Joseph Graham was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania on October 13, 1759. A resident of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, he became a captain in that county's regiment of the North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution. He helped cover the Patriot retreat from Charlotte in 1780 and was severely wounded by a British Dragoon and left for dead. Susanna Alexander found him near the Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church and brought him home where she and others tended to his wounds. After recovering, he became a major in the North Carolina Legion in 1781. After the war he represented Mecklenburg in the North Carolina State Senate from 1788 to 1793. He operated a successful early iron forge in Lincoln County and also served as a general in the North Carolina Militia during the War of 1812. He died in Mecklenburg County on November 12, 1836.