Probate File for Samuel Griffin 1739 to 1808

The nine documents that make up the probate file for Samuel Griffin are housed in the Vermont State Archives in Montpelier, Vermont. They are indexed by box number and file number. Samuel’s will is located in the third box in the collection. This would seem to indicate that his was one of the earliest wills filed in what was in 1808, a very young state. What makes Samuel’s will so important is that it names all of his living children except Worden. Why not Worden? If you have spent any time reviewing deed records in Killingworth it’s easy to come to the realization that Worden ended up with his fathers holdings in Killingworth. Even though he purchased the bulk of his father’s property from him it is my observation that portions of that exchange constituted an inheritance. I had my first glimpse of a small portion of the will in the 1980s. Up to that point I had no idea that he had been married three times with three subsets to his family. I believe a good portion of his descendants shared this observation. Among Samuel’s children tracing Joel and Asahel proved to be the biggest challenge they having left the smallest footprint in Killingworth. Finding the Moira connection and Asahel’s family led by David Griffin was a real revelation. And so it has been with every family group that I have met ever since. It is my hope that the Blog can provide the crossroad where all of Samuel’s family can meet. A good portion of Samuel’s family lived close to him in Vermont. Passing their inheritance on to them was probably very straightforward. But he also left an inheritance to his children still living in Killingworth. This seems to indicate that they were still very much in contact and that he had the means to deliver their inheritance to them. One hint of the closeness of the connection is the fact that his grandson Samuel, son of his son John, went back to Killingworth to claim a bride, Zaida Field who is recorded in the Killingworth Barbour records as Lodah Field. Of Samuel’s ten living children Lois Kelsey, Azuba Davis, Polly Doud, Mercy Pelton and his sons Joel, Asahel, Samuel, John, Dan and Worden someone in each of their posterity has made contact with the Blog. My own line traces its roots back to his son Samuel. The first document in the probate file is the cover to the file created by the archivist. As with all probate records each step taken by the court is noted. Some are brief simply stating the intentions of the court. The third document is a list of his remaining assets, farming equipment mainly and all of the bedding etc. required to maintain a very comfortable home. I noticed that he still had some of his joiners tools and his loom. Did he use the tools to make things for his grandchildren? Storage chests, chest of drawers, etc.? What did he make on his loom? Shawls, little blankets for dolls, a nice piece of cloth as a Christmas gift? It’s easy to note that he had very few possessions left at the time of his death. We need to remember that he and his son John were partners on the farm. Much of what he had probably belonged to the partnership and went to John. I can envision that late in his life as each of his sons visited he took them aside and said I want you to have this giving them some item that he knew had a special meaning. I have a collection of letters written by his grandchildren. Those letters paint a picture of a very close family. The news they share covers all of the current events concerning the whole of the their scattered family. I am sure the same was true of Samuel’s children. The fourth document has his signature on it and the last document has the signature of his wife Mercy and his son John. The key to the file is his will. A transcription of it is posted in the early sections of the blog. It gives us a perspective on his concern for his wife and children. What he gives away is an indication of what was valuable in his life. It also probably reflected things that his children wanted in order to keep his memory alive. I hope you all look upon these documents as your inheritance just as his children did in 1808.