastward about one mile passing the old homes of David C. Dodd, Dr. W. J. T. Miller and ____ Turner. Owner of Cemetery: R. E. Campbell, Shelby merchant Number of marked graves: 2 Unmarked graves: 75 Earliest marked grave: Susan Graham, d. 1825. Condition: In the spring of 1931 the cemetery was scrubbed off and put in cultivation with only two markers excepted. Date of survey: March 12, 1939 Workers: Forrest Williams and Anson G. Melton Inscriptions: Graham, Colonel William (A soldier of the Revolutionary War), d. Mar. 1835. Aged 90 years. Graham, Susan, Wife of Colonel W. Graham, d. 1825. Aged 74 years. ----- Date by P. Cleveland Gardner, Cleveland County Historian: There appears to be some dispute or confusion among our local historians as to the date of death of Col. Graham. Draper's Kings Mountain and Its Heroes, page 746 says: "Colonel Graham died near Shelby, N.C., March 26, 1835, in his 93rd year." Hunter, in his Sketches of Western N.C., page 324 says: "Col. William died in April, 1835 in his 87th year." Griffin, in his History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, page 48 says: "The tombstone at the grave of Col. Graham was erected many years after his death by a relative; that Col. Graham was a Revolutionary War pensioner in 1832; that the law required the death of such pensioners to be filed with the county court; that according to the minute docket of Rutherford County Court of pleas and quarter sessions his death was reported to the court at the September Term, 1835, as having occur[r]ed on May 3, 1834." Griffin concluded that "this is probably more correct than either of the references quoted on the headstone." Col. William Graham was married to Mrs. Susan Twitty, widow of William Twitty. Her maiden name was Miss Susan Bellah (Bella) and she was of German descent. Griffin, page 47, says: "That prior to 1779 the home of Col. Graham was on Buffalo Creek in Lincoln County, and that after 1779, he was a resident of that portion of Rutherford County which later became Cleveland." Both of these home sites were located in what is now Cleveland County, his old home being Buffalo Creek between Shelby and Grover, and his home on the West bank of First Broad River in No. 2 Township, where he [was] at date of his death, and on the farm where he was buried. This new home (after 1779) was a large log building, located almost ½ mile west of said graveyard and south of the old Turner house, and near top of knoll; said old Rev. War road leading to Chambers Ford, runs between the old home site and graveyard. It is in this new home that Col. Graham was living in Sept. 1780, when attacked by some 25 Tories during the Revolutionary War, which battle resulted in the killing of one Tory and wounding three others. Also, it was in this house that Col. Graham was living on Oct. 7, 1780, when the Battle of Kings Mountain was fought. Col. Graham and his wife, Miss Susan Bellah (Bella) Twitty had only one child, named Sarah. She was born on the eve of said Battle of Kings Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780. She was married to Col. Abram Irvine on May 22, 1795. Col. Abram Irvine settled on the top of a ridge some three or four hundred yards north of Col. Graham's new home, known by historian as "Graham's Fort". Said Irvine's home being almost midway and in direct line between present old Turner home and "Graham's Fort". Col. Irvine was living here when he was Sheriff of Rutherford County, while Colonel of the War of 1812 and 1814, and also while he was Commissioner of "Burrtown". Burrtown was created by an act of the Legislature and laid off into lots, etc., in 1802. It was located on the east bank of Broad River, a short distance below the mouth of First Broad River, formerly known as "Hugh Quinn's" old Ferry, and now known as "Ellis" Ferry." Col. Abram Irvine died Oct. 18, 1824, and was buried at Buffalo Baptist Church, Cherokee County, S.C. See: Griffin's History; pages 46, 57, 131, 150 to 160 and 225. Slab marker to grave of Col. Abram Irvine contains the following inscription: "Col. Abram Irvine, Who Died suddenly in S.C. Oct. 18, 1824. Aged 54 years old." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This cemetery is among the many Cleveland cemeteries included on the Cleveland Count WPA Cemeteries CD, copyrighted 2008, by Ann K. Propst and Derick S. Hartshorn. All listings and cemeteries listings were made prior to 1940 and represent the contions of that time. All information has been donated to the NCGenWeb Project but retains copyright protection by the authors. It may be referenced and briefly exerpted under the universal fair use doctrine. For a copy of the complete Cleveland County WPA Cemetery Survey, see http://www.hartshorn.us/CWPA.htm