Source: History of Westmoreland County Pennsylvania: Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. 11. Edited by John W. Jordan. New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906.

ISRAEL M. GRAHAM. The family of which Israel M. Graham, of Ligonier, is a representative, was founded in this country by Barney Graham, who came about 1804 from Donegal, Ireland, being of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a farmer, a man of limited education and a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Graham brought with him to the United States his wife and the following children: William, George, Richard, Robert, and two daughters. The first home of the family was in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where they remained about a year, and then settled in Unity township, Westmoreland county.

George Graham, second son of Barney Graham, was sixteen years old when the family came to the United States, and remained on the homestead (now the “Jacob Shirey Farm” until the death of his father. He married in 1819, Sarah Ralston, who was of English descent and was born in 1803, in Westmoreland county. They lived on a farm in Unity township until 1832, when they moved to a farm in Ligonier township, two miles south of Ligonier.

James Graham, son of George and Sarah (Ralston) Graham, was born September 28, 1820, in Unity township, and received his education in the common schools. His occupation was that of a farmer, and in the sphere of politics he adheres to the Republican party. While faithful in the duties of citizenship he has neither sought nor desired office. He is a member of the Lutheran church, in which he has held official positions. Mr. Graham, now aged eighty-six, is in good health, with powers of mind and body unimpaired. Mr. Graham married Louise Bitner, whose ancestors came to eastern Pennsylvania about 1790 and later settled in Somerset county. Her grandparents moved to Fairfield township, Westmoreland county, about 1800, and about 1803 her parents, Peter and Mary Bitner, took up their abode in Ligonier township. Their daughter Louise, who became the wife of James Graham, as mentioned above, belonged to a family of four sons and ten daughters, and was born January 29, 1821, in Ligonier township. Mr. Graham has now retired from active labor and is a resident of Ligonier. He and his wife have been the parents of six sons and one daughter, all of whom are living with the exception of one son who died in infancy in 1854. Mrs. Graham died September 25, 1901, aged seventy-nine.

Israel M. Graham, eldest son of James and Louise (Bitner) Graham, was born December 21, 1847, in Ligonier township, where he received his preparatory education in the public schools, from which he proceeded to Ligonier Academy, advancing thence to Edinboro (Pennsylvania) State Normal school, where he graduated in 1873. In 1867 he began his work as a teacher in Ligonier township, held the position of principal at Blairsville, Pennsylvania and for twelve years was principal of the Ligonier public schools. During these years he took charge every summer of the Ligonier Normal and Scientific Institute. In 1889 he relinquished his work as a teacher, and in 1891 became editor and owner of the Ligonier Echo. He has since become continuously engaged in newspaper work. He has served three terms as school director, and his term as justice of the peace will expire in May, 1907. In 1902 and ’03 he was largely instrumental in the erection of the forty thousand dollar school building of Ligonier. He has been prosperous financially, and since coming to Ligonier in 1876 has accumulated considerable property. He belongs to Ligonier Lodge, No. 964, I.O.O.F., of Ligonier, and is a Republican in politics. For about twenty years he has served as deacon in the Lutheran church, and for the same length of time has been superintendent of the Sunday school. He also holds the office of treasurer of the church, and is active in church and benevolent work.

Mr. Graham married, May 20, 1874, in Ligonier township, Maria McKlveen, and they have two children. Clarence O., born April 10, 1875, in Blairsville, was educated in the common schools and at the Ligonier Classical Institute, and is the owner of a livery stable in Ligonier, where he resides. He is married and has three children: Edna, Albert and Mary. Irene, born October 1, 1882, in Ligonier, attended the common schools, passed thence to Irwin Female College, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and also received a musical education. Mrs. Graham is a daughter of William and Catharine McKlveen, and was educated in the common schools. Her father, who is still living at the very advanced age of ninety, is a retired farmer of Ligonier township. He has held a number of offices, affording the unusual instance of a Democrat elected in a Republican township. His ancestors emigrated from Ireland and first settled near Baltimore, Maryland.