Sgt. Benjamin Graham

Sgt Benjamin Graham

Sgt. Benjamin Graham

Obituaries

The Baltimore Sun, Monday, 17 June 1895
To Hear Audio of this article, click HERE

17 June 1895

Sgt. Benjamin Graham, a retired member of the Baltimore Police Department, died yesterday [16, 1895] at his home, located at 2010 Canton Ave. He was in his seventy-sixth year of life. He had been on the police department's retired list since April 22, 1880. His death came as the result of a complication caused by troubles brought about by injuries received while he was on active duty. While on duty eleven years earlier, Sgt. Graham was badly injured after being struck by a coasting sleigh. It was those injuries that caused his retirement from the force and subsequently ended his life. At the time of his service, he was assigned to the Eastern District, where he had served for the last thirteen years of his service.

The sergeant had an eventful career. He was born in Somerset County, Maryland, and started out early in his youth to become a sailor. In his seafaring years, he was shipwrecked twice, sailed around Cape Horn half a dozen times, and made a circuit of the world once. When he was eighteen years old, he was on the ship Mary Kimball, which was wrecked in mid-ocean and whose crew drifted about for several days in the ship's lifeboat until rescued by an English bark and landed at Liverpool. He also served on the ships Governor Davis, Mary Anne, Richard Cobden, and the French bark Lillia of Marseille between the time of his first wreck and 1845. In that year, he went to New Orleans on the transport ship America, from which port she took troops to Vera Cruz for the Mexican War. He was in the Baltimore clipper ship Republic when she was wrecked in 1848 off the coast of Ireland. After that, he was in ships in the South American trade and sailed around to the Pacific, then came back east and entered as second-mate vessels that ran in the China trade. Next, he tried his luck in the California gold fields for about eight months and then came back to Baltimore.

In 1857, Sergeant Graham was appointed to the Baltimore Police Department, where he remained until after the April Riots, with the Massachusetts Troops as they were passing through Baltimore on April 19, 1861. He was compelled to resign due to political differences, but in 1867 he was reappointed to the force and made a sergeant, serving until his retirement. Sgt. Graham was married twice; his second wife and seven children survive him. Mr. George W. Graham, an employee of the Baltimore Post Office, is his son.

.1 black devider 800 8 72

When a coasting sleigh struck Sergeant Benjamin Graham while he was on duty, he suffered complications from the injuries he had sustained approximately 11 years earlier.The injuries caused him to medically retire on April 22nd, 1886. He never fully recovered, and he died on June 16th, 1895, after developing gangrene and septicemia as a result of the initial injury. The exact date and location where the injury occurred are not known.

Sergeant Graham had served with the Baltimore City Police Department for a total of 23 years. His second wife and seven children survived him. Prior to joining the police department in 1857, Sergeant Graham served as a sailor and had been shipwrecked twice.

 

1 black devider 800 8 72The Baltimore Sun Mon Jun 17 1895 Line of duty72

Click the Above Pic to See Full Size Article or Click HERE 
To Hear Audio of this article, click HERE
1 black devider 800 8 72

More Details

NameDescription
End of Watch 16 June 1895
City, St. 2010 Canton Ave
Panel Number N/A
Cause of Death  Complications from LODI
District Worked Eastern

1 black devider 800 8 72

POLICE INFORMATION

Copies of: Your Baltimore Police Department Class Photo, Pictures of our Officers, Vehicles, Equipment, Newspaper Articles relating to our department and/or officers, Old Departmental Newsletters, Lookouts, Wanted Posters, and/or Brochures. Information on deceased officers and anything that may help preserve the history and proud traditions of this agency. Please contact retired detective Kenny Driscoll.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Devider color with motto

NOTICE

How to Dispose of Old Police Items

Please contact Det. Ret. Kenny Driscoll if you have any pictures of you or your family members and wish them remembered here on this tribute site to honor the fine men and women who have served with honor and distinction at the Baltimore Police Department. Anyone with information, photographs, memorabilia, or other "Baltimore City Police" items can contact Ret. Det. Kenny Driscoll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. follow us on Twitter @BaltoPoliceHist, like us on Facebook or mail pictures to 8138 Dundalk Ave., Baltimore, Md. 21222

 

Copyright © 2002 Baltimore City Police History: Ret Det. Kenny Driscoll