Moses S. GRANTHAM Biography - Berkeley County GenWeb
Berkeley County West Virginia Biography of Moses S. GRANTHAM


         Born in Berkeley County, West Virginia, in 1819, Moses S. GRANTHAM was the son of William and Susannah (Fry) Grantham. His grandfather, Joseph Grantham bought 100 acres of land on Back Creek, west of North Mountain in Berkeley County, about 1790. His son, William, father of Moses, settled on that tract of land in 1792, marrying Susannah Fry in Jefferson County in 1793 and bringing her to Back Creek Valley where they raised eight children: Jemima Grantham, Lewis Grantham, John Grantham, Maria Grantham, Eliza Grantham, Lydia Grantham, Catherine Grantham and Moses S Grantham. The subject of this biography owned and farmed the original home farm with more than 600 added acres in Shanghai, Gerrardstown district, Berkeley County, West Virginia.

         In 1869, Moses S. Grantham married Melvina Kitchen, who was born in 1836 near Ganotown, Berkeley County, and was the daughter of B.M. and Mary (Buzzard) Kitchen.

         Moses S. Grantham was state senator for both Virginia and West Virginia, having been elected to the former when he was 25 and serving two terms. He served one term in West Virginia in 1875. He was judge of county court for several years, was one of the founders of the first bank in the county and helped establish the Peoples National Bank, where he was a director. Mr. Grantham owned several farms in the county; he lost 17 slaves, 22 horses and other property during the Civil War.

    Submitted by Marilyn Gouge and extracted from West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia, a reprint of Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia Berkeley County, WV, Biographies List, 1884.

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