Mary Jane Griffin, 8 June, 1821

Mary Jane Griffin was born in Clinton, Connecticut, June 8, 1821 daughter of James Needham Griffin Jr. and Jemima Rossiter. She was named after an older sister who died in infancy. Clinton in the early 1800s had turned to the sea. A good number of her men became sailors and ship captains including our own Edward Griffin. Shipbuilding became a major industry. Cargo’s included lumber, molasses and cattle to the West Indies and building stones to New York. The famous brownstones in New York architecture were quarried in Connecticut. Clinton has a center for cutting and shaping the stone. Moses Santy was one of the many who came to Clinton to work in the stone yards. He was joined by the Brooks brothers who married Mary’s sisters. He met and married Miss Mary Jane Griffin. We find in the town records “ This certified that Mr. Moses Santy of Meriden and Miss Mary Jane Griffin of Clinton were by me this day legally joined in marriage December 31, 1845 E.L. Huntington Minister of the Gospel”. The young couple moved to Moses’s hometown of Meriden, New Haven County, Connecticut where they made their home. The town history of Meriden indicates that Moses ran his own stone yard. Their home, which is described as being built of stone in the Greek revival style of architecture, is on the historic registry. Moses was born in Canada and became a naturalized citizen in 1863. The Santy’s only had one child, George H. , born April 11, 1849 he only lived into his 40’s. Census records show him living with his parents listed as a “silver plater”. Moses left his entire estate to Mary in his will. With no surviving children Mary leaves her estate to her nieces and nephews. When we were conducting our original search for James and Jemima’s family Mary’s will provided clues as to the connection between the then supposed sisters. In her will she names her sister Maria Louisa’s two boys Charles and George and her sister Susan Cecelia’s son James. There is a large stone headstone in the West Cemetery in Meriden with the names of the Santy family carved on it. “Moses Santy Feb 15, 1827-July 7, 1901, Mary J. His Wife June 8, 1821-Feb 27, 1903, George H. Santy April 11, 1849-July 6, 1889”. ------Mary Jane / James N / James Needham / James / Samuel Griffin. We have included the marriage record for Moses and Mary and also their death records. We have added the birth record for their son George and copies of their wills.