George Andrew Graham

George Andrew Graham was born on February 16, 1891, in Scurry, Kaufman County, Texas. He served as a soldier in the United States Army during World War I and was stationed at Camp Bowie near Fort Worth.

After his discharge from the Army, Graham, his wife Bessie, and their oldest daughter moved to New Deal, Texas. There, they farmed with Graham's father, Samuel.

By 1924, George and Bessie Graham had four children and were expecting their fifth. Although they produced a bumper crop that year, they were forced to give up their lease.

The family then faced a difficult choice. They could use the money they had saved to purchase a strip of land in Lubbock, or they could file a claim for property in New Mexico and use their money to purchase farming equipment and relocate near Bledsoe. They chose the farmland near Bledsoe.

After the birth of their fifth child, the family moved to the new property. They were unable to drill deeply enough to obtain water and spent five years hauling water while Graham farmed and drove school buses. During those years, the family completed its claim to the land, and three more children were born.

In 1931, the Graham family moved to a farm approximately five miles east of Morton, where their ninth child was born. Graham farmed the land and worked for the Civil Works Administration from 1932 through 1934.

The family suffered a loss when their second-oldest daughter, Beatrice, developed pneumonia and died on February 17, 1934, at the age of 13.

George Graham was elected Cochran County judge and entered office on January 1, 1935. He served through December 31, 1938. The first marriage he performed as county judge united Edith “Skeet” Stewart and Perry Tichenor.

After his term as county judge, George and Bessie Graham operated a restaurant on the east side of the Morton town square. Graham also taught at Morton High School and drove a school bus during World War II.

The Grahams sold the café to Jesse Carol Burns in 1947 and moved to Ruidoso, New Mexico. There, they operated a bowling alley, rented cabins, and assisted with chuck wagon suppers.

Between 1950 and 1955, the family also operated Main Street Drug in Lubbock, Texas.

George Andrew Graham died on August 21, 1978, in Lubbock, Texas. He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Ruidoso, New Mexico.

Biography source: Adapted from Texas Sesquicentennial: Texas' Last Frontier, Cochran County, 1836–1986, Volume 1 . Copyright Cochran County Historical Commission. Written by Mary Graham circa 1985 and adapted by Mary Helen McKnight in 2016.