With his letters serving as the principal source material for this blog, the real blogger is William Graham. However, since he died more than 140 years ago, his great grandson (myself) will serve in his stead. My name is Hugh Graham and I am a retired planner living in California's Bay Area.
My 'work time' now focuses on subjects of personal interest (such as hiking in the mountains, photography, reading, genealogy, etc.), most of
which have intrigued me since childhood. This website encompasses a segment of one
of these interests; my family history. The segment is the life of my great grandfather, William Graham. It focuses on 3 years of his life during the American Civil War.
Those 3 years were brought compellingly to my notice through letters written by William during his service with the Union Army.
The existence of those letters was unknown to me and other living family members before 2008. That year I first became aware of their existence through the capability of the worldwide web. A web search that summer brought to my attention 16 letters in the possession of Notre Dame University. Accompanying information enabled me to quickly determine they were written by my great grandfather. That beginning a decade ago was the catalyst for years of fruitful research.
This blog is my third attempt to document William's life. My hope is that I have learned from those previous efforts. My goal is that this blog tells his story in a manner which resonates with readers, vividly presenting 19th Century life in Ireland, New York's Finger Lakes region and at war. I hope you enjoy the story and stick with it during the process of its creation over the coming months.
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