Submit Griffin and Martin Lawrence

Submit Griffin was the daughter of Capt. Edward Griffin and his wife Submit DeWolf. Called Mitte by her father Submit was born in the Killingworth 1st Society among her grandfather James’s Griffins other grandchildren. Although we do not have birth records for Edward’s children we have been able to extrapolate their approximate dates of birth Submit’s being in about 1791. I am sure her birth was a topic of discussion in the home of her uncle Samuel living in the 2nd Society. We have previously written of Edward’s family on the Blog. The journey of discovery for Edward’s family started with his will. As we have previously noted his will is without doubt the most comprehensive will we have ever reviewed. The inheritance granted to each daughter was sufficient to give them a head start in establishing their own home when they married. Edward’s request of the executor’s of his will, who were some of the most prominent men in the area, was that they help his wife settle on a farm of her choosing that would provide for her and her children. Submit moved her family to Colebrook in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The Griffin farm became a noted landmark in the small community. We find Submit, referred to as Submit Jr., listed in the church records along with her mother and brother Edward. There is a small cross by her name, which indicates she had moved out of the congregation. We also find Submit listed with her sibling’s in the probate records. In the probate records she is listed as the wife of Martin Lawrence. The probate record notes the residence of all of the children. It notes that Martin and Submit were from Colebrook. In January of 1818 Submit sells here share of the family farm to her brother Charles. Here the story went cold. We have been able to trace all of the Griffin siblings except Submit and her brother Edward. Sources in Colebrook noted that Charles and Edward had moved to Ohio. In the 1830 census they are found in Summit County, Ohio. Recently Roberta Cole Lader, a great grand daughter of Edward Griffin, shared her discovery of the biography of John Deacon of Hudson, Summit County, Ohio. The biography provides the genealogy of his wife Julia Ann E Lawrence. John’s biography notes that Julia Ann Lawrence was born May 23, 1813 and came west with her family in 1818. Later census records identify her place of birth as Connecticut. Julia Ann’s parents are noted as being Martin Lawrence born March 20, 1793 in Dutchess County, New York, the son of Chauncey Lawrence and Sallie Clark, and Submit Griffin. _________________The 1820 census for Hudson, then Portage County, Ohio records the family of Martin Lawrence with 3 young daughters under the age of 10, and his wife. There is no biography for Martin and Submit no family oral tradition that has survived to make all of the family connections for us. The documentary trail that does exist, although vague, does provide strong hints of what became of Submit Griffin. __________ In the 1830 census Martin has moved about 15 miles to Salt Creek, Wayne County. By 1830 the family is made up of the 3 girls and has added 3 younger boys. By 1830 Submit’s brothers Edward and Charles Griffin had moved to nearby Copley. ____________The 1840 census, also in Salt Creek, shows the family reduced to 2 girls and one boy. Julia had married John Deacon in 1832. The census also records the family of a 2nd Martin Lawrence in the community a young man with a wife and young son. ____________The 1950 census was the first census that provided the names of everyone in the household. In the 1850 census for Springfield, Clark County, Ohio we find the following; Martin Lawrence age 57 (1793) Cabinetmaker, born New York. Mary Lawrence, age 49, born Ohio. Martin Lawrence, age 28, carpenter, born Ohio. Elizabeth Beal, age 20, born Ohio. Registered in the house next door is Chauncey Lawrence, age 25, carpenter, born Ohio. Chauncey’s household included his wife Sarah and daughter Cath. At first glance this census information seemed at odds with the 1840 Salt Creek census. A search of the Clark County marriage records provided the following information. Martin Lawrence, widower, married Mary Beal, widow, November 10, 1842. Martin Lawrence and Elizabeth Beal were married December 14, 1852. The marriage record noted, “He produced a decree of divorce from a former wife.” Chauncey Lawrence’s marriage to Sarah Ellen Beal is dated May 8th 1846. A review of the Wayne county records produced a marriage license for Martin Jr. and Elizabeth Reihart dated April 4, 1838, which explains the entry for the younger Martin Lawrence in the 1840 census for Salt Creek, Wayne County. ______________ Based on this information we are able to make sense of another piece of the puzzle. Roberta Cole Lader also found a cemetery record for a Submit Lawrence. In the Spring Hill Cemetery in Bath, Summit County Ohio there is a headstone for Submit Lawrence dated September 2, 1841. The cemetery records include the following; Submit Lawrence died September 2, 1841 age 49 years and 10 months. That suggests a date of birth in November of 1791. I think it is a fair conclusion that this is the burial site for Submit Griffin daughter of Edward Griffin born in Connecticut according to family history in 1791. Submit’s daughter Julia Deacon lived a few miles away in Hudson. Submit’s brother Charles Griffin owned a large farm that straddled the Bath and Copley town lines. In 1842 we find her widower husband Martin Lawrence remarrying. ___________To obtain a fuller view of the Lawrence family we need to review the 1860 census. In the 1860 census taken in Sabula, Iowa we find living next to each other the Lawrence brothers each listed as a carpenter all born in Ohio. Martin now age 38 and his wife Elizabeth Beal and their two children. Chauncey now age 35 and his wife Sarah and daughter Kate/ Cath. And the 3rd brother listed in the Salt Creek census records Horace age 30 along with his wife Rachael and their two children Emma and Edward. Julia Ann was married and living in Hudson, Ohio listed at age 47, born in Connecticut. Missing are the other two sisters listed in the earlier census records. The final piece of the documentary trail is found in the Evergreen Cemetery just outside Sabula. In the cemetery there is a headstone for Martin Lawrence. The headstone records that he was born March 20, 1793 and died January 31, 1855. Buried in a family plot is his wife Mary Prior/Beal. The cemetery records the death of Martin Lawrence Jr., March 11, 1872. Horace’s wife Rachael C. ( Taylor) Lawrence and four of Martin Sr.’s grandchildren, one a child of Horace named Mary Submit Lawrence, are also buried in the family plot. Horace left Sabula later in life he is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Red Oak, Iowa. The dates on his headstone read August 10, 1829 to July 25, 1912. As we have noted in our article, Griffin’s at Vicksburg, Chauncey was killed at that battle in 1863. He is buried in the Vicksburg National Cemetery. The 1870 census shows Chauncey’s widow, along with her daughter and son-in-law Eli Whitney, living with his brothers in Sabula. _____________To tell the tale of the family of Martin Lawrence and Submit Griffin we can draw on the histories written for the larger Lawrence family. Martin’s father Chauncey’s children were born in Dutchess County, New York. Chauncey joined the great migration to the Western Reserve moving his family en mass to Greene County, Ohio. His son Martin had met and married Submit Griffin in Colebrook, Connecticut. In early 1818 Martin and Submit sold their land in Colebrook and followed his family to Ohio. Submit’s brothers Edward and Charles Griffin were to follow. Martin and Submit lived for 20 years in eastern Ohio first in Hudson, later in near by Salt Creek. By 1842 they had moved to Springfield in Clark County. It seems that about the time they were preparing to move Submit passed away. They buried her in Bath near her daughter Julia and her brother Charles. By 1860 the family had moved to Sabula, Iowa a city that sits on the Mississippi River. Sabula was a town based on the lumber industry shaping the timber transported down the river from Minnesota, a perfect spot for a family of carpenters. From information gleaned from the Lawrence family history we can fill in some of the missing pieces. In the 1840 census taken in Salt Creek Chauncey is missing he was living in Springfield, Ohio with Martin’s brother Clark Lawrence. In the 1850 census Horace is missing. In 1850 Horace is living in Madison County near the rest of the Lawrence family. He is listed as part of the household of Chauncey Barlow. He is listed as age 20, single, and a carpenter, born in Ohio. Lawrence family history points out that Chauncey Barlow’s mother was Martin’s sister Polly Clark Lawrence. Horace’s marriage to Rachael C. Taylor is recorded there dated February 21, 1852. A hint at all of the family connections is found in the use of common family names. Chauncey Lawrence and Chauncey Barlow both named for their grandfather. Horace Lawrence named after his father’s brother Horace and Martin Jr. for Martin Sr. Submit’s sisters had named their children after their siblings. Submit name her daughter after her sister Julia. ___________ Submit Lawrence Griffin / Edward / James / Samuel Griffin.