Ippie Purvis Graham (1889-1962)

From the 1949 South Carolina Manual of the legislature.

   Following on the heels of the April 18th article on Fleetus Lee Gobble, today's write-up highlights the life and accomplishments of another North Carolina State Representative--Ippie Purvis Graham. This interestingly named man served alongside Fleetus Gobble in the North Carolina legislature for several years, and one can wonder if these two funny-named politicians ever went palling around the state capitol together. I can almost imagine someone falling over with laughter when they were introduced to representatives "Ippie" and "Fleetus"!

   All humor aside, Ippie P. Graham's curious name didn't keep him from pursuing a lengthy career in public service. His story begins on February 3, 1889, when he was born in Proctorville, North Carolina, the son of Charles William and Mary Jane Hedgpeth Graham. Graham received the unusual first name "Ippie" in honor of his uncle, a North Carolina Baptist minister named Ippie Purvis Hedgpeth, and the only available biographical source on Graham is a brief write-up in the North Carolina Manual published during his service in the legislature. His birth year is variously given as either 1889 or 1890, although a good majority of the sources mentioning him give 1889 as the correct year.

  Graham received his education at the Stinson Institute and later studied at the King's Business College from 1911-1912. The majority of Graham's life was centered around farming pursuits in his native town, and he is listed by the North Carolina Manual as being the proprietor of a cotton gin. In addition to his being a farmer, the Manual mentions Graham as being a cashier at the Bank of Proctorville and also as a Sunday school superintendent for the Proctorville Baptist Church. Graham later married Ms. Athesia Powell (1895-1974), with whom he had three children, Hal, Paul, and daughter Stennett Graham McLeod (1927-2016).

                                          Ippie P. Graham, from the May 31, 1942 edition of the Robesonian.

   Ippie Graham's first candidacy for public office came during the First World War when he was elected as Mayor of Proctorville, serving from 1917-1919. Graham's obituary in the 1962 Robesonian newspaper also gives note that he served as judge of the Fairmont Recorder Court for six years, 1933-1939. In Graham's last year of service on that court, the citizens of Robeson County elected him to the first of four terms in the North Carolina State House of Representatives, and he began his first term in January 1939. His service in the legislature lasted nearly a decade (except the 1941-43 session) and during his tenure held seats on several committees, including the following: Agriculture; Appropriations; Banks and Banking; Congressional Districts; Counties, Cities, and Towns; Court and Judicial Districts; Drainage; Education; the Journal; Military Affairs; and Printing.

Ippie Graham receiving the Adrian B. McRae Award for Robeson County Man of the Year, in 1961.

   At the conclusion of his legislative service in 1949, Graham returned to his home in Proctorville and later held a seat on the Proctorville Board of Education from 1949 until he retired from public life in 1961. He served as the chairman of this board from 1950 until the fall of 1960. The Robesonian also notes that Graham was honored by his fellow citizens as Robeson County Man of the Year for 1961. In addition to this accolade, Graham was a longstanding member in the Masonic Lodge of Proctorville.

  Ippie Purvis Graham died at a hospital in Lumberton, North Carolina on February 10, 1962, at age 73 and was later interred at the Proctorville Cemetery in Fairmont, North Carolina. The obituary below for Graham marks the second picture that I've located of the man, and I'm extremely happy to have located it (via the website newspaperarchive.com!)

Graham's obituary as it appeared in the Robesonian on January 12, 1962.