In according consistent recognition in this publication to the representative members of the Texas bar there is special consonance in offering a brief review of the career of Mr. Graham, who has been engaged in the practice of his profession in this state for more than thirty years and who now has secure vantage-ground as one of the leading members of the bar of Bowie county, his residence and professional headquarters being maintained in the thriving little city of Texarkana.

Mr. Graham is a scion of one of the old and sterling families of Tennessee and his lineage is traced back to stanch Scottish origin. He was born at Big Sandy, Benton county, Tennessee, on the 18th of July, 1856, and his youthful experiences were those gained in connection with the activities of the old homestead farm on which he was born. He availed himself of the advantages of the local schools and for several years thereafter he was in active service as a railroad express messenger, in Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri. In the meanwhile he had formulated definite plans for entering a broader field of endeavor and he showed his ambition and determination by prosecuting the study of law while actively employed as an express messenger. He carried forward his technical reading under effective private preceptorship, and after thoroughly grounding himself in the science of jurisprudence he proved himself eligible for and was admitted to the bar, in Henry county, Tennessee, in 1881. In February of 1882 Mr. Graham came to Texas and located in Franklin, Robertson county, but a few years later, in 1892, he established his residence at Hearne, Robertson county, where he engaged in the active practice of his profession and soon succeeded in building up a profitable law business. He continued in practice at Hearne, as one of the leading members of the bar of Robertson county, until 1900, when he removed to Texarkana, where ha has continued his labors with ever increasing prestige, his success being the result not less of his broad and practical knowledge of law and precedent than of his careful preparation of all cases presented by him before court or jury, the while his inflexible personal and professional integrity has given to him the unqualified confidence and esteem of those with whom he has come in contact in a business or social way. He served one term as county attorney of Robertson county and during the last year of his residence at Hearne he served as its mayor, these preferments indicating beyond per- adventure his high standing in the confidence and esteem of that community.

Mr. Graham has ever been unwavering in his allegiance to the Democratic party and he has been an influential factor in the promotion of its cause and the manoeuvering of its militant forces in various campaigns. He is chairman of the Democratic executive committee of Bowie county at the time of this writing, In 1913, and has been the incumbent of this position since 1910. Mr. Graham is a most earnest and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and is a prominent figure in its affairs in Texas, where he holds the position of lay reader for the Texas conference and is otherwise influential in its affairs. Mr. Graham has been twice wedded and has three children by the first marriage, Luther N., Lionel A. and Odessa.