Coleman, Chester

Augustus Graham (d.1851), born Richard King in Modbury, Devon, England, was the son of John King and Mary King (nee Barrons). Modbury Parish Records list his baptism as April 15, 1776. It is unclear when Richard King began calling himself Augustus Graham. In 1806, Graham married Martha Cocke (sometimes written as Cock) in Frederick County, Maryland. By 1808, Graham had become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Also around that time, he left his wife and two children at her parents' family farm in Maryland. Graham continued to financially support his wife and children, though he would never live with them again. Only one of Graham's children, Elizabeth (Eliza), lived into adulthood.

Also around 1808, Graham formed a business partnership with John Bell. Bell, a Scotsman originally from Northern Ireland, also adopted the surname of Graham. As the Graham brothers, their initial business ventures included running a stagecoach line in Maryland, a lumber business in Delhi, N.Y, and a brewery and distillery in Norwich, N.Y. In 1815, Augustus and John moved their brewery and distillery to Brooklyn, N.Y. After the original distillery burned down in 1816, they built a larger distillery, this time to much financial success. By 1822, they had left the distillery business and started the Brooklyn White Lead Company. Incorporated in 1825, the white lead company grew to employ 90 people and was valued at $435,000.

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