Worden Griffin and Rhoda Hull

The story of Mercy Griffin daughter of Worden Griffin and Rhoda Hull.

Finding the true identity of Mercy Griffin, daughter of Worden and Rhoda Griffin, has taken a twisting path to say the least. Earlier generations of family genealogists had provided very little concerning the family, including the two girls, Sabra Steevens and Mercy, of Worden and Rhoda Hull. Their children are not identified in the Barbour Collection a source for much of what we know concerning the earliest Griffins. We have slowly identified Worden’s children as we have found record of them scattered among the recorded history of Killingworth. The first real discovery of Worden’s girls was found in the family history of another Connecticut family the Havens. The Silas Havens family has published a very detailed history of its several generations. It records births and marriages, children and grandchildren. It records the marriage of Silas Havens to Sabra Steevens Griffin. The history states that after Sabra’s untimely death Silas then married her sister Marietta who I identified as Mercy Marietta, Marietta a middle name that I had not found in Killingworth. Between the two sisters he fathered fourteen children. The history is rich in its first person descriptions of both women. It states, among other things, that their mother Rhoda Hull was the seventh daughter in a family of all daughters. In the world of folk medicine such women were reputed to have special healing powers. The description is a true description of Rhoda Hull Griffin. The story is so compelling that I took it at face value. About a year later I came across a marriage record for a Mercy Griffin and Daniel Stevens. The discovery of a second Mercy Griffin was nevertheless intriguing. As I worked on other Killingworth projects I kept an eye out for the second Mercy. While reviewing church records for material for my blog I quickly scanned the index under Stevens. Much to my surprise I found that on November 21, 1830 Daniel and Mercy Stevens had five children baptized. Their oldest boy was named, Samuel Griffin Stevens. Samuel Griffin was the name of Worden’s father, grandfather to Sabra and Mercy Marietta. Would a non-family member give that name to a child? With this revelation I began an all out search for Worden’s daughter Mercy. One of the first projects was to go back to the original records to find the date of birth for Mercy. In the personal notebook of Abraham Pierson, the Pastor in Killingworth, is recorded “Mercy daughter of Worden Griffin baptized September 23, 1798”. Taking a look at burial records for Marietta Havens her date of birth is given as 1809. All references to Mercy Griffin Stevens use the date of September 23, 1798. It became clear that Worden’s girl Mercy did in fact marry Daniel Stevens. This fact was confirmed as I discovered additional documentation. I found their marriage record dated May 1, 1817. In Killingworth town records is recorded a detailed death notice “Mercy Griffin Stevens wife of Daniel died January 15, 1861 parents Worden Griffin, Hull”. Married in 1817 on November 21, 1830 Daniel Stevens was baptized into the Killingworth 2nd Society along with his children, Samuel Griffin, Martha Roxanna, Maria Cynthia, Rhoda Angeline, Sabra Maryette, Charles Ellsworth.

The Mercy Griffin project then shifted gears toward gathering enough information to put together a picture of Mercy’s family. Not being born under the Congregational Covenant there are no birth or baptismal records until the 1830 baptismal record. The goal now was to find other dates, marriages deaths etc. to provide some degree of certainty to the identity of these children. The hardest to find information on was Daniel Stevens. There is no record of his birth in Killingworth He is always referred to as Daniel 2nd in records concerning his children. But I could not find a record of a Daniel Stevens with a son Daniel in any of the Middlesex County communities. There is a listing for a Moses Stevens. One transcribed record of his birth writes “Moses (dau?) of” I am guessing that the (dau?) was originally written Daniel not dau the short hand used for daughter. Moses born in Killingworth raised his family in nearby Haddam. He married Martha Burr, Martha a name used by Daniel and Mercy. Daniel’s date of birth listed June 4, 1796 a match for Mercy’s in 1798. Hoping to find at least one concrete date for him I reviewed the records for each of the Killingworth Cemeteries. Much to my surprise I found he and Mercy interned in the “Burying Yard” , the one purchased from the city by the family in 1794 next to the Griffin homestead, along with Mercy’s father and mother and not far from Thankful and Nathan Buell. In addition the information confirmed the 1796 birth date from Haddam. Even more surprising was the discovery of two more children, Ellis M. and Harmon E.. Having started out thinking I had a list of all of Daniel and Mercy’s children I now had to consider the possibility that there were still other children. I returned to the Congregational Church Records going through them line by line. There I found the records for four additional children. Francis, Eliza, a second Ellis M, and Emerson.
Let me introduce you to the family of Daniel and Mercy Griffin Stevens.

Samuel Griffin: The baptismal record lists him first so he was probably born 1818/19; He married Elizabeth Parmelee June 23, 1841. They made their home in Haddam. Census records list him as a shoemaker. Elizabeth died September 6, 1861. Samuel lived alone relying on his children and siblings for comfort for another forty years. Town records list his death February 3, 1900.

Cynthia Maria: Probably born 1819/20 married Comfort Prout August 34, 1842 in Killingworth she died August 24, 1843.

Martha Roxanna: Listed third in the baptismal record. No other records for her have been found, probably born about 1822.

Rhoda Angeline: Listed after Martha, the 1900 Census places her date of birth as April ,1824. Connecticut birth and death index list it as April 23, 1824, death recorded as August 14, 1904 in Plainville, Connecticut. Married Charles Wellman October 19, 1846 in Killingworth. They made their home in Guilford. After Charles’s death married Gilbert Richardson.

Sabra Maryette: Family history puts her date of birth at June 21, 1826, Census records confirm the year. Died August 14, 1866 in Chester, Connecticut. Married Harlow Lewis December 5, 1847 in Killingworth.

Charles Ellsworth: Probably born 1828/29, listed with his siblings, in the 1830 baptismal record. There were no other records in Killingworth for Charles we found our first hint of him in a collection of family letters that I found housed in the Connecticut State Library. Two of the letters were from his wife to the widower Daniel Stevens. She signed them Eliza. On first inspection I thought they were from Charles’s sister Eliza. She listed their address as Bethany, Connecticut. Looking in those records I found a birth record for one of their children. The name of the child has been lost but it identifies the parent as Charles E Stevens and Eliza A Talmadge. It further identifies Prospect, Connecticut as the place where she was born. They seem to have started their married life in Prospect then moved next door to Bethany. They then moved to Durham and lived close to Samuel. It seems that they then moved to North Branford and took over Ellis’s farm after his death. Charles died March 8, 1893.

Francis Henry: Baptized in the 2nd Society October30, 1831. He is listed at age 19 in a census record. No marriage records have been found.

Eliza Fidelia: Baptized October 23, 1836, born March 23, 1834, died June 13, 1919 in Plainville, Connecticut. Married Henry Wellman October 20, 1859 in Killingworth. They raised their family in Madison moving to Plainville later in life. The ladies auxiliary records the transfer of her church records from Madison along with a short biography. Of note, I was confused as to why Rhoda would live most of her life in Guilford only to relocate late in life to Plainville. Then I found the information on Eliza. Charles and Henry Wellman were brothers. The widowed sisters passed their later days together in Plainville. She must have been a favorite sister the 1860 census shows Ellis living with her.

Harmon Emerson: Baptized April 2, 1836. His headstone reads “Harmon E Stevens, son of Daniel & Mercy, died April 15, 1842 age 6yrs”. Named after Mercy’s brother.

Ellis Munroe: Baptized April 2, 1839. Headstone reads, “ Ellis M son of Daniel & Mercy, died Apr 2, 1839 age 9 mos”. It appears that he was a sickly child hurriedly baptized on the day he died. His baptism was recorded in the 2nd Society records.

Ellis Munroe: His baptism is also recorded in the 2nd Society records as September 12, 1841. As was a common practice he was named after an older brother who had died too young. This tradition would make a great subject for a church sermon on family. Those families had a strong desire to keep alive the memory of their dearly departed that left this world too soon. This action testifies that they want to be remembered. Ellis married Sarah Burr. They raised their family in North Branford. Ellis died young April 22, 1882 his wife remarried.

Emerson Rilando: Carrying the name of a deceased brother he was baptized September 5, 1845. Town and Census records indicate he probably died about 1929 in Branford, Connecticut. He had three children all born in Guilford. Listed as divorced he and his son Fredrick lived the life of old bachelors until his death. Ellis and Emerson joined the army together their names listed consecutively on the enlistment record. They joined in 1861 Emerson left in 1864 Ellis fought until the end of the war. Both are listed as having been wounded. Their unit was attached to General Ord who commanded an army corps under Grant in the battle for Richmond. This corps took the leading role in the events that ended up at Appomattox, General Ord being present as Grant and Lee signed the surrender. Ellis probably witnessed the pageantry that was involved in the surrender ceremonies as the southern troops laid down their arm

Part of the miracle of this voyage of discovery was finding a manuscript collection in the Connecticut State Library titled “Letters to Daniel Stevens of Killingworth”. The letters are somewhat plain in their content offering up very little family history information. They do contain two hints. We find out that Charles is married to an Eliza and that their brother Frank (Francis) is still alive in the 1860s. However they are rich in family sentiment. They always start with Dear Father. The collection is centered on the years that Ellis and Emerson were serving in the army. The family news is centered around the families deep concern for their welfare. Sabra’s letters in particular cry out with her anguish expressing her fears that they will be lost. Ellis writes in one of his letters that with their mothers passing Sabra has become like a mother to him. Ellis and Emerson’s letters are full of concern for their fathers' well being. They often state that they wish that they could see him. They both write that they are sending him the bonus money they received for reenlisting for another year’s military service. Ellis is the more prolific writer he always gives a report on Emerson who he refers to as Em. Later when Charles joins the army late in the war he also always gives a report on Charles who he calls Barb. There is a letter from Eliza Fidelia in which she describes the family’s plans for Thanksgiving. She reminds her father that he need not worry about the food since the family had all arranged to bring plenty. Ellis writes he wishes he could be home for the Thanksgiving gathering. An early letter from Samuel, the older brother, contains a warning that Daniel needs to make sure the baby brothers keep up their share of support for their father. He need not to have worried. Their letters constantly express a deep concern for their father. There are notes on teething children, pigs to be butchered, sausage to make. There are requests of their father to save them some of his cranberry harvest. There are reports on the shoes that he made for his grandchildren. There are inquiries on the state of the vegetable gardens and potato crop, hay harvest. There is a, “I wish you were here I made mince pies today”. In the collection is a letter from a stone carver discussing their specifications for headstones for their grandparents, Worden and Rhoda Hull Griffin. There is a constant reference to letters received from each other. But what the letters really say is that these people are real. They were very much a family. They are very much our family.

The remaining question from this journey is who was Marietta Havens? What evidence connect her to Worden? Sabra Steevens Griffin Havens named two of her children Charles and Eliza. Marietta Havens used the names Sabra, Angeline, Cynthia, Francis, Munroe, and Worden. Mercy Griffin Stevens used Sabra Maryetta, Charles, Eliza, Angeline, Cynthia, Francis and Munroe. Harmon Griffin used Charles and Eliza. Coincidence? With the passing of Abraham Pierson in 1802 the era of excellent record keeping in Killingworth was over. There are almost no records of births from 1800 to the 1840’s. Do you think Marietta Havens was a sister to Sabra and Mercy? Mercy Griffin and her family wants us to know who they are and I use the word are not were. I hope this suffices as a proper introduction.

Worden Griffin the grandson of Samuel and Mary was born September 6, 1772 to Samuel Griffin and Mercy Bailey. His birth recorded in the 2nd Society records. He died February 17, 1847. He rests in the "Burying Yard" next to his wife Rhoda Hull. He bought the home lot from his father and stayed in Killingworth as the rest of the family made the move to Vermont. Rhoda was born in Killingworth October 19, 1773 died one year after Worden December 9, 1848. They married February 15, 1796 the marriage recorded in the Killingworth town records. Children of record Sabra Steevens, Mercy and Harmon. Evidence suggests a fourth child Marietta.

Sabra Steevens: Listed in the 2nd Society records and also in Abraham Pierson’s personal journal a birth/baptismal date of November 27, 1796. There are no other records for her in Killingworth. We do find record of her in the family records of the Silas Havens family. They also record her name as Sabra Steevens, Steevens with the two e’s. A very unique combination of names with unique spellings. Given the world of genealogical research it’s hard to determine if the information came from their own records or from material they gathered with the assumption that it was correct. The nature of the Havens family story strongly indicates that they are drawing from family memories and records. Birth dates for her children indicate a marriage date of 1814/15. Her headstone records her death as February 26, 1826, age 30.

Mercy: Birth recorded in the same records as Sabra as September 23, 1798 listed as “daughter of Worden Griffin”.

Harmon: Birth and death information is gathered from his headstone “Harmon Griffin died Feb 20, 1860, age 59 yrs” putting his date of birth at 1801. He married his mother’s niece Betsy Hull September 29, 1827. Their two children, Eliza and Charles did not survive past childhood.

Mariette: There are almost no birth dates recorded in Killingworth from 1802 to the 1840’s. So there is no record of the birth of Mariette or any other possible children born to Worden and Rhoda after 1800. In a recent review of the 1820 Federal Census for Killingworth Worden is listed as having one child left at home a girl between the ages of 10 and 15. Sabra and Mercy are clearly outside of this range. Is this Marietta the girl vividly identified in Havens records as the daughter of Worden Griffin and Rhoda Hull sister of Sabra? Marietta married Silas September 29, 1826. On her headstone is written, “Maryette Havens, wife of Silas died March 18, 1884, age 74”.