Joel Griffin October 4, 1767 to September 15, 1833

Joel was the son of Samuel Griffin and his second wife, Mercy Nettleton. His birth/bapstism is recorded in the ledger of the Killingworth Congregational Second Society. On Oct 4, 1767 is the entry, "Joel son of Samuel Griffin. By the 1780’s most of the available land from the original Killingworth land grant had been allotted. As a result when Samuel Griffin and his wife Mercy Nettleton's boys reached the marrying age they were forced to look elsewhere to find suitable farmland of their own. This generation of young men represented the first major exodus out of the original Colonies. For most of the young men in Connecticut the move was north. They moved on to the upper counties in Connecticut or western Massachusetts. Those seeking a little more adventure made the move all the way to the newly established land grants in Vermont. Samuel’s boys were part of this generation. The first to leave Killingworth were his two oldest sons Joel and Asahel. Joel and Asahel ended up in southern Vermont in New Haven. They are both listed in New Haven in the 1790 Census. Both married in New Haven, Asahel to Polly Loyal and Joel to Submit Alvord. The only record of the marriage is in a history written by the Alvord family. Asahel purchased land and established the farm that we documented earlier in the Blog. There is no record of Joel buying property in New Haven. With no evidence for Joel in New Haven we began to search for him. We found him while conducting an audit of the 1800 Census for the whole state of Vermont. In 1800 the census records indicate that he was living in northern Vermont in Swanton about twenty miles from his father. In Swanton the records seem to indicate that Joel took on more of the role of a businessman rather than that of a farmer. Records indicate that he managed the concession for the toll road and bridge leading into Swanton. He also served as the town constable. In that role he was used by the courts to police land transactions. On one of the documents that we have included, which identifies him as a constable, we find his signature. As you can see by his signature, in this instance, he served as a “collector” for payments due. In most deeds written in this period all of the names on a deed are written in by the clerk who then adds his signature as verification for all of the names. In this case Joel is the person signing for all of the parties so the signature shown is probably Joel’s. Joel and Asahel both started their married life in very young communities. Record keeping was very spotty. As a result we have very few birth records for their children. In Joel’s case we have an exception. When a new community was legally established a probate court was set up to manage the land transactions. The court obtained a set of ledgers that were to be used as the official record for all land sales and transactions. The original land grant and the documents establishing the legitimacy of the court were recorded in the front of these ledgers. As the clerks were setting up the ledgers in Swanton one of them took a page to record a few of the earliest births. After that brief record there were no other births recorded in Swanton for the next dozen or so years. To our good fortune three of Joel’s’ children are listed on that one page of records, Oramel born March 26, 1794, Milton born January 18, 1796 and Lois born October 78, 1797. The 1800 Census shows Joel with a family of three boys and two girls but we do not have any records for Joel’s other children born in Swanton. Joel and Asahel sold their Vermont holdings and made the move to Franklin County, New York seeking bigger and better opportunities some time around their father's death in 1808. Joel ended up in Bangor/Malone and Asahel nearby in Moira. Both established successful working farms and raised their families. Several more children were born to Joel and Submit in New York. Again we are faced with a new community where very few records were kept. Based on census records Joel and Submit seem to have buried a young boy and two young girls and his adult son Aaron in Bangor. In the New York period we also lost track of his oldest child, a girl, probably born in New Haven. We find in the family records of Hiram Luther Drake notations that his wife was Lois Griffin. The census records indicate that Lois was born in Vermont in about 1797. Most telling that she is the daughter of Joel Griffin is the fact that she named her oldest son Oramel after her brother. Joel’s final days were spent with his son Oramel who had moved even further west eventually settling in Rushford, New York. Oramel had become a very successful businessman. He became what we would refer to today as a land developer. A community he established as a stopping place on the Genesee Valley Canal still bears his name Oramel, New York. Joel and Submit along with his sons Milton and Joel Jr. and his two daughters Sophia (Augustus Hitchcock) and Saphronia (Solon Nichols) all followed Oramel to Rushford. The later history of the family in the area revolves around Oramel’s daughter Achsah who married M. B. Champlain. Mr. Champlain became the attorney general for the state of New York. At one point he was under consideration to become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. We have included pictures of her and her husband and a picture taken inside of her home in Cuba, New York. Joel is buried in a family plot in the White Cemetery just outside of Rushford. At some point after his death Joel’s grandchildren, who were among the most prominent families in the county, erected a marble pillar to mark the spot of the Griffin Plot. Joel and Submit are buried there along with Oramel and his wife Caroline Gary and his two sons Solon and Jackson, Solon and his wife Bridget and Jackson all died in Michigan. Their remains were brought back to Rushford for burial. Also in the plot are Joel Jr. and his wife Clarissa Frost. The headstones and the pillar record provide the following information. Solon W. 1836-1902. (Solon died in Union, Branch, Michigan April 20, 1902)- Bridget (Bridget is Solon’s wife)- Oramel Griffin Died Sept 15, 1877 aged 83 Yrs- Caroline wife of Oramel Died Feb 26, 1848 Aged 43 Yrs- Jackson Griffin Died Sept 11, 1893 Aged 54 Yrs (Kalamazoo, Michigan)- Joel Griffin Died Sept 15, 1833 Aged 66 Yrs- Submit his wife Died Sept 30, 1842 Aged 72 Yrs- Joel Griffin Jr Died Apr 22, 1871 Aged 70 Yrs- Clarissa wife of Joel Jr Died Oct 16, 1869 Aged 65 Yrs