Jackson Andrew Griffin 1840-1893

Jackson Griffin was born in Rushford, Allegany, NY in 1840 the son of Oramel Griffin and Caroline Gray. His father, Oramel Griffin, was one of the most prominent businessmen in the area. Because of his success in business Oramel was able to gather his extended family around him. He started out with a large store and related business in Rushford. Later on he purchased land and constructed a “port” on the newly built Genesse Canal. The location became know as Oramel, NY. Oramel’s next business enterprise was land development in Barry County, Michigan. In Barry County Oramel purchased large tracts of land. Starting in 1860 and lasting until the turn of the century the extended family was found mainly in Michigan. Jackson’s mother died in 1848 as a result he and his brother, Solon, appear in the household of many of their kin in the census records. In 1850 the two young Griffin are found enrolled in Alfred Academy now Alfred University. At the time of the 1850 Census Jackson is living with his Aunt Sophia Hitchcock. In 1860 the brothers are members of their sister Jane Webster’s household in Michigan. Jackson enlisted in the Army in 1861 his place of enlistment, Oramel, NY. His enlistment papers provide us with the only source for his full name, Jackson Andrew Griffin and his date of birth November 30, 1840. He was serving at Fortress Monroe when he took sick. Due to his sickness he was discharged. In the 1880 census he is living in Kalamazoo, Michigan with his wife, Eliza, and two children, Carrie and Oramel.----------- The Michigan death records record his death, 12 September 1893 in Union, Branch Michigan. Both he and his brother Solon were living in Union. His death record lists his parents Oramel and Caroline Griffin. At some point in time Jackson’s body was transported back to Rushford. He is buried in a family plot in the White Cemetery near Rushford and Oramel, NY.--------------- Jackson / Oramel // Joel // Samuel // Samuel Griffin of Killingworth

Milton Griffin's family--New Hudson, NY

Milton Griffin’s Family; Milton // Joel // Samuel // Samuel Griffin of Killingworth--------- There are several challenges to overcome in writing a history for Milton Griffin and Eleanore/ Elnore Doty’s family. Eleanore is the spelling used in the death records for her children. Those death records also provide us with Eleanore’s maiden name, Doty. Census records indicate that she was born in about 1810 in Canada. Milton came to Franklin County, New York from Swanton, Vermont with his family in about 1804. He met and married Eleanore Doty in Franklin. By the time of the 1830 census they had one child. During his lifetime Milton and his brothers were always on the frontiers of American. In the communities where they lived there was very little emphasis on record keeping. In both Franklin County and Allegany County, NY there are almost no surviving birth or marriage records. As a result we are left with using census data to track Milton’s children. But in the case of Milton the census data is less than idea. For the average family the census records track the growth of a family in ten-year increments. From census to census you can see a family grow, see children being born and children leaving home. Milton’s family is an exception. The pattern from one census to the next is inconsistent. It seems that Milton’s children spent a lot of time living with the extended family. As a result using census data to reconstruct Milton’s family is fraught with problems. In the 1800s the major problem in tracking people via census records is hindered by the fact that women disappeared behind the identity of their husbands. In the absence of marriage records finding Milton’s girls approached the impossible. The census records place Milton and Eleanore in Bangor/Malone in Franklin County until after the 1840 census. The 1840 census indicates that six children were born in Franklin County. The census records hint that in 1843 the family was living in Erie County, NY. By the time Frederick was born in 1845 the family was living in New Hudson, Allegany, NY. His father Joel’s family had gathered around his older brother, Oramel, in nearby Rushford. Milton and Eleanore lived in New Hudson until at least the time of the 1875 census. We do not have any death or burial records for Milton and Eleanore. Eleanore is living with their daughter, Julia, in the 1894 Michigan Census but she is not there in the 1880 census.-------- Milton’s sister Sophia provides us with the key to unlocking the mystery of Milton’s daughters. Sophia , a widow, did not have any surviving children. As a result in her will, probated in 1881 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Sophia bequeaths her estate to her nieces. In the will she identifies them by their married name and provides their place of residence. The will names Jane A. Webster of Augusta, Michigan, Mary Shean of Ross, Michigan, Julia Willison of Augusta, Michigan and Sophia Winters also living in Michigan. The extended Griffin family had migrated to the neighboring counties of Barry and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Milton’s brother Oramel was a major land speculator in the area. ------------ The search for Milton’s children begins with the 1830 Census taken in Malone, Franklin, New York. The census identifies Milton as the head of the household and records his wife, Eleanore, and a daughter under the age of 5. This daughter, named Jane A. Griffin, had left home by the time of the 1850 Census, which was the first to name each member of a household. As a result her existence was largely unknown until her aunt Sophia’s will.----------- A search for Jane A Webster in Augusta, Michigan eventually turned up a Michigan death record. Jane died November 8, 1898 in Kalamazoo and was buried in nearby Augusta. The record names her parents, Milton Griffin and Eleanore Doty. It records that she was born in Malone, NY and that she was 69 at the time of her death, which calculates to a date of birth in 1829 a match for the 1830 Malone Census. Census records identify Jane’s husband as Alanson/Oland Webster. In the 1855 census, taken in New Hudson, Jane is listed as Jane Ann. In the 1860 Census in Barry, Barry, Mich. we find living in their household Oramel’s boys, Solon and Jackson Griffin, and Jane’s younger sister, Martha Griffin, age 18.---------- There are hints that Milton and Eleanore had another daughter born in Malone in about 1831. Jane was born in 1829 and Sophia in 1834 leaving a five year gap. We have only accounted for three of the four girls recorded in the 1840 census.----------- Sophia is listed in her father’s house in New Hudson in the 1855 census. The census gives her age as 21/ 1834 and indicates that she was born in Franklin County. She is identified by her aunt Sophia as Sophia Winters of Michigan. In the 1860 census in New Hudson we find Sophia age 27/ 1843 and her husband Thomas Winters age 28. We find her death in the Michigan death records. The widow, Sophia Winters, age 65 died April 6, 1898 In Hickory Corners, Barry, Mich. Her parents are listed as Milton Griffin and Eleanore Doty.----------- Julia A Griffin appears in the 1855 and 1860 census records in New Hudson. They indicate that she was born in Franklin County in 1838. Julia is identified by her aunt Sophia as Julia Willison. Julia followed the extended family to Michigan where she married a Michigan boy, Zaphna Willison. The 1900 census records a date of birth as Feb. 1838. Zaphna died in 1886. In the 1894 Michigan State Census we find living with Julia her mother, Eleanore, age 84 born in Canada. Julia and Zaphna are buried in the North Hickory Cemetery in Barry Township. Cemetery records provided us with a birth and death date; February 24, 1838 and September 4, 1919.---------- The only time Joel appears in Milton’s household by name is in the 1860 Census taken in New Hudson, Allegany, NY.. He is listed as age 26 indicating a date of birth in 1834/5. That date is a match for the two young boys recorded in the 1840 census in Malone, Franklin, NY. His Civil war enlistment papers place his date of birth in 1836. There are NY Census records taken in 1870, 1875 and 1880 in Salamanca, Cattaraugus, NY, which records a Joel Griffin born about 1835 in Franklin County and his wife Betsy born in Allegany County. Those dates and places are a match for what you would expect to find for Milton’s son, Joel. The confirmation for his identity is found in his will probated on November 18, 1880. In his will he provides money for Mrs. Milton Griffin, his mother. He also leave money to a nephew, William Shean, son his his sister Mary.----------- Merrit A. Griffin appears in the 1850 census at the age of 9, which suggests a date of birth in 1840/1. He also appears in the 1855 New York census as age 15. Evidence points to the fact the Merrit was born before the 1840 Census, which was taken in June of that year. The 1855 New York Census has been used as evidence for a daughter “Merritte”. A close examination of the original census shows a poorly written Merrit with what looks like an extra “t”. The telling bit of evidence is that the 15 years old child is identified as a “M” ie a male. It is very easy to distinguish between the “F” used to indicate females and the “M” used for males. There are no other confirmable records for Merrit. Some family histories quote a death record for a Merrit in Union, Branch, Mich. who married an Etta Gott. It is an easy to trace documentary trail, which identifies this Merrit as the son of Nelson Griffin. There is a Merrit Griffin in Worchester, Ostego, NY with a date of birth in Sept. 1843 not quite a match. There are also records for a Merrit “A” Griffin in Boxar County Texas born about 1841 in NY. His death certificate dated July 17, 1922 does not list his parents.------------- Most family histories for Milton and Eleanore Griffin’s family include a daughter Merritte. A transcription of the 1855 New York Census has been used as the source for the name. The New York Census records offer several a few valuable insights. One of it unique features is that is records each person’s county of birth. It also clearly indicates if the person listed is male or female. A review of the 1855 New York Census for Milton’s household includes a poorly written version of the name, Merrit, age 15. For our purposes the census clearly indicates that this particular person is a male. It you look at the 1850 Federal census and the 1855 New York Census in combination what you are seeing is the tracking of a son named Merrit. There is in fact no daughter named Merritte.----------- Martha H Griffin appears as a 7-year-old daughter in the 1850 census taken in New Hudson, Allegany, NY. The Burdick family history notes that her name was Martha Helen. In the 1855 New York Census she is listed as age 13 born in Erie, County. In the 1860 census she is part of her sister Jane’s household. Her Michigan death record is dated December 22, 1878 in Ross, Kalamazoo, Michigan. It lists a date of birth in New York in about 1842. The certificate identifies her parents as Milton and Elenor Griffin. Martha married Myron Burdick. They are buried in the East Hickory Corners Cemetery. Her original headstone read Martha H Burdick, b Feb 22, 1843, d. Dec 22, 1878 wf of Myron.----------- A transcription of the 1865 census has been used to identify Mary as Mary “C” Griffin. A closer look at the original show the ‘C” to be and “E’. The Shean family history identifies her as Mary Etta Griffin. Mary’s name is in the census records for her father Milton in 1850, 1855, 1860 and 1865. Mary followed her sisters to Michigan. The 1880 census places her and her husband, John Shean, in Ross, Kalamazoo, Michigan. The 1880 census identifies the birth place of each person listed in the census and their parents. It notes that her father was born in Vermont and her mother in Canada. The 1900 Census places Mary and John Shean in Aurora, Hamilton, Nebraska. That census gives her date of birth as February 1843. It places her birth in New York, her father in Vermont and her mother in Canada. Mary is present in the 1910 Census in Aurora after that the documentary trails for her ends. The Shean family history that identifies Mary’s middle name as Etta provides a date of death for John Shean May 5, 1925 in Aurora who they also note that he was born in Michigan. It notes that some of their children were born in Hickory Groves, Michigan. They admit that they do not have a death date for Mary. The records seem to tell us that Mary and Martha Griffin were twins both were born in Erie County in February 1843.------------ Frederick Griffin appears in the 1850 census as age 5, the 1855 as age 10 and the 1860 as age 15. The New York census indicates that he was born in Allegany County. While conducting a detailed search of the 1865 New York census records we discovered a marriage records for Frederick, "Fredrick Griffin-19-Helen Dunham-18- Dunkirk, NY, January 22, 1865". A search of the 1860 census for Dunkirk turns up a Helen Dunham age 13 along with her mother Jane Dunham. The 1880 census in Denver , Colorado finds a Fred Griffin and his wife Helen as well as his mother-in-law Jane Dunham. Fredrick and Helen are buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Denver. His headstone reads; Fredrick F. Griffin-- 17 January 1845--27 August 1892.------------- There is a single historical note for Lamira. She appears in the 1850 census in New Hudson at the age of 2. Her absence in the 1855 and 1860 census records would seem to argue that she died at a very early age.------------ Samuel Griffin Genealogy Blog // samuelgriffingenealogy.blogspot.com

Joel Griffin's family 1767-1833

Joel Griffin’s family; Joel // Samuel // Samuel Griffin of Killingworth------------- The 1820 Federal Census taken in Bangor, Franklin County, New York, adds a lot of definition to the family of Joel Griffin and Submit Alvord. The transcription of the original, lists a family of eleven. The list includes two young males under the age of ten. A close examination of the original manuscript uncovers certain clues. The column that lists the two young boys appears to be smudged. If you look at a number of pages that make up the census for Bangor you will see where the census taker made several mistakes. You can see where he blotted out an original number and inserted another number. Such is the case with the two boys. What you are actually seeing is that the census taker wrote down the number “2” and then tried to blot it out. The actual record should have been a blank column. Many researchers, relying on the transcription, have looked for two what are in fact non existent boys. ------------------------- What the 1820 Census shows is a family of 7 children and their parents. The two oldest boys, Oramel age 26 and Milton age 24 have left home. In the household are Aaron and Joel Jr. listed as between the ages of 16 and 25. The census list two older girls, Lois age 23 age Sophia age 17. There are two girls age 10 to 15, Laura and Sophronia. The baby in the family is Nancy age 8 in 1820. ------------------- The 1820 Census did not in fact list the names in the household. We have to wait until the 1850 census before each member of a household is listed by name. It has only been by a curious journey that we have discovered the names of Joel and Submit’s children. ------------------ Joel and his brother, Asahel, left Killingworth, CT as young men. They are listed in the 1790 census in New Haven, Vermont. While Asahel’s presence is easy to trace in New Haven there is no footprint for Joel. We discover Joel in Swanton, Vermont after a detailed search in an index for the 1800 census for the state of Vermont. In the first volume of town records a few of the men in town recorded their children. On a page we find, “Oramel Griffin Son of Joel & Submit Griffin Born in Swanton March 28th, 1794. Milton Griffin Son of Joel & Submit Griffin born in Swanton January 18th 1796. Lois Griffin Daughter of Joel and Submit Griffin born in Swanton October 8th 1797”. ---------------------- There are no town records for the birth of the three additional children, Aaron, Joel Jr. and Sophia born in Swanton. By the time that Laura was born on 1805 the family was living in Malone/Bangor, Franklin County, New York. ------------------ Birth records for Franklin County, New York are nonexistent. As a result early efforts to identify Joel and Submit’s children ended in failure. One of the few records that mention a Griffin is a marriage of Sophronia Griffin to Solon Jackson Nichols in the Malone Palladium. The article notes that Sophronia was from Malone/ Bangor. The date, October 1828, hints that Sophronia could be a member of Joel’s family. The discovery of the identify of Joel and Submit’s children hinged on the fact that Oramel was to gain some notoriety in his life. Early records for men who served in the war of 1812 include a record of Oramel. It included information that in 1821 he had moved to Sparta in Livingston County. A search for him in western New York eventually led to a biography in an early history written for Allegany County, New York. He was considered to be one of the most prominent men to live in the County in its first one hundred years. The history noted that due to his financial success he was able to draw his extended family around him. Based on that knowledge it was easy to find record of Oramel, along with his father and mother and brothers Joel Jr. and Milton, in and around Rushford, Allegany, New York. Their names are prominent in the histories written for Rushford. In reviewing census and other records we also find Solon Jackson and Sophronia Nichols living in nearby New Hudson near Milton. Another hint of family connections is the fact that Oramel named his two boys Solon and Jackson after his brother-in-law. As we expanded our search we found the extended Griffin family buried in a family plot in the White Cemetery in Rushford. The names of Oramel his father and mother and his brother Joel Jr. are etched on a single pillar. ----------------------- In the history, Rushford, and Rushford People, there is a section dedicated to the Griffin’s, Oramel, Milton and Joel. Later on in the volume we find a reference to a Mrs. Hitchcock who the histories notes was a sister to the well-known Joel Griffin. It is an easy search to find the family of Augustus and Sophia Hitchcock living in Caneadea a sister city to Rushford. In the 1880 census we find Sophia Hitchcock, identified as a “sister” as part of the household of Solon and Sophronia Nichols. ---------------- Also discussed in the Rushford history is the Gordon family. The reference notes that Simon Gordon, born May 11, 1811, married Laura Griffin. This poses the question, is Laura a part of Joel’s family? Oramel again provides the answer indirectly. ---------------------- Oramel by his own determined initiative rose up the economics ladder. He apprenticed himself to a successful businessman and worked himself up to a partnership. He would later move to Rushford where he established his own dry goods store and allied businesses. He raised enough capital to buy property along the Genesee Canal, an offshoot to the Erie Canal, were he established a prominent transshipment center. A town, named Oramel, grew up at that location. With his accumulated wealth Oramel became a prominent land developer on the frontier in Michigan. His sons Solon and Jackson managed his affairs in Michigan. Due to the level of success in the Michigan undertaking at some point many members of the extended family gathered around Kalamazoo including Solon and Jackson and Milton’s daughter Mary. We find in the 1880 census, in Michigan, in the household of Solon and Sophronia Nichols , Sophia Hitchcock. In the census records for the extended family it is easy to find family connections as members of the separate families show up in the census records for their kin. ------------------ With a hint that she may have died in Michigan we searched the vital records for Sophia Hitchcock. In the Michigan State Archives we found a will filed under the name Sophia Hitchcock. In the will we find confirmation for a number of family connections. Sophia identifies her sisters, Sophronia Nichols, Laura Gordon, the wife of Simon Gordon from Rushford, and “My sister Nancy F Gordon of Sauk Rapids, Minn”. Later evidence demonstrated that Laura and Nancy had married Gordon cousins from Rushford. --------------------------- In the 1855 New York census for Caneadea we find in the household of Simon and Laura Gordon the recently widowed Sophia Hitchcock. Also in the household is Jackson Griffin, Oramel’s son. ------------------- Following up on the hints about Laura a search in Sauk Rapids led us to the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery. In the cemetery we find headstones for Nancy F Gordon, Sept. 1, 1884 and Samuel Gordon, Dec. 14, 1879. ------------------- The most tenuous family connection is for Aaron. The only record of Aaron is in the 1820 and 1830 census for Malone, New York. In those census records the census taker would work his way through a neighborhood going from one house to the next or down a country lane. In the 1830 census we find Aaron living next door to Joel and a few house down from Milton. Dates in the 1820 and 1830 census records indicate that he was born about 1799. A 1799 date of birth is a match for the time line of Joel’s children. --------------------- Oramel was born March 28, 1794 in Swanton, Vermont. He died in Rushford September 5, 1877. He married Caroline Gary. ----------------------- Milton was born in Swanton on January 18, 1796. Milton married Eleanore Doty. The last record of Milton is the 1875 Census taken in New Hudson, Allegany, New York. Evidence from his son, Joel's, will indicates that by 1880 he has passed away. -------------------- Lois was also born in Swanton October 8, 1797. There is not a documentary trail that traces the life of Lois. There are family records on web sites such as Ancestory.Com that documents the life of Hiram Luther Drake and his wife Lois Griffin. The telling hint for a family connection is the name of her oldest son, Oramel. Lois is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Gouverneur, New York. The cemetery records note a date of death, June 24, 1874. ----------------------- Aaron Griffin left a very faint documentary trail. The key document is the 1830 Census. The census shows Aaron living next door to Joel and a few doors down from Milton. The census records and the birth order for Joel’s family suggest a date of birth in 1798/9 in Swanton, Vermont. He disappears after the 1840 Census. ------------------------ Joel Griffin Junior was born in Swanton according to census data in about 1801. He and his wife Clarissa are buried in the White Cemetery in Rushford, New York. His headstone gives a date of death of April 22, 1871. ---------------------------- Sophia was the last of the Griffin’s to be born in Swanton. Census records place her birth in Vermont in about 1803. Her will was probated in Kalamazoo, Mich. February 7, 1881. Sophia married Augustus Hitchcock in Caneadea, New York. -------------------------------- Laura Griffin according to census records was born in 1805 in Malone/Bangor, Franklin, New York. She married Simon Gordon in Rushford. In the 1855 NY census in Caneadea in the household of Simon and Laura Gordon we find Sophia Hitchcock and Jackson Griffin, Oramel’s son. In the 1855 and 1865 NY census records the county of her birth is listed as, Franklin. In her will her sister Sophia identified her as Laura Gordon of Moline, Ill.. The last record of her is the 1880 census in Moline, Ill. living with her daughter Helen Wheeler. ------------------------- Sophronia and her husband Solon Nichols followed their son, Rollin, to Topeka, Kansas later in their life. They are buried in the Rochester Cemetery in Topeka. Her headstone records a birth on January 25, 1807 and her death on January 10, 1893. ------------------------------------ Nancy Griffin’s date of birth is found in biographical data collected for her husband. Nancy’s date of birth is noted as 1812 in Franklin County, New York. The 1855 and 1865 NY census records list the county of her birth as, Franklin. Cemetery records for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Sauk Rapids, Minn. lists her death on September 1, 1884. Nancy and her husband, Samuel were later moved to the Rushford Cemetery. In his biography Samuel’s wife is identified as Nancy Griffin. --------------------------- Samuel Griffin Genealogy Blog—samuelgriffingenealogy.blogspot.com ------------------------- Rushford and Rushford People by Helen J White Gilbert, 1910; available online.

Civil War Letter to David Brainard Griffin

We have previously published a short article regarding the letters written home during the Civil War by David Brainard Griffin. The letter posted here is part of that collection. David, in his letters, makes note to his wife of other letters that he wrote and received from the family still living in Essex, VT. This letter is from his sister, Mariah. She starts the letter, “Dear Brother Brainard”. We have included a few pages of the original along with a transcription of the whole letter. In the letter she mentions a number of family names including a reference to Grandmother Griffin. The letter is also noteworthy in its description of a common farm along with its animals. Of particular interest is her notation that they produced 350 pounds of sugar that particular spring. Family records note that her grandfather, Samuel Griffin Jr. was a noted sugar producer. This is the first indication I have ever seen that provides any evidence of the quantities they were producing.---- Our thanks to Lynette Wescovich and Nick Adams for this material.-------- David Brainard // Orlow // Samuel Jr. // Samuel // Samuel Griffin of Killingworth, Ct. Barnard June 7th 1863 Dear Brother Brainard it is with pleasure that I seate myself to answer your kind and long looked for letter I began to think that I should never hear from any of you for I have writen to you but have not had a line from you before since you left Essex and I was some what supprised to get one now, and was glad to hear that you was well and your family but sorry to hear that you to have gone to the war you can hardley find a family but what have got Father Sones Brothers or Husband in the armey and how maney there is that will never return to their homes again. Oh how I do wish that this war would end and peace be restored again. Well here I be settled down in Barnard on a farm and like it very much there is 112 acres of land it is a hill farm but those are called the best we have got 1 yoke of oxen 2 cows 4 two year olds 1 yearing 2 calvs and a horse 41 sheep and 16 lambs one old hog and 12 little pigs 8 hens and a cat not any baby. we have not got our farm paid for yet but if we have good luck and Arvin does not have to go to the war I think that we shall have a home some time. we have kept house 3 years the first year Arvin worked by the month the next we took a place and then we bought here come here one year ago last March. before we kept house we staid in Lowell the most of the time Arvin worked in the picker shop and we boarded with Uncle Charles. Well Sylvia and I have been to Church this afternoon we live 3 miles from the village there is a store a tarven a post office and 3 meeting houses and a grist mill there. have a methodist meeting all of the time and others once in 2 weeks. then it is about 3 miles from Gaysville that is in Stockbridge there is 2 stores one meeting house and 2 woolen factorys there. it is 8 miles to Bethel depot and 12 to Woodstock and a little over half of a mile to the School house. I think that it is about 80 miles to Uncle Johns they was all well the last that I knew of them Claridus has gone to the war he went as a drummer. Arvin and I went over there 2 years ago last winter and from there to Essex with a horse and sleigh had a good time have been home twice with a team it is about 80 miles just a pleasant ride we stop in Montpelier over knight Arvin has an Uncle that lives there his Father Mother Brothers and Sisters live in Barnard he has 4 Sisters and 3 Brothers one of them has gone to war one of the 9 month's men if nothing happens they will be at home next month if not before. I have not had a letter from Henry since he enlisted and a long time before. Mother fetched your minature over for me to see but I should not known it I wish that I could see your babys minatures and them to. Arvin has got the teeth ache the worst kind he washed 100 sheep yesterday and got coald and he is troubled with the rheumatism ever so much but he does not stop for that. we are having quite a shower now it has been quite rainy for a week past the grass is first rate but it is not hardley warm enough for other things, but hope that they will come on before long. We have a good orchard of grafted fruit got some apples now they keep very good we made 350 pounds of sugar this spring. I will try now and finish this letter we had a letter from home last week they was all well from home I say, but there is no home there we have no place that we can call home there you do not know how it does seem to go there and now I cand father Thompson is gone how lonesome it must be Grandmother Griffin is still alive but very feable You tell “Nerva” to write to me I have wrote to her twice since you left Essex but have not got any letter from her once I sent it with Jason I think that you will remember it but I will excuse you now. when you write again, if you are ever permited to do so and I hope that you will be, please tell me how old your Children are and what there Names are for I want to know all about them where is Allen Griffin is he married yet and 'little' Hen as we used to call him where is he and all of the rest of the family I wish that I could go there and see them all I should like to go there to live but presume that will not be has Mary got any Children what is her Mans name. I have not seen Dan for a long time they called to Mothers last winter. they talk of drafting here now they are around enroleing the malitia now but I wish that they would settle up the trouble and let the men stay at home and send the men that they have got home it is taking all of the young men that are able to work away from us and what good has it done yet not any. well I guess that you will think that I have wrote enough unless I can write better but excuse the poor writing wont you and write again. Arvin sais that he does not know what to write and he does not get much time to write for he does all of his work alone he works early and late I dropped the corn for him and shall help him some in haying if I am well think that I shall pick hops this fall I did last fall like it very much. now please write again as soon as you get this tell Nerva to write this from your sister Maria and Arvin D. Angell I call him Arvin Angell we have been married six years and six months the 22 of this month

Essex, Vt Congregational records 1797

We have information from the Essex town records that indicate one of the first items of business taken up by the new community of Essex, Vermont was the organization of a Congregational Society. The town records note that the first meeting for the project was held in the home of Samuel Griffin. The formal church records however do not start until 1797. Prominent in the list of original church members is the name of Samuel Bradley. Samuel was to serve as a Deacon in the Society until his death. The Bradley family name is well represented in the records as are the Griffins and their allied families in particular the Kelloggs (Orlo) and the Days, Zilpha Griffin having married David Day. On page 2 we see the name of John Griffin’s wife Mary.

David and Minerva Griffin's children

Many men in both the North and the South were quick to volunteer for service for their respective countries. At the onset of the war the general feeling among the soldiers on both side was that after a sharp clash the conflict would not last long. As the war drug on the enthusiasm for the war began to wane. Without enough volunteers to fill its ranks both side instituted a military draft. The longer the war stretched on the less popular the draft became. Cities and states were forces to offer sign up bonuses, and reenlistment bonuses in order to fill out the ranks. On average most men left the Army when their usually two year enlistment was up. Such was not the case for David Brainard Griffin. He joined out of a true sense of patriotism. He was eligible to leave the Army after two years. But as he so vividly expresses in the letters he wrote to his family he was determined to stay in the Army until the Union was restored. That decision was to result in his death at the battle of Chickamauga. Knowing that he was going to be a long time away from home in his letters he requested that his wife Minerva have a “likeness” taken of her and the children so that he had something to remind him of his family back home. The photo’s displayed here are in all likelihood copies that his wife kept that have been handed down through his generations. One is of the two girls, Alice Jane and Ida May, the second is Minerva and her son Edgar Lincoln. They come to us courtesy of his granddaughter Lynette Wescovich via the good offices of Nick Adams.

David Brainard Griffin Civil War Letters

Sometime around 1790 Samuel Griffin and his wife Mercy Bailey along with their three sons, John, Samuel Jr. and Dan left Killingworth, Connecticut and moved to the newest frontier in New England, Vermont. In Essex, Chittenden, Vermont. Samuel and his three sons carved out very successful farms from the virgin territory. The Griffin brothers all raised large families and maintained generational presences in Chittenden County. There are multiple generation of Griffins buried in a family plot in the Essex Common Burial Ground.---------- As was true in much of New England there came a time when there was not enough farmland available for the next generation. What we see in Vermont is a generation moving west. One of those moving west was David Brainard Griffin who was the grandson of Samuel Jr. David had married his cousin Philinda Minerva Griffin, the granddaughter of Dan Griffin. On the Blog we have documented their journey west. The family eventually settled on homestead land in southern Minnesota. -------- With the coming of the Civil War a patriotic David Brainard joined the 2nd Minnesota Volunteers. His unit served in the western theater of the war. Throughout his service David kept up a weekly correspondence with his family and his beloved “Nerva”. His letters have survived handed down through his descendants. Early in this century they were published to wide acclaim. At one point they were a featured item at the Chickamauga battle site park where he lost his life. I became aware of the existence of the letters some time ago and have been searching for them for sometime. Much to my delight I recently discovered that David’s grandchildren had taken on the task of republishing the letters. They are now available to the public at large. A copy can be purchased on the Internet site, www.Civil-War-Letters.com.----------- I have written articles on a number of the Griffin cousins who served in the Civil War. By no small coincidence studying the Civil War is one of my treasured hobbies. I mention this to preface the statement that I find the letters to be one of the most unique insights into the life of the every day soldier that I have ever read. David’s description of his patriotism is truly remarkable. His description of army life is very rich. His soldier’s view of life in the south and his perspectives on the slaves and slavery is very rare in period letters. There were Griffins cousins from every branch in the Griffin family tree that served in the Civil War. Many lost their lives. David’s letters offer us a truly rare insight into the lives they led while serving.---- Brad Griffin