William Miller Graham

William Miller Graham (December 14, 1860 – February 20, 1930) was an oil tycoon known as the "California Oil King".

Early life

Graham was born on December 14, 1860, in Cornplanter, Pennsylvania, where his father was an engineer at the oil wells. He had at least three sisters and four brothers.

He was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Career

Graham, who moved from Pennsylvania to Tulsa, Oklahoma, made his fortune in petroleum holdings in Carter County, Oklahoma. He later started California Oilfields Limited, took leases in the Coalinga Oil Fields, then sold the company to Royal Dutch-Shell in 1913.[1] He served as president of the Graham Oil and Gas company.[2] In 1910, he traveled to New York to close a deal "that contemplates supplying California oil for consumption by trans-Atlantic steamers."[3]

By the mid-1920s, Graham was having serious financial problems. His fortune, at one time well over $20,000,000, had shrunk to $150.[4] When he filed a voluntary bankruptcy in the District Court of Los Angeles in 1925, his debts were in excess of $1,643,000 against assets totaling $1,706. His largest creditor was the Prairie Oil and Gas Company of Oklahoma, whom he owed $600,000.[4]

Personal life

In 1889, Graham was married to Lee Eleanor "Birdie" Pollock (1870–1944). Originally from Paris, Kentucky, her family moved to Philadelphia, where she met Graham at a church social. After they married, they moved to Oklahoma where he struck oil and made a fortune. They came east after that and were prominent in society, both in New York City and in Newport, Rhode Island.[10] Before Birdie obtained a divorce from Graham in Tulsa in January 1921,[11] they were the parents of:

Their daughter made her formal début at Bellosguardo during the season of 1919. When the Prince of Wales visited California. he met and danced with Geraldine, and was quoted as saying that she was "the most beautiful girl in America."[15] Reportedly, his wife received $20,000,000 in their divorce as well as Bellosguardo. In November 1921, his ex-wife, who became known as Mrs. Pollock Graham, was reportedly engaged to James J. Van Alen (widower of Emily Astor, daughter of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor),[20]

External links

• Exterior view of the Graham residence in Santa Barbara, ca.1920 at the California Historical Society
• Portrait of Geraldine Graham Dabney, 1924 at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum
• Portrait of W. Earl Graham, 1926 at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum