Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/734

700 arrival he entered on its practice in Philadelphia, occupying a prominent place in his profession throughout his life. In 1727 he was appointed naval officer at Philadelphia, was again chosen in 1741, and continued to fill the office for over twenty years thereafter. In February, 1726, he became a member of the provincial council, in 1731 a justice of the supreme court, in which office he served several years, in 1749 was chosen the first president of St. Andrew's society, and in 1751-'3 was physician to the Pennsylvania hospital, of which charity he was one of the founders: He was one of the early members of the American philosophical society of Philadelphia.

GRAFF, Frederick, engineer, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 27 Aug., 1775; d. there 13 April, 1847. His early life was devoted to the trade of a carpenter, and he acquired skill as a draughtsman. When twenty years old he met with an accident, and was employed by H. B. Latrobe, as his assistant engineer, in erecting the first water-works in Philadelphia, which were in Centre square, the site of the present city-hall. On 1 April, 1805, he was elected superintendent and engineer of the works. These were found to be wholly inadequate after several years of trial, and in 1811 he recommended Fairmount as the proper place for the water-works, and was intrusted with their construction. At this time the pipes were made of wood, but he devised the iron-pipe system which is now universally used. He brought the work to perfection, and patterns of his fire-plugs and stop-cocks were sent to England. His experience and ability now became acknowledged throughout the country, and he supplied detailed information to about thirty-seven corporations in the United States, including New York and Boston. He was engaged for forty-two years in the service of the city of Philadelphia, and a monument to his memory is erected in the grounds at Fairmount water-works. In 1822 the city water committee sent him a resolution of thanks, and he was presented with a silver vase. In 1828 he received another from the water committee &ldquo;as a testimonial of respect for his talents and zeal effectually displayed in overcoming unforeseen difficulties encountered in the construction of the northeast reservoir at Fairmount.&rdquo;

GRAFF, John Michael, Moravian bishop, b. in Saxe-Meiningen, Germany, 28 Sept., 1714; d. in Salem, N. C., 28 Aug., 1782. He was graduated at the University of Jena, came to this country in 1751, and served for two years as an itinerant evangelist in Pennsylvania and the neighboring colonies. After this he took charge of the Moravian church at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where he labored until 1761. During the French and Indian war Graff displayed no little prudence in caring for the safety of his parishioners. On several occasions hostile bands of the savages came into the neighborhood of Nazareth, but never ventured to attack the town. From Nazareth he was transferred to the new Moravian settlement in North Carolina, where, in 1773, he was appointed a member of the southern governing board, and on 6 June of the same year consecrated to the episcopacy. In this office, amid many trying circumstances, he labored with great zeal and courage until his death.

GRAFFENRIED, Emanuel, Baron de, pioneer, d. in 1735. In 1711, by request of Queen Anne, he undertook to colonize in America the Palatine refugees that had fled to England, and was granted a tract fifty miles square in North Carolina. Accompanied by Lawson, the surveyor-general of the northern provinces, he ascended the Neuse river in 1711 to discover how far it was navigable, and also

to explore the neighboring country. They were seized by a party of sixty well-armed Indians and taken to a village of the Tuscaroras, where a council was assembled. Complaints were made of the conduct of the settlers in Carolina, especially that of Lawson, who had divided their territory into lots. After a discussion of two days, the death of the prisoners was decreed. A fire was kindled, a ring formed around the victims, and the council assembled. No reprieve was granted to Lawson, but after five weeks Graffenried was permitted to return, after promising to occupy no land without the consent of the tribe. He founded the town of New Berne, afterward established a colony in Virginia, and still later returned to Europe, where he died, leaving a fortune. His son remained in this country and left many descendants in the south.

GRAFTON, Edward C., naval officer, b. in Boston, Mass. ; d. in New York city, 24 June, 1876. His father, Joseph, I'ose to the rank of major in the regular army, won distinction in the war of 1812, and afterward became surveyor of customs in Boston. The son entered the navy as midshipman in 1841, and became passed midshipman in 1847. He was commissioned lieutenant, 15 Sept., 1855 ; lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862; commander, 20 Dec, 1866, and was retired, 18 Jan., 1871. At the time when the Confederate ram " Merrimac " attempted to raise the blockade, Lieut. Grafton was flag-officer of the frigate " Minnesota," then lying near the mouth of the James river. In the engagement that followed in Hampton Roads he played an active part. On being commissioned lieutenant- commander he was placed in command of the steam gun-boat " Genesee," and participated in the bombardment of Fort Morgan, Mobile bay. In 1866 he was in command of the " Gettysburg," of the North Atlantic squadron.

GRAFTON, Joseph, clergyman, b. in Newport, R. I., 9 June, 1757 ; d. in Newton, Mass., 16 Sept., 1836. His early education was confined to the elementary branches. He was licensed to preach as a Congregationalist, but in 1787, having changed his views, he united with the 1st Baptist church in Providence, R. I. Soon afterward he accepted a call to Newton, Mass., and was ordained as pastor of the Baptist church in that place, 18 June, 1788. Here he remained for nearly half a century. He was one of the best-known and most honored preachers of his denomination. He was for a time president of the board of trustees of the Newton theological institution.

GRAHAM, Charles Kinnaird, civil engineer, b. in New York city, 3 June, 1824; d. there. 15 April, 1889. He was entered in the U. S. navy as midshipman in 1841, and served in the Gulf during the war with Mexico. In 1848 he resigned, returned to New York, and devoted himself for several years to the study of engineering. About 1857 he was appointed constructing engineer of the Brooklyn navy-yard, the dry-dock and landing-ways being built under his supervision. At the beginning of the civil war he volunteered in the National army, about 400 men in his employ in the navy-yard following his example. The Excelsior brigade was organized, in which Graham subsequently became major and colonel. Throughout the early part of the contest he was actively engaged in the Army of the Potomac. In November, 1862, he was commissioned brigadier-general, and fought at the battle of Gettysburg, where he was severely wounded. He was afterward assigned to the command of a gun-boat flotilla on the James river under Gen, Butler, and was the first to carry the national