Bradley Orlo Griffin
Born August 3rd, 1949 Panguitch, Utah
Died October 25th, 2019 South Jordan, Utah

Bradley Orlo Griffin was born on August 3rd, 1949 to Leland Wilford Griffin and Berthene Elizabeth Griffin (Smith). He lived most of his formative years in Henrieville, Utah until he left for his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints in 1968, serving in the Southern Far East Mission for 2 and ½ years, on the Island of Taiwan. While there he made lifelong friends with his companions, whom he visited with until his death. Upon returning home he attended and graduated from Southern Utah State College. It was there that he met the love of his life, Anne Myers, and they were Sealed in the Saint George Utah Temple on June 8th, 1973. After graduating Brad went to pharmacy school at the University of Utah. He worked in pharmacy for 35 years and was the hard knock, caring pharmacist that kept patients returning to him, even when he changed jobs. Brad was a passionate and prolific fly fisherman. He and his fishing partner, and former missionary companion, made many a fishing guide look foolish over the years. He knew and fished the western rivers, particularly the Provo, his entire adult life.

Over the last 12 years of his life Brad became a world-class researcher and historian. His genealogical work on the Griffin family encompasses many thousands of pages of writing from primary source research. He didn’t just know their name and date of birth; he knew their stories, which he shared with the world. The veil was always thin for Brad as he interacted with those beyond that directed his work. He surely was met by the multitude in the next life of those who had once been lost to history.

What was really most important to Brad was family. He spent years helping his son prepare to serve a mission, attend college and enter medical school, residency and fellowship. When the opportunity to love Andrea as his daughter in law and Eva and Elias as his grandchildren, he never looked back. He spent his last years reading with them, making up stories for them, teaching them and making them know that they were loved. He had the opportunity to meet and help bless his youngest grandson, Samuel Moises Griffin, named for the first Griffin in America, whom Brad had researched for over 10 years.

He was preceded in death by his father, Leland Wilford Griffin, mother, Berthene Elizabeth Griffin (Smith) and sister, Lynn (Buck) Lackey. He is survived by his wife, Anne Griffin (Myers), son, Dr. Alexander Bradley Griffin, daughter-in-Law, Andrea Griffin (Bracamonte), Grandchildren: Eva Anjolie Schmutz, Elias Daniel Schmutz, Samuel Moises Griffin and siblings: Leland Royce (Suzanne) Griffin and Shelly (Wade) Barney.

A Public Viewing will be held on November 1st, 6-8:00 PM at the LDS Church on 2450 West 10400 South, South Jordan Utah, 84095. An additional public Viewing and family prayer will be held in the same building on November 2nd, 4-5:00PM, which will be followed by the funeral service and dinner at 5:00 PM. Bradley Orlo Griffin will be returned home and interred in the Henrieville, Utah Cemetery on Sunday November 3rd, 1:00 PM next to his parents and sister; those who wish to attend the burial may attend. All flowers may be sent to the Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home, 1007 West South Jordan Pkwy, South Jordan

Charles E Griffin and the handcart companies

Faced with overwhelming opposition from the populous in Missouri the LDS Church began to make plans to leave Nauvoo. One of the primary goals was to organize in such a way to make it possible for every Saint to make the trek west. But despite their best intentions many Saints were left behind, some because of philosophical differences, but many simply due to a lack of resources. Gathering these Saints is a constant theme in the history of the early Church………………………………………………. In 1849 the Perpetual Emigrating Fund was started to aid the poor Saints, then living in the United States, that did not have the means to make the journey to Salt Lake City. In 1853 the system was expanded to include the European Saints. …….. The whole enterprise was well organized. Agents were hired or appointed to organize each step of the trip. Church callings were issued and men were given the task of identifying those that were eligible to emigrate. Agents were hired to purchase passage on ships leaving Europe and make all the necessary arraignments for crossing the Atlantic. In America agents purchased train and ship passage from the ports to the gathering places on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. In Utah men were called to travel east and serve as company captains for the newly organized wagon trains bringing the emigrants west. ……………………………………………………….. By 1854 the Perpetual Emigrating Fund was at a low financial ebb. There simply was not enough funds available to outfit new wagon trains. The response was to try out a new concept, the handcart company. The plan was put into effect and those new companies made their passage to America and west to Iowa City, Iowa. There materials were gathered by fund agents and the companies built there own handcarts for the journey west. ……………………………………………………………………….. The story of two of the handcart companies, the Martin and Willie Companies, is well known. Arriving late in Iowa City they caught the fund agents by surprise. Materials were hastily gathered and these two companies put together handcarts. The result was poorer materials and a delay in the beginning of the journey west. These two factors were to prove disastrous for the Willie and Martin handcart companies……………………………………………………………………………………………………. The story of their struggle is well known. There late arrival in America and their even later departure-heading west also caught the Church leadership by surprise. Brigham Young shared the news with the Church in the October Conference that year. He said the text for the Conference was the Saints still out on the plains. …. Beginning that very day he issued a call for the organization of the relief efforts to bring in the handcart companies. By the next day a mountain of supplies had been donated and a relief party organized and dispatched east. …………………………………. One of the interesting points is how well those early relief efforts were documented. We present here several examples. One document was a circular issued by the Church and shared with the congregations in England. It details the key provisions for the voyager. After the call at the October Conference detailed records were kept of who donated material and what they donated. We present two of them here. Note on one is the name of Sarah Griffin wife of Charles E. Griffin. Note that the two largest donations for foodstuffs was flour and onions. Among the list of coats and blankets we also find listed aprons and neckties. ……………………………………………… We also include a list of the men who volunteered to go as teamsters driving the wagons full of the donated materials. Listed among the teamsters is the name Charles E Griffin. …………………………………………………………………………………………… This first wave of volunteers was the men who were the first to find the Martin and Willie Companies. Some made the journey all the way to Martins Cove. As news of the full scope of the disaster made its way back to Salt Lake City other donations were gathered and other teamsters were called. ……………………………………………… We have told the story of Charles E Griffin’s participation in a chapter in his Biography. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Charles E Griffin / Albert Bailey Griffin / Samuel / Samuel / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth CT.

Zilpha Griffin and David Day of Essex, VT

Zilpha Griffin and David Day III----------------------------------------------------------------- Zilpha Griffin was the first child born to Samuel Griffin and his wife Sylvia Bradley. The surviving Essex, VT town records have their first entries in 1802. The marriage of Samuel and Sylvia and the birth of Zilpha predate 1802. I have always found it interesting that Samuel and Sylvia named their first child after Samuel’s first wife Zilpha Buell.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zilpha assumed the role of the oldest child in the growing Griffin family on the farm in the ‘Lost Nation” part of Essex. She married David Day III. The Day’s were another of the founding families of Essex. Their large land holdings were close to that of Samuel Griffin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The young family set to work on their own farm. They would eventually see the birth of ten children into their household. Fate was unkind to David and Zilpha. Six of their children died at an early age. They too died at a relative young age denied the joy of watching their children and grandchildren growing up. Their early deaths however spared them the anguish of losing two sons in the Civil War. ------------ The early death of both David and Zilpha contributed to a lack of a family history that could have been passed down through the generations. As a result putting together the full family profile has proved a considerable chore for family historians. ------------------------ There are enough surviving bits and pieces to help guide those researching the Day family history. In the files of the Congregational Society in Essex is an entry for the baptism of some of David Day’s children. Listed are Asa, Edgar and Ellen. A key piece of the puzzle is found in David Day’s probate files dated in 1845. There is one particular document that records his surviving heirs and their guardians. The document is signed by his second wife, Maranda Miller. It lists Alonzo Stevens as the guardian for the children he had with Miranda, David S and Olivia Day. Zilpha’s brother, Orlow Griffin, is listed as guardian to Edgar G, Ellen G, John F and Albert B Day.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A key to tracing the Day family are the headstones found in the Village Cemetery located in what is now Essex Junction, VT. In the cemetery we find headstone for an infant son and infant daughter who were born and died on the same day. Next to them we find the headstone for Alfred B Day. On the next row are buried David and Zilpha along with their daughter Almira S. In another part of the cemetery we find their daughter, Julia buried with her Day grandparents.------------------------------ We also have information, which is found in family correspondence. In 1865 Zilpha’s sister Rosetta Griffin Hunt wrote a letter to their brother Albert Griffin then living in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the letter she notes that,---------------------------------------------- “Edgar and Albert died in the Army 2 years ago last fall”------------------------------- In another letter again written to Albert in 1873 she wrote, ----------------------------- “Sister Zilpha’s only son (John) Flavel lives in Colchester Center, her sons Edgar and Albert died in the Army and Ellen, Mrs Martin Seaver, lives 10 miles from Fort Dodge, Iowa. She has 4 children buried one.”------------------------------------------------ We also have a few records for births and deaths that are found in the Essex vital records. Based on this evidence we present this profile of the family of Zilpha Griffin and David Day. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Day III was born in about 1800 in Essex to David Day and Asenath Child. His headstone records his death December 9, 1845 aged 45 years. His will and probate are found in the Chittenden County probate records. A key document is a list of his surviving heirs, Edgar, Ellen, John Albert, David and Olivia. After the early death of Zilpha, David married Maranda Miller with whom he had two children, David and Olivia.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zilpha was probably born in about 1801. Her death is etched on her headstone; Feb 15th 1843, wife of David Day III. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The first child born into the family was a son. His headstone reads,------------------- Infant son, Day-May 12, 1823-May 12, 1823- Infant son of David Jr. & Zilpha Day, born and died.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the same row we find a headstone, ----------------------------------------------------- Infant dau Day, Day- Aug the 27, 1826- Aug the 27, 1826, Infant daughter of David Jr. & Zilpha Day, born and died. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Next to them is a headstone for Alfred B Day born about Aug 25, 1842, ---------------- Alfred B Day Nov 28, 1842, son of David & Zilpha Day, aged 3 mos & 3 days.---------- On the next row with her parents is the headstone for Almira, --------------------------- Almira S Day, Dec 2, 1846, daughter of David and Zilpha Day in the 20th year of her age. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: there are some family profiles that list a Sylvia Griffin. This Sylvia in reality is Almira S. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Julia’s headstone is found next to her Day Grandparents. --------------------------------- Julia L Day Sept 21, 1844, daughter of David & Zilpha Day aged 6 years. -------------- Family tradition has a birth date for Julia of January 10, 1838. There is a transcribed record of her death that misspells her name as Celia rather than Julia. This discrepancy has caused some confusion. ------------------------------------------------------ John Flavel Day for born 20 October 1835. He died in Colchester Aug 10, 1903. He is buried in The Colchester Village Cemetery. John married Ellen Maria Wolcott (1837-1916) they had 5 children together. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ellen Griffin Day was born Feb 19, 1833. She died Feb 13, 1913 in Humboldt Co, Iowa. She is buried in the Union Cemetery in Humboldt. Ellen married Martin J Seaver (1828-1908) together they had six children. ------------------------------------- There is a death record for Asa Burton Day. Asa’s name appears in the Congregational records. His death is given as July 28, 1842. There is a tradition of a date of birth July 19, 1830. I suspect that a close inspection of the Village Cemetery would find a marker of some kind for Asa. ------------------------------------------------- Albert B Day was probably a twin brother to Alfred B Day born August 25, 1842. Albert’s death is found in the Civil War records dated October 28, 1862. It is listed as Seneca Falls, Maryland. That area is now referred to as Seneca Park. There are no hints as to where he may be buried. (Reference separate entry on Blog) ------------ Edgar G Day was born February 19, 1833 he died while serving in the Union Army November 26, 1862 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Reference separate post on Blog) He married Mary L Parmenter (1839-1893). ---------------------------------------------------- Zilpha Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth, CT

Edgar G Day-Albert B Day-Essex, VT

The brothers Edgar and Albert Day were 2 of the 11 children born to David Day Jr and Zilpha Griffin In Essex, Vermont. Many members of the family are buried in a family ploy in the Village Cemetery in what is now Essex Junction. The fate of the two brothers was harder to trace. There are only a few bits and pieces of family history remaining that mention them. For instance the brothers are listed as surviving heirs in the probate filed for their father in 1845. In 1865 Rosetta Griffin Hunt wrote a letter to her brother, Albert Griffin, then living in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the letter she discussed their sister Zilpha’s family in part she wrote,------------- “Edgar and Albert died in the Army 2 years ago last fall”.------------------------------ The actual fate of the 2 brothers has remained hidden until the resent discovery of records made available in newly digitalized archives. What follows are 2 short biographies for the 2 brothers.------------------------------------------------------------ Edgar G Day ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edgar G Day was born in Essex, Chittenden Co., Vermont on Nov 26, 1862 the son of David Day and Zilpha Grifffin. His name appears in the Congregational Church records listed as a child of David Day along with his brother Asa and sister Ellen. His name is also listed in the probate records as one of the heirs to his father, David Day’s estate which, was filed in 1845. In a family letter written by his aunt Rosetta Griffin Hunt dated in 1865 it was noted that both he and his brother Albert B had died two years ago in the Civil War.-------------------------------------------------------- The when and where of Edgar’s life remained a mystery for some time. There were no records of a Edgar Day from Essex in the Civil War records such as those for his brother Albert. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently we have tracked him to the 1860 census taken in Madsion, Buchanan, Iowa. He is listed as E.G. Day age 27, from Vermont along with his wife, Mary, age 21 from New York. There is a marriage record between Edgar G Day and Mary L Parmenter dated 29 October 1857 in Winnebago County, Illinois. --------------------------------- We have also found a Probate File for Edgar G Day. That is dated the Twentieth Day of August AD 1862. In part it reads,---------------------------------------------------------- ‘The last will and testament of Edgar G Day of the city of Rockford of the county of Winnebago and state of Illinois. I Edgar G Day having enlisted in the service of the United States, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life, and being of sound mind and memory do make and publish this my last will and testament.”--------- In the will Edgar leaves a piece of property located in Buchanan Co. to his “beloved wife Mary L Day.”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later in the Probate File we find an entry,------------------------------------------------- “Estate of Edgar G Day, deceased…….. in the county court December term 1862” It is signed at the bottom by Mary L Day with the date January 3, 1863.---------------- There is a file for Edgar G Day of Rockford, Ill. in the Illinois veterans records. It notes his enlistment in 1862. It records his death November 26, 1862 at Louisville, Kentucky. Edgar was brought back to Illinois for burial. He is interred in the Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, Ill.------------------------------------------------------ Mary L Parmenter was born about 1839 in New York. Her death is recorded in the town records of Lynn, Massachusetts. It lists her as Mary L Day, maiden name Parmenter, who died on December 29, 1893 at the age of 54.----------------------- Albert B Day ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Albert B Day and his twin brother Alfred were born August 25, 1842 in Essex, Vermont to David Day and his wife Zilpha Buell. Alfred died 28 Nov, 1842 is buried with their parents in Essex. Albert B Day is listed as an heir in the probate filed for his father, David Day, in 1845. He is the subject of a family letter written by his aunt, Rosetta Griffin Hunt, in 1865. The letter noted that Albert and his brother Edgar had both died in the Civil War two years ago.----------------------------------------------------- There are a number of records found in the military records for the Civil War. One is for Albert B Day born in Essex, VT aged 20. It notes his enlistment on July 14, 1862. At the bottom it records his death;------------------------------------------------------ “Died at Redtl Hospital Seneca Falls, MD Oct 28/62 of Typhoid fever-single-Residence Colchester, VT” -------------------------------------------------------------- Edgar-Albert Day / Zilpha Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth, CT

Maria Wolcott Wilson 1840-1890

Maria Wolcott was the daughter of Electa Griffin and her husband Chauncey Wolcott. She was born in Colchester, Vermont, March 9, 1840. Family life was centered around her Griffin grandparents, Samuel Griffin and Sylvia Bradley. Her mother, Electa, was part of a very close-knit family. --------- The marriage of Maria Wolcott and Milon Wilson is recorded in the Colchester, VT. town records on October 12, 1859. In the 1860 census the young couple is living in Colchester. By the time of the 1870 census they had moved a short distance to the town of Duxbury. The 1870 census records a family of four, listing two children, Clara and Frank.---------- In the 1880 census the family is listed in two places. One is Etna, Hardin County, Iowa. Listed are Milon and Maria as well as three children, Clara, Frank and Minnie. Maria and the children are also listed as part of her parent’s household in Colchester.--------- Surviving family letters exchanged between her mother, Electa, and her brother, Albert, then living in Utah describe the Iowa experience as being a little hard scrabble. The extended Wolcott family then moved together to Webster County, Nebraska. Centered around the towns of Cowles and Inavale we find Milon and Maria, her parents, as well as her brother Sidney and his family.------- For many years it was uncertain when and where Maria passed away. The recent recovery of her obituary published in the local newspaper the Red Cloud Chief has provided the answer. It reports her death on August 16, 1890, in Cowles, Nebraska. The obituary is also the sources of her birthdate of March 9, 1840 in Colchester. It notes her burial in the Cowles Cemetery. We have previously noted that her father, Chauncey Wolcott, was also buried in the Cowles Cemetery. I suspect that Electa is interred there also. -------------- The Red Cloud Chief provides hints that Milon Wilson became a well known businessman. After the death of his wife he remarried. He ended his life in a home for Civil War Veterans in Danville, Illinois. His death is recorded there on June 1, 1913. He is buried in the Danville National Cemetery.------------ Also found in the Red Cloud Chief is notice of the marriage between Clara Wilson, the daughter of Milon Wilson, and Charles M Myers. Their Marriage Certificate is filed in Red Cloud, Nebraska on October 1, 1889. By 1920 they are living in Pinellas County, Florida. The last record of them is the 1940 Census in Pinellas. ------------- Notice of the marriage of Minnie Wilson to W. F. Gates in Cook County, Illinois is also found in the Red Cloud Chief. The marriage of Minnie Wilson and Willey Francis Gates is recorded in Cook County, Illinois on September 11, 1889. The Red Cloud Chief also noted that Minnie had returned home for her mother’s funeral. By 1900 the couple is living in Los Angeles. Minnie is present in the 1920 census. By the time of the 1930 census her husband has remarried. Willey Gates was born March 18, 1865 in Zanesville, Ohio. He died in Los Angeles December 22, 1941. He is buried in the Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, California.----------------- Frank Wilson married Mary Gravis November 27, 1889 In Red Cloud, Nebraska. His marriage to Vernie Saucer in found in the Hardin County, Iowa records dated October 20, 1897. The couple lived for many years in Minnesota. The 1940 census finds him in Sioux Fall, South Dakota. They are buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Sioux Falls. His headstone has a date of 1940 for his death. Her headstone has the dates 1876-1957.----------------------------------- Maria Wolcott Wilson / Electa Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth, CT.

Sisters Sabra and Maryetta Griffin Havens

Worden Griffin was born September 6, 1772 in Killingworth, Middlesex Co, Connecticut. His birth is recorded in the Killingworth Congregational 2nd Society records. He was the son of Samuel Griffin Jr. and his 3rd wife Mercy Bailey. ------------ Worden grew up on the Griffin Lot on Roast Meat Hill with his 10 siblings. In the late 1790s when his father and brothers made the move to Vermont, Worden stayed behind having either purchased or inherited most of his father’s property. Worden died February 17, 1847 and rests in the Burying Yard next to his wife Rhoda Hull. The Burying Yard is separated from the home lot by a stacked rock fence.---------- Rhoda was born in Killingworth October 19, 1773. She died one year after Worden on December 9, 1848. They married February 15, 1796 the marriage is recorded in the Killingworth town records. ----------- There are very good records available for Killingworth. Many of the town records were entered into pages in the land deed ledgers. In addition the Congregational Society kept detailed records. In addition the Society’s leading Deacon, Abraham Pierson, kept a personal record of births, deaths and marriages. That record keeping came to an abrupt end in 1802. In those records you can find the birth records for 3 of Worden’s children, Harmon Mercy and Sabra. In addition the census records note that there was a 4th child a female born into the family between the years 1800 and 1810. Who this 4th daughter was and who she may have married remained a mystery for a long time.--------------- Sabra Steevens Griffin’s birth is recorded in both the Society records and in Pierson’s Journal on Nov 27, 1796. That is the only record for Sabra in Killingworth. Most of what we know of Sabra comes from the family histories written by the family of Silas Havens of Niantic/East Lyme Connecticut. Sabra and Silas probably married in about 1814. The Haven histories note that Sabra Griffin’s parents were Worden Griffin of Middlesex, Ct and his wife Rhoda Hull. They note that Rhoda was the seventh daughter in her household. In the world of folk magic and medicine that coincidence was considered to be providential. These family details are a perfect match for our Worden and Rhoda Hull Griffin. In addition the Griffin siblings used many of the same family names in naming their children. --------------- The Havens histories note that Silas married Sabra Griffin. On her early death they note that Silas then married Sabra’s sister who they called Marietta/Maryetta. In Silas’s pension records for the War of 1812 his widows are listed by their maiden names Sabra Griffin and Maryetta Griffin. Looking for the identity of Sabra’s sister in the Killingworth records they came up with the only other sister on record in the family of Worden Griffin, Mercy. That is why many of the early genealogies refer to Silas’s 2nd wife as Mercy Marietta/Maryetta. ---------------- Within the last ten years the true identity of Mercy Griffin has came to light. Mercy married Daniel Stevens. Together they raised a large family in Killingworth. We have documented that family in the Blog. So if the 2nd wife was not Mercy who was she? It turns out that Maryetta was the female child listed in the 1810 census who was unnamed in the Killingworth records. Silas, Sabra and Maryetta share a headstone in the Union Cemetery in East Lyme, Connecticut.------------- Sabra and Silas had 5 children, Charles, William, Abigail/Abby, Julia and Eliza. Sabra died on February 28, 1826 at the tender age of 30. Probably living in her household was her sister Marietta. Her name is alternate spelled Marietta or Maryetta. Silas married the younger Griffin sister September 24, 1826.------------ The census records record the birth of a female child in the household of Worden Griffin of Killingworth, CT in the 1810 census. The census notes that see was born in the time span of 1800 to 1810. The Havens family records Maryette’s birth as December 1809. Her headstone notes her death on April 13, 1884 at the age of 74. Silas and Maryetta had a family of 12 children, Silas, Sabra Angeline, Cynthia Marietta, Sanford Wilson, Joseph Francis, Nelson Monroe, Melissa Jane, Alfred Worden, Sophia Amelia, Theresa Florilla, Wilson Edson and Herman Edgar.------------------ Sabra-Maryetta / Worden / Samuel / Samuel Griffin Sen. of Killingworth, CT

Wealthy Dowd, Madison CT. 1831

Researching family history is rewarding in many ways. The foremost is that discovery of a sense of where you come from which is a plus in understanding who you are. I just had a new grandson. He represents the 13th generation of Griffins in America. The story of those thirteen generations is fascinating to me. I have an appreciation of who those people were and how what they did makes my life what it is today. Through those good people I have a connection to the Plymouth Colony, the Flushing Remonstrance, and the Constitutional Convention. I have an attachment to the French and Indian War, the War for Independence, the Battle of Saratoga, the War of 1812 the Civil War and much more.-------------- I have discovered a religious people, people who where part of and dedicated to the idea of family. About every 2-3 generations they were involved with life on the very frontier in the move west in America. All in all let it be said that researching family history is a very rewarding endeavor. The Bible notes in Malachi that it is a blessing from the heavens that the hearts of the fathers will be turned to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.--------------- There are little things that pop up now and then that offer fun little moments of satisfaction. Posted below is a picture of a headstone. That headstone represents probably the only surviving record of a little girl named Wealthy Dowd.----------- The Dowd family is part of the Mayflower Society. As such it has been widely researched and widely published. Pres. Eisenhower’s wife is one to these Dowds. The Dowd family spread out across America. The extended Griffin family married into the Dowd family on as least two occasions.----------------- And so I came as a surprise to discover a child lost in the Dowd family histories. The family of George Dowd was widely published. Listed among his children was a Wealthy L Dowd who died in Madison, CT. April 13, 1852 at the age of 16. On looking for cemetery records for the family it came as a total surprise to find in the family plot an additional headstone for a second daughter with the name of Wealthy. The headstone reads “Wealthy L, daughter of George and Louisa Dowd, Died, 11 Dec 1831, AE 7 months.’------------- What you are seeing is a common occurrence in early America. A child is born and given a name. The child then died at an early age. It was common practice to then give the name to a second child. I have often pondered as to the why of this practice. Was it a way to honor the first child? To keep alive a memory?------------ The practice is also the cause of much confusion in family research. A second child with a name more often than not hid the existence of the other child. The multiple dates associated with a common name added uncertainty to a family record. For me I find it a true moment of pleasure to introduce to the extended family a new lost and long forgotten cousin. Wealthy’s grandmother was Fanny Griffin.