Biography

03/1744 - 07/02/1791

First Lieutenant Sebastian Graff, Jr. (Federalist) Lancaster and York County 1790-1791

Early Life:

First Lieutenant Sebastian Graff Jr., born March 22, 1744, Lancaster, Lancaster County, Province of Pennsylvania, British Colonial America; son of Sebastian Sr. and Eva Weber Graff; member, Committee of Observation, Lancaster County, 1774-1775; First Lieutenant, Continental Army, July 1776; director, Juliana Library Company, 1784; delegate, Pennsylvania State Convention, which ratified United States Constitution, 1787; delegate, Pennsylvania State Convention, which framed the State Constitution of 1789; charter member, Senate of Pennsylvania; married, Catherine Jung,  children, Maria Magdalena Graff, Sebastian Graff, Christina Graff, Andrew Graff, Sarah Graff, George Graff, Anna Maria Graff, Catharine Graff; died July 2, 1791, in office of Senate, during second session, (editor’s note, could be the first member to die in office),  originally buried in Lancaster Moravian Church's graveyard, Lancaster Cemetery, Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Early Career:

First Lieutenant of Captain Andrew Graff's Company, (his brother) Continental Army, July 1776; Ephraim Blaine, served, Commissary General, Continental Army, engaged in purchasing supplies for the army at Valley Forge.

The Committee of Observation for Lancaster County, elected November 1774, met January 14, 1775, included Adam Reigart for the Borough of Lancaster, Sebastian Graff for the Manheim township. It appointed deputies to attend the Provincial Convention at Philadelphia January 23rd, including Sebastian Graff.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Lancaster County Commissioner, 1786.

Elected, Delegate, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention, ratified, United States Constitution, 1787.

Delegate, Pennsylvania State Convention, which framed the State Constitution of 1789.

Elected, Federalist, original member, Pennsylvania State Senate, Lancaster and York Counties, 1790-1791;died prior to August 29, 1791, replaced by Alexander Lowry, who resigned at the end of the session, September 30, 1791. 

Legacy:

Ratification of the Constitution by the State of Pennsylvania; December 12, 1787.

In the Name of the People of Pennsylvania

Be it Known unto all Men that We the Delegates of the People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in general Convention assembled Have assented to, and ratified, and by these presents Do in the Name and by the authority of the Same People, and for ourselves, assent to, and ratify the foregoing Constitution for the United States of America. Done in Convention at Philadelphia the twelfth day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "G". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Cox, Harold. Senate1790-1869 (wilkes.edu). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

A New Nation Votes (tufts.edu)

Sebastian Graff (1744-1791) - Find a Grave Memorial