Captain Edward Griffin land record from Colebrook

Captain Edward Griffin set aside funds in his will for the purchase of a farm for his wife Submit. Submit choose to purchase that farm in Colebrook, Litchfield County. In the church records we find her name along with that of her youngest child Edward. The farm was to be divided between the children when they reached the age of 21. Part of the farm was to remain in Submit’s name until her death. The deed records from Colebrook show Charles N. Griffin buying each of his siblings portion when they came of age. In 1819 Submit gives her portion to her children. This deed provided the clues that allowed us to find her adult children. It’s discovery opened the door to our research on Edward Griffin’s family. The deed identifies Timothy Gaylord 2nd and his wife Polly (Griffin) of Norfolk, Lyman and Fanny Dowd of Guilford, Martin Lawrence and his wife Submit (Griffin) of Colebrook. It also names Charles and Julia Griffin of Colebrook. Conspicuous by his absence is Harry Allen. The deed reads in part “Estate that our mother Submit Griffin had her Dower upon from the estate of her husband deceased”. Submit kept a home lot of one acre. A few years before her death we find a deed record in which Submit deeds her home and property to Augustus Elmer, her daughter Julia’s husband, in exchange for his pledge to support her for her remaining days. In relative terms the current value for the property portions of Edward’s will has a value of over $800.000.00. In the ‘” Find a Grave” internet site for Colebrook you can find a picture of Submit Griffin’s headstone in the Beach Hill Cemetery.

Fanny Griffin Dowd 1786-1820

Fanny Griffin Dowd the daughter of Captain Edward Griffin and his wife Submit DeWolf was born in 1786. In the 1790 census we find the family of Edward Griffin listed in Killingworth. Family histories and deed records place Edward in South Killingworth near his grandfather Samuel’s home in what would eventually become Clinton. By the time of his death in 1802 Edward had relocated to nearby Madison, Connecticut. There is a portion of Edward’s will, which we recently published, dedicated to Fanny. She was to inherit a good portion of the household furnishing enough I am sure to give her a head start in furnishing her own home when she married. We find her listed in the deed records that marked the final disposition of her mother’s estate. Recorded on the deed record are Lyman and Fanny Dowd of Guilford. In the records of the Congregational First Society of Madison we find a marriage for Lyman Dowd and Fanny Griffing in May of 1805 (document). The marriage is also reported in the Connecticut Harold dated Thursday, May 21, 1805. We also find a record of their children in the Guilford town records (document). Each child is identified as the son or daughter of Lyman and Fanny Dowd. The Dowd/Doud much like the Griffin/Griffing spelling is used interchangeably seeming at the whim of the particular clerk recording the event. The same is somewhat true for Guilford/Madison. In it’s early days Madison was called East Guilford. That is why we find records for Fanny listed in both towns. In Alvan Talcott’s original notes (document) and in his history “Families of Early Guilford Connecticut” (document) we find a detailed history for Fanny’s family. She is identified as Fanny Griffing daughter of Edward Griffing. Her children and their spouses are listed as well as a number of significant dates. ------Lyman Dowd was the son of Joseph Dowd and his wife Mary Blatchley. They lived in East Guilford. In Talcott’s history we find Lyman’s date of birth recorded as March 6, 1784 (document). In the Congregational records in Madison we find his death noted in March of 1852 (document). The extended family is buried in a plot in the West Cemetery in Madison. There we find; Lyman Dowd, died Mar 25, 1852, age 68, Fanny Dowd, wife of Lyman, died Dec 2 1820, age 34 yrs, their son Richard W. Dowd Nov 9, 1835, age 21 yrs. their daughter Fanny, Fanny Dowd, wife of George, died Aug 16, 1865, age 57, her husband George Dowd, died March 25, 1883, age 76. There are also a number of grandchildren. ------ The family record from Guilford is very neat and concise. The oldest child was Emeline Dowd born September 23, 1806. We have published her history in another article on the Blog. She died November 8, 1868 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ------ Fanny Dowd, named after her mother, was born February 24, 1808. She married a cousin George Dowd and they lived in Madison. Her death is noted in the “Register of Deaths” in the Congregational records Aug, 16, 1865 wife of George (document). ------ Edward L. Dowd’s birth is part of the Guilford record noted as August 15, 1809. Talcott lists a marriage to Julia Johnson. There are no other records for Edward named after his father and grandfather. ------ Susan Dowd was born, according to the Guilford record, on July 11, 1812. Talcott lists a marriage to Henry Bradley. Her family records are found in New Haven. In the New Haven town records we find a detailed accounting of her death on May 31, 1898 (2 documents). Susan D. Bradley, maiden name; Dowd, wife of Henry, parents Lyman and Susan. Death from Paralysis of the Heart. Did the clerk inadvertently write down Susan’s name as the wife of Lyman or was Fanny’s middle name also Susan? ------ Richard W. Dowd’s birth is noted on January 13, 1815. He was a teamster dying of Typhus in Northford, New Haven County. In the Northford Congregational records we find his death record, Richard Woolcott Dowd, Nov 9, 1835, age 21 (document). ------ Fanny Griffin-Griffing Dowd-Doud / Captain Edward Griffin / James Griffin / Samuel Griffin.