San
Joaquin County
Biographies
WILLIAM HENRY GRAHAM
Business enterprise has found a
stalwart supporter in William Henry Graham, whose progressive spirit and
determination have been manifest in all that he has undertaken and who by reason
of his individual effort, intelligently directed, has gained a prominent
position in the business circles of Lodi.
He was born in Iroquois County, Illinois, on December 29, 1886, a son of
James M. and Martha C. (McCray) Graham, the former a native of Indiana and the
latter of Illinois, both of Scotch ancestry.
His parents came to California, settled in Whittier in 1897, when our
subject was eleven years of age. He was
employed at various occupations, setting pins in a bowling alley, selling ice
cream and many other odd jobs. When he
was twelve years old he accompanied his father on a trip through California and
Oregon, with a team and wagon, the trip consuming four months.
When he was seventeen years old he
entered the employ of Kiler & Cushing at Whittier
with the intention of learning the manufacture of concrete piping and during a
part of the time he was privileged to attend school. Then he went to the Imperial Valley and for
four years was employed by the San Diego Cement Pipe Company. During the nine years of his employment while
learning his trade he had not accumulated any money and when he arrived in Lodi
on August 14, 1912, he possessed a capital of $2.60, but his determination to
succeed was never lost sight of and as he knew how to make cement pipe, he
established a business in that line. He
had a considerable struggle to make good, and was advised by interested friends
not to start such a business, as there was not enough call for his product, but
his thorough understanding of his chosen occupation enabled him to continue and
his business has steadily grown until he is considered among the most prominent
business men of Lodi. His plant is
modern in every way and is located on South Main Street, fully equipped with
the most up-to-date machinery for the manufacture of cement pipe, including a
machine for the manufacture of Blystone building
tile, which is used in the construction of residences and buildings. This is a new invention and the tile is
giving general satisfaction. His first
contract for the laying of concrete pipe was on the ranch of Warren Fowler,
riding out to his ranch on a bicycle to solicit the order. He has made and laid many miles of pipe in
the Lodi district wherever pipe is used for irrigating purposes in the orchards
and vineyards. He laid over two miles of
pipe on the C. C. Woodworth ranch, over three miles on the Peter Jones ranch,
one of the largest Tokay vineyards in the county, and Ing
Brothers, who have the largest in the county.
In the immediate vicinity of Lodi, among others he has laid pipe on the
ranches of J. T. Langford, John B. Cory and W. H. Lorenz. He laid two miles of pipe on the Hunt Bros.
ranch at Linden and was the successful winner of the contract for the $17,000
storm sewer for the city of Lodi; he also manufactured $14,000 worth of pipe
for the Stockton sewer system. In 1923
he finished a contract to lay four miles of pipe at Davis, California, for the
University of California. His work is
guaranteed and his products are thoroughly tested and entire satisfaction is
given before a contract is considered completed, thus enabling him to secure
the best class of business of the county.
Mr. Graham is the father of three
girls, Myrtle Evelyn, Mildred May and Elenore Juanita, who reside with their
father at 339 East Oak Street.
Fraternally he is a member of the Stockton Elks, No. 218, the Eagles,
Knights of Pythias, Lodi Lodge No. 256, F. and A. M., the Lodi Business Men’s
Club and the Mokelumne Club.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1256-1259. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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