The Griffins at Butler's Corners, Vermont

What was the original township of Essex is now referred to as Essex Center. All of the original town buildings and the first church, the Congregational Chapel, were built in Essex Center. Most of the original homesteads also extended out from the Center crossroads. Over time the wider Essex Township developed within its borders several subdivisions. While still part of the township these separate neighborhoods developed their own identity. One of these neighborhoods was Butler’s Corners. The junction at Butler’s Corners marked the spot on the main road to Essex where you turned off to go the area referred to as the “Lost Nation”. According to the history of Essex Samuel Griffin Jun. was the first to settle in the Lost Nation. Samuel’s property bumped up against the Butler’s Corners intersection. In one of the histories written for Chittenden County is a section on Essex that contains a paragraph on Butler’s Corners. The description holds interest for the Griffin ancestry for several reasons. The first is that the description is for the time frame that Samuel lived in the Lost Nation. The second is the description of the Corners most recognizable citizen George Whitney.--------------- From the history, “At Butler’s Corners, one mile from the Center, the town voted in 1801 to erect a “sign post” and a "pair of stocks.” The first was a place for posting up “notices,” "warrants," etc., and the latter was a device for the punishment of offenders against law and order. These “Corners” were a place of considerable business at one period. For many years there was a store, a tavern, a blacksmith’s shop and a lawyer’s office here, all doing a lucrative business. “--------------- With that description it is a certainty that Samuel stopped at the sign post to read the news and take note of who was in the stocks. I smile at the notion of the Griffin boys being threatened with being take up to the Corners and put in the stocks if they did not change their errant ways. Given the morays of the times I am sure Samuel stopped at the tavern for a pint on occasion. Give the family’s religious bent I can only imagine that it was only on occasion. What were the necessities that made a store successful in a society based on self sufficiency? Did the Griffin women stop there for buttons and tread? Is that were they acquired their nutmeg and other spices. Did they rely on homespun or did a Sunday dress require a niece piece of fabric? Looking at the number of land transaction that Samuel was involved in and the number of mortgages that he held I suspect that the he spent some time at the lawyer’s office. It also poses the question; did he sell his farm surplus at the Corners?-------------- The second reason that the Butler’s Corners story rings true for the Griffin’s is George Whitney. To continue with the history, “The best blacksmith in town was located here, George Whitney, a man of intelligence, mechanical genius, industry and ability, who was honored by his townsmen with several important town offices which he filled with ability. He was a zealous Methodist, and late in life abandoned mechanical pursuits for the itinerant ministry in that church.”-------------------- It is a certainty that Samuel visited the blacksmith shop of George Whitney. Every tool, every piece of farm equipment, every wagon sooner or later needed the blacksmith’s touch to maintain its life. The second reason that George Whitney is of interest to us is that the extended Griffin family left their beloved Congregational Society to join with Mr. Whitney in his Methodist Congregation. There is a collection of letters written by Samuel Griffin Jun’s children, who remained in Essex, to their brother Albert Bailey Griffin who ended up in Utah. The references to the close family friend George Whitney are quite common.------------- In the Congregational records in 1844 we see a notation for each of the Griffin families. “Fellowship withdrawn”. In a world where it was considered to be absolutely unheard of to remain unchurched the Congregationalists were careful to note when a member left for another congregation. One of the more common notations was “Dismissed”. It indicated that the parishioner had left for another Congregational Society. The term, Fellowship Withdrawn, seems to indicate a separation from the Church of Christ as the Congregationalist called themselves. Its tone seems to reflect a somewhat dire judgment. It is also interesting to note that the family matriarch Abigail Bradley Griffin returned to the Congregational Society later in her life. Abigail’s father, Samuel Bradley, served as a Deacon, one of the leading lights in the Society, for thirty years. Apparently those ties were hard for her to let go.---------------- The Congregationalists were very serious about their religion. The Society was very active in trying to help each member lead a righteous life. Sinners were called out over the pulpit. The purpose was not to embarrass or run off the riff raff it was done as an act of love, an attempt to warn the parishioner that their soul was in danger. It was an act of deep concern for their salvation. In the front of most Congregation Society Ledgers you see a title page that identifies the shorthand used in keeping the records. One is the use of “X” which meant that the parishioners had crossed enough of a boundary that demanded their separation from the society. Such people were then excommunicated. My favorite notation is “W”. It stood for “Watch and Care Withdrawn”. That description explains in four words the Congregational mindset. It was the pledged duty, a requirement by their God, a part of the Profession of Faith that each member took, to watch and care for each other. At some point when the Society was at the end of its rope on how to help the unrepentant sinner they, if you will, gave themselves permission to withdraw their watch and care. It was a notation to their God that they had tried but failed. My interpretation is that “Fellowship withdrawn” is a variation on the watch and care sentiment.

Harding Bradley,1776-1819, Guilford to Essex, VT

Harding Bradley is the least studied member of the family of Stephen Bradley and his wife Ruth Meigs. The primary source for Bradley material is the collection of family genealogies produced by Alvan Talcott. Alan Talcott (1804-1891) was a doctor in Guilford, CT. and its environs. His passion was genealogy. In his travels he collected and compiled a genealogy dictionary for the families of Guilford. His highly regard work has been published by the Genealogical Society of Connecticut. It is titled Families of Early Guilford Connecticut. ------------ One of the families he recorded in detail was the Bradley family. In his collection he recorded the family of Stephen Bradley and Ruth Meigs. The oldest child in the family was Samuel. Talcott wrote, ”Samuel Cornwall, b 16 March 1756; died 30 June1834, mar Abigail Brownson.” Of the eighth child in the family he wrote, “Harding, b 5 July 1776; died October 1819, Mar Rebecca Brady.”------------- Talcott included a separate entry for Harding’s family, “Harding Bradley, son of Stephen Bradley and Ruth Meigs, Was born 5 July 1776 and died October 1819. He married Rebecca Brady. Lived in Vermont. Children: Clarissa, Maria, Eben.”------------- Another major source for Harding material comes from the family of his brother, Eber, titled, Eber Bradley (1761-1841) and some of his descendants. The book is available online. Eber detailed the family’s move from Guilford to Sunderland, Vermont on the American frontier. Eber wrote in detail about his older brother Samuel’s exploits in the Revolutionary War. He also records the move by the Bradley brothers to Chittenden County, Vermont where they settled in the communities of Essex and Williston.-------------- We find Harding living in Essex near his brothers, Samuel and Joye, in the 1800 and 1810 census records. His name is also prominent in the ledgers containing the land deeds. But as with his brother Samuel and the other early settlers of Essex there is a very faint documentary trail for the birth of his children. There are no birth, death or marriage records for any of Harding’s children in the surviving records for Essex. In fact the only record for their existence is found in the baptismal records of the Congregational Society. Under the name Harding Bradley be find listed, Rebecca, Clarissa, Mariah, Heber Muzzy, Minerva, Mary. Tradition dictates that the list is based on family chronology. ------------ We have subsequent found a definitive date of birth for Eber and Minerva. Based on those dates and census records we can estimate the date of birth for the other children. The 1800 census notes that the family included two female children. Those hints suggest a birth order, Rebecca 1796, Clarissa 1798, Maria, 1800, Eber July 6, 1802, Minerva January 31, 1806, Mary 1808.---------------- There is a reference to Harding in the, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 57 page 138 that notes that his wife Rebecca Brady was born in Ireland. That is the only bit of information we have for Rebecca who simply disappears after Harding’s death on 1819. The same is true of his daughter Rebecca.------------- A person identified as Clarissa Bradley, the wife of Duran Huntley, appears in the genealogical websites such as Ancestry.Com. The Huntley family histories record that Clarissa Bradley married Duran Huntley. Duran Huntley was 30 years older than Clarissa. Early documentary evidence suggests that she was his third wife. The family lived in Milton, Chittenden, Vermont. The census data supports the difference in their ages. While there is no direct documentary evidence that identifies Clarissa Huntley as the daughter of Harding Bradley but there are strong hints that such is the case. The first is that Milton is next door to Essex. It was a rich tradition in New England for a wife to give her maiden name to one of her children. Clarissa named a son Bradley Huntley. In the definitive Huntley family history, John Huntley of Boston & Roxbury, Massachusetts and Lyme, Connecticut, 1647-1977 and some of his descendants. The wife of Duran Huntley is listed as Clarissa Bradley. The date and locations for her birth given in the 1850 census records is a match for Harding’s daughter Clarissa. The history places Duran’s date of birth in 1764 in Lyme, CT and his death in 1842 in Milton. All of the Huntley sources places Clarissa’s death on March 14, 1859 in Colchester, VT where she appeared in the 1850 census. Most Huntley histories mistakenly list Clarissa as the mother of most of his children. The birth dates suggest that her children were; Bradley V. , 1827-1908, Edgar Porter, 1830-1909, Mary, 1832, Almeda 1837- after 1870, and Henry 1840-1913.---------------- Maria is listed in the Talcott history. The Congregational records use the old world spelling of Mariah. The last record for her is the 1810 census.----------------- The Congregational records give us the name Heber Muzzy. To those familiar with the spellings used in those ledgers the name was more likely, Eber, a traditional Bradley family name. We have traced an Eber M. Bradley from Vermont to Ohio then on to Iowa ending up in Kansas. He is referred to as Eber M. or E. M. Bradley, whichever the case he always retained the middle initial. Working backward from hints we find the marriage of Eber in Hamilton, Butler, Ohio, “Married on the 30th day of October 1827 by James Crawford esquire a Justice of the Peace in and for the county aforesaid Eber Bradley to Elsea Rynearson.” The 1840 census finds the family in Milford, Butler, Ohio with 7 boys in the family. Using the two names for clues you can trace Eber to a number of towns in Des Moines County, Iowa, Benton in 1852 with 7 sons recorded, Huran in 1856, Yellow Springs in 1860. The couple had a large family, Eber, John, Frank, Fernando, Jacob, Abraham, Garrett, William and Stephen. You can track the family based on the same names appearing in the various census records. In the 1880 Census taken in Arcade, Phillips, Kansas you find Eber M. Bradley, age 77, born in Vermont, listed as “father” in the household of William Bradley whose demographics are a match for the William in the earlier census records. Eber is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Phillipsburg, Phillips, Kansas along with sons William and Jacob. His headstone includes the dates July 26, 1802 and August 29, 1883. The cemetery records place his birth in Chittenden County, Vermont.---------------------- There are a number of genealogy pages that list the wife of Lyman Matthews Graves as Minerva Bradley. One of the hints that she is Harding Bradley’s daughter is the fact that she named a son Harding Bradley Graves. The census records place her birth in about 1806 in Vermont. The Graves family history places their marriage on December 24, 1829. The family is in Bath, Summit, Ohio in 1850; Lyman age 44, Minerva age 44, Mary, Marcus, Bradley, Susan, William, Cecelia, Charles. Their daughter Electa Ann, 1841-1845 is buried in the Morris Chapel cemetery in Bath. Her headstone notes , “Daughter of Lyman and Minerva Graves”. By 1860 the family is in Royalton, Ohio. The family finally settled in Lorain County, Ohio living in the communities surrounding the town of Oberlin. It is not always easy to document the maiden name for women but in our case we have at least one excellent document. The Ohio Death Record for their son, William Sterling Graves, lists his parents as Lyman M. Graves and Minerva Bradley. The Graves family history includes a date of birth for Minerva on January 31, 1806 and a date of death on February 1, 1856 in Oberlin. We get some confirmation for that death date in a marriage record for Lyman. Lyman married Mary Malvina Ward on December 30, 1857.---------------- The only record we have for Mary is her name in the Congregational records.

Wolcott F. Griffin son of Joel Griffin of Rushford

Wolcott F. Griffin was the son of Joel Griffin and his wife Clarissa Frost. I think it is a safe guess to assume his middle initial stood for his mother’s maiden name, Frost. Wolcott was born in Malone, New York in 1832. His father moved to Rushford, New York around 1836. Wolcott’s father Joel and his uncle, Oramel were merchants in Rushford. Wolcott was to follow in their stead. As the only child of his parents Wolcott was the sole beneficiary in his father’s will. In the 1855 New York Census we find Wolcott living in Rushford with his wife Lucina. The history, Rushford, and Rushford People identifies her as Lucina G. Bush, the daughter of Alexander Bush of Pike, New York. Wolcott and Lucina had a daughter together Ella L. Griffin born in August of 1860. Many family histories incorrectly identify Ella's mother as Walcott's 2nd wife Harriet Robinson who he married in 1867. -------------- The 1855 New York Census shows the home of Joel and Clarissa Griffin in Rushford. As part of the household he find Wolcott, age 23, born in Franklin County and Lucina, age 23, born in Wyoming County. Lucina Grimes Bush Griffin died in 1863. She is buried in the Pike Cemetery, Pike, New York with her parents. Her headstone identifies her as the wife of Wolcott F. Griffin and gives her date of birth, April 4, 1831 and death, May 11, 1863.------------ By the time of the 1870 census taken in Rushford Wolcott has taken a second wife Harriet J. Robinson. There are hints that they married in 1867. Her death records gives her date of birth as April 18, 1839 in Pompey, Onondaga, New York the daughter of Millard and Electa Robinson. Harriet died February 1, 1882 in Traverse City, Mich.--------------- The 1880 census places Wolcott in Traverse City, Michigan. The census records refer to him as a merchant and real estate agent. The Michigan Death Records places his death on May 3, 1892 in Traverse City the son of Joel and Clarissa Griffin. Wolcott is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery along with his wives, Harriet Robinson and Frances Slusser and his daughter Ella and her husband and son Watson.-------------- Ella married John Fowle. Together they had two sons, John Griffin and Watson E. Ella died March 6, 1901. She served as the executor for Walcott’s will signing her name Ella L. Fowle.. Ella and John appear in the 1900 census in Traverse City. The census places her birth in August 1860.------- The Michigan marriage records document a third married for Wolcott. He married Frances E. Slusser (April 14, 1842- December 4, 1909) December 4, 1883.---------- One of the histories written for Traverse City included a biography for Wolcott. It is included with the documents. ---------Wolcott // Joel // Joel // Samuel // Samuel Griffin.

Joel, son of Dan Griffin of Westford, VT

Joel, the son of Daniel Griffin and Catherine Meriam, was born in Westford, Vermont in about 1805. There is a very faint historical trail for Joel in Vermont. The only record we have is of his marriage to Amelia Hobart, September 18, 1828 in Westford. They were married by ”Simon Parmalee Minister”. Joel as with many young men of that generation saw his future in the west. For the young men in Chittenden County, Vermont the first move was often one hundred or so miles west into upper New York. Many then moved on to other places further west mainly in the upper Midwest. Tracing this generation of young men is to say the least problematic. The new communities they formed or joined did not have the governmental infrastructure needed to record vital records. The search for this generation relies heavily on the census records. A primary source for more detailed information is death records. By the time this generation died there was sufficient government structure in place that detailed death records were kept. The result of this set of circumstances is that researching the lives of these people usually starts with information gleaned from a death record and then moves backward. The key challenge is gathering enough hints to allow you to place them in a location many years and several states away from places like Westford, Vermont. The key hint for tracing Joel came in a letter written by his cousin, Rosetta Griffin Hunt (Samuel) to her brother Albert Griffin in 1870. In the letter she wrote, “The last I knew of cousin Joel he was living in Wentworth, Lake Co. Ill. He is all that is left of that family.”--------- Starting with the 1860 Federal Census we find Joel Griffin, age 55, born in Vermont, living in Warren, Lake, Illinois, Post Office Wentworth. Included in his household is his wife Thyphena. In the several census records her name is present with several phonetic spellings, Trifina, Triphena. ---------- There are a number of historical sources for the life of Joel Griffin in Warren, Ill. The first is a marriage record recorded in Lake County to Tryphena Dunlap dated May 7, 1859. This leads to a conclusion that his first two wives, Amelia Hobart and Johannah must have passed away. The second major discovery is the site of his burial in the Union Cemetery in nearby Waukegan. The cemetery records place his death on January 15, 1877 and that of his wife Thyphena on May 8, 1885. Also buried in the family plot is his son, William, and his wife Phebe.--------- Tryphena Dunlap was born, according to census records, in 1816 in Massachusetts. Her will raises an interesting point. In the will she names two brothers who were then living in Westford, Vermont. Did Joel and Thyphena know each other in Vermont? It is an interesting question. Found in Tryphena’s will is a description of Joel’s estate which includes farming equipment and a flour mill.--------- Joel’s will is found in the Illinois, Wills and Probate Records. In the will he names his wife, Thyphena, his son William and his wife Phebe and his two daughters, Nancy E. Goodspeed and Hattie E. Pike. The information found in the will provides a jumping off point for researching Joel’s children.------------- Searching for a family utilizing the description set down in the will leads to the 1850 census taken in Chateaugay, Franklin, New York. The census records Joel age 44 born in Vermont, Johannah age 45 born NY, Nancy age 20, NY, William 15, NY and Harriet age 6 born in New York. Franklin County represented that first step west for Vermont men. In Franklin County Joel joined his namesake, his father’s half brother Joel, and his son Joel. Many family histories mistakenly trace our Joel to the area of Rushford, Allegany County, NY, which is where his Uncle Joel’s family ended up.---------- The 1850 census provides us with a number of clues. In the census we find in Joel’s household Johannah, born in New York, who is apparently Joel’s second wife. From the ages of the children and place of birth we can deduce that Joel was living in New York by 1830 not long after his first marriage.---------- By 1860 Joel has moved on to Illinois, Johannah is now missing and Joel has taken Thyphena Dunlap as his third wife. By 1860 his three children were then living on their own. Did they follow him to Illinois? Cemetery records indicate that William did but what of the two girls?------------- As it turns out the girls did not follow their father to Illinois. In the same 1850 census in Chateaugay, where we found Joel and a daughter, Nancy E., we find Nancy also listed in the household of her husband, Stephen Goodspeed. In the census records she is always referred by her middle name Eveline or Eveline N. In 1860 the Goodspeed family has moved ten miles east to Ellenburg, Clinton County. The census records all place her birth in about 1830 and indicate that she was born in NY. Nancy and Stephen are buried in the West Hill Cemetery in Ellenburg, Clinton County. The cemetery biography for Nancy lists her as Nancy Eveline Griffin Goodspeed. Her headstone reads, Nancy E.- wife of- Stephen Goodspeed- Died- June 24, 1881- in her 52nd year. Stephen died on December 7, 1908. The extended Goodspeed family is buried in Ellenburg.------------------- William is buried with his parents in Illinois. There is not a trail for him in the census records. His cemetery information places his birth in January 1835 and his death on July 4, 1875. ---------- Harriet/ Hattie E. Griffin returned to the family roots in Vermont settling in Waterbury near Essex close to her uncle Almon’s children. In the 1860 census in Waterbury he find the 17 year old Harriet E. age 17 in the household of Wm. Pike. By 1880 we find a Harriet E. Pike in Waterbury as the head of her own household. The census indicates that she was born in 1844 in NY and both of her parents in VT. The census also lists her as divorced.--------------- We find a definitive document for Harriet dated October 22, 1881 in Waterbury, VT. It is a marriage certificate. The name of the bride is written twice, once as Hattie E. Pike, the second time as Hattie E. Griffin. The groom is Stephen Grover. Her age is give as 37. The marriage certificate lists her place of birth as Ellenburg, NY, which is near Chateaugay. The certificate indicates that it is her second marriage. Her parents are identified as Joel Griffin and Emelia H., which is actually Amelia Hobart.--------------- The remainder of Harriet’s life can be tracked searching for Harriett Grover. In the 1900 census, which is one of the most useful because of the extra data it provided, she is listed as Hattie E. Grover, born Jan 1844 in NY. It notes that she is now a widow and the mother of two children. Harriet and Stephen are buried in the Hope Cemetery in Waterbury. The cemetery records list her as; Grover, Hattie E. Griffin Pike born January 10 1844 in Ellenburg, NY, died August 6, 1914 in Waterbury. Her Vermont Death Record uses the name Hattie Griffin Grover. Her father is listed as Joel Griffin and her mother as Amelia Hobart. It lists her date of death as August 6, 1914 at the age 70 years 6 months and 27 days. Stephen Grover died May 1, 1898.---------------------- Joel // Dan // Samuel // Samuel Griffin of Killingworth, CT