Charles F and Emma
L Graziani
Information comes from an article
published in Pieces of the Past, Volume 2, page 51-52 by Jim Reis and used with
his permission.
Charles Graziani was born in 1806 at Oneglia, a small town on the Liguria Sea in northwest Italy near Genoa. As a young man, Graziani joined the democratic movement in the 1830s and 1840s. That movement led to a revolution across Italy in 1848. By the time the revolution began, however, Graziani had left, forced out as an exile. His travels eventually led him to New York in 1845 and then to Campbell County, where he settled near Cold Spring.
He married an English woman named Emma Laura Sanham and they had nine children. Charles Graziani was an accomplished artist. He boarded the steamer "General Lytle" on August 6, 1866 to sketch the boat. The steamer exploded near Madison Indiana on the Ohio River about 18 miles downstream from Madison, Ind. About 20 people were killed or seriously injured. Among those who died was Grazaini. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
Children of Charles Graziani and Emma Laura Sanham
1. John R Graziani b-14 Feb 1835 in England;
d-22 Sep 1926 in Covington; br-Evergreen
2. J Anna Belle Graziani b-25 Dec 1841 in England; d-9 May 1912 in Covington; br-Evergreen
3. Lawrence Lorenzo Graziani b-1846 in Charleston, South Carolina; d-15 Mar 1887
in Covington; m-Mattie E
Lancaster 20 Mar 1880 in Covington
4. Joseph Graziani b-13 Aug 1851 in Cold Spring Ky. d-22 Mar 1919 in Kenton Co;
m-Josephine T Murnan 18 Feb 1875 in Kenton Co
5. Italia Graziani b-1856 in Cold Spring
6. Benjamin F Graziani b-16 Nov 1858 in Cold Spring; d-14 Jan 1923 in Covington;
br-Evergreen
Emma Laura Sanham was born 1818 in England and died 22 Aug 1882 in Kenton Co. She was also buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
The youngest of Graziani's nine children, Benjamin F Graziani, was born in Cold Spring November 16, 1858. Benjamin attended school in Campbell County, but in 1868 he moved with his mother to Covington to continue his education. They had relatives in Covington, including an Emma Graziani, who lived at 724 Philadelphia St. She died 6 Dec 1891 in Covington and was buried in the Graziani lot in Evergreen Cemetery.
Benjamin got a job as a clerk in the stores of C W Deland and L C Hopkins and he became a salesman for John Shilito and C S Weatherby in Cincinnati. He began attending law school in Cincinnati in 1878 and graduated May 28, 1884. He opened a law practice at 508 Madison Ave. in Covington and became a prominent criminal attorney. He lived at 818 Greer St. at the time.
His brother, John was vice president of The Trumpet Milling Co. at Fifth and Craig streets in Covington. In 1890 Benjamin was elected to the Covington School Board and in 1893 became board president. In 1891 he married Eliza York. His law practice continued to win him attention. October 8, 1892, Benjamin Graziani was identified among a trio of prominent young attorneys. In the 1890s he was elected twice to the legislature and became a strong opponent of gambling and poolrooms.
In 1911 Benjamin became a central figure in a scandal that dragged in the courts until 1919 when he was finally found not guilty. He sued the street car company which brought the scandal for more than $250,000 and did receive a settlement.
He died January 14, 1923 at his home 326 E Second St. in
Covington. Services were held at the Scott Street Methodist Church and he
was buried in Evergreen Cemetery.