The Luck of the Irish

My Irish immigrant family brought the Luck of the Irish with them. Maybe 8 year old Mary McGill had a lucky penny in her shoe when she came from Ireland to Canada in the early 1800s. Her life was hard; her husband, Patrick, who was 30 years her senior, worked in the timbers or building the canal. But the records show that at least they had a house, as opposed to the neighbors who lived in wooden shanties. When Mary was widowed, with 3 young children, she was lucky to join a group who made their way west to the United States. In Iowa City, although she was ill, Mary was lucky again, to find a man who would help her write a will, making sure her children were cared for. My Gt Grandfather, Daniel Patrick McGill, was her youngest child, age 5, when she died. The Shafer family, who fostered Daniel, were childless but raised him as their own and even sent him to the University. The foster father and mother just "happened" to be related to Eva Frost, who was eventually married to Daniel Patrick. There was illness during those years in Iowa, but Daniel was lucky to survive. Sadly, his sister, Bridget, brother, John, John's wife, and one baby died. One of Daniel's nephews remained, and that lucky boy was fostered by Daniel and Eva. Years later, after the family moved to western Iowa, Daniel was lucky enough to see a flyer that told of land opening for homesteads in Oklahoma Territory. In 1889, he made his way to Arkansas City, Kansas, and boarded a train for the new frontier. Daniel, and 3 other pioneers, jumped from the train, and set off west across the prairie. As luck would have it, they came to a place where 4 quarter sections were marked with stakes. Since McGill was the only one who had a large family, he was the lucky one chosen to claim the land with the best source of water. His family, including my grandmother, age 8, came from Iowa by covered wagon to join him on the homestead. And here I am, one of the lucky descendants to come from this family, and lucky to have that story preserved for more than 200 years after little Mary McGill crossed the Atlantic. The picture above is of Daniel P. (seated) and Eva McGill (standing center) and their family on the homestead west of Edmond, Oklahoma. This land is still pasture land and the pond is still there.

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. 2023 Week 4, Theme is "Education".

My cousins and I have contributed for years to the history of the family, especially my Griffin family. Our Gt grandmother Lizzie Terry Griffin has been our inspiration. A widow bringing young children from Kansas to Edmond OK soon after the Land Run, and homesteading on land near Portland and Waterloo Rd. Central State College, later University of Central Oklahoma, in Edmond was just getting started and she sent many children and grandchildren to the school. And now many descendants and their spouses have attended, since those early days to the present. There is a bench on campus to memorialize her. In 2015, she was honored post-humously to The Luminary Society at UCO. The Luminary Society was developed as part of the 125th celebration year. She was one of only 125 outstanding members of the UCO community to be chosen since the establishment of the Territorial Normal School of Oklahoma, from 1890 to the present. I believe this honor was well deserved and partly happened because of our family research together. Our matriarch has influenced so many, and the numbers have grown to include Lizzie's Great Great Grandchildren just at Central State/ University of Central Oklahoma... not to mention those who have gone on to other institutes of education.

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week #21 theme - Yearbook

Since it's time to honor graduates, here are a few yearbook photos of family members found in the 1932 "Bronze Book" of Central State Teachers' College, Edmond, Oklahoma.  (Now the University of Central Oklahoma.)  My sister, Christy Griffin Thomas,  has possession of several of the yearbooks for that era.  She found these for us to post and there are MANY more to be sure.  Top to bottom:  My father, Dan Griffin of Edmond, OK. Member of Arena Club and formerly of the Men's Glee Club. Arena Club was a debating society, which also held an annual Barn Dance. Although my father and mother were in the same graduating class, he was 4 years older... taking alternate years to work and attend college. His specialty/ major was Industrial Arts and everyone took Education classes. 

Our mother, Bess Avera, of Oklahoma City, OK.  She had attended Okla. College for Women in Chickasha before transferring to Central. She was a member of YWCA, Glee Club (2nd Soprano) and a group called W. A. A. (could be Women's Athletic Association). After graduation, she worked as a book keeper for Bell Telephone in Oklahoma City. 

Below  is my dad's first cousin, Dorothy Mann, of Edmond. She was a teacher and librarian and eventually came back to the University of Central Oklahoma, where she
developed and chaired the library science program for teachers. 

We also found a page with my Dad's brother, Charles (Chick) Griffin at top, and Dad, Dan Griffin, at bottom.  Don't know who is the fellow in the middle.  This may have been on the membership page for the Arena Club. 

Just for fun, here is a page called Circus. They must have had a great time with this event for silliness and costumes. We don't see any familiar faces in this crowd but imagining the lively atmosphere on campus. 

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week #20 theme, Textiles.

May I introduce you to our Gt Aunt Mamie (Mary Lucinda McGill). Notice her beautiful blouse. She may have made it herself, as well as those of her sisters , since she was shown to be a dressmaker in 1900 Census. The McGill family had traveled by covered wagon from Iowa to the newly opening land in Oklahoma in 1889.  By 1910, she had left her rural home in Edmond Oklahoma, to live in the big town of Oklahoma City and work at the five story, marble-floored  Mellon Department Store as a milliner.  

We have found an advertisement from the Mellon Store which states:

Just received from the most authoritative producers of millinery styles, a shipment of hats in the new vogues for early  fall street and afternoon wear.

The new styles are strikingly beautiful and diversity is shown in models, large shapes and small shapes. The Watteau or ageless model  is a very novel one, having a flat round crown and an unusually shaped mushroom brim. Other styles find their inspiration from the ages of Louis XV.

Velvets, hatters' plush silk, and felt are the foundations, with folds, aigrettes, paradise feathers and other plumage as trimmings.

We now have very smart styles at prices ranging from $5.00 - $15.00.

The Mellon Company

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

I believe that Mamie was hired to reproduce those new styles  for the ladies of the city.  In later years she was a milliner at John A. Brown's department store, also in downtown Oklahoma City. She never married and lived in a boarding house where we would visit her.  She dressed stylishly, similar to Chanel styles, in linen dresses or suits, with strings of beads. She dyed her hair auburn all her life. 

These pictures are from a trip she made to California to visit a sister and some cousins.  You can see her ivory linen traveling dress with hat, shoes, hose and gloves to match, even though she and her niece, Evana, were up close and personal with an ostrich.  The second photo was made at the beach during that visit... about 1930.  This family scene carries out the theme of Textiles because of the variety of clothing. (Aunt Mamie is in black with sun glasses.) Makes me grin to see all this bunch dressed up  At The Beach !!!

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week # 14 Theme - Check it Out.

Straying a little from the theme of "Check it Out".  Having just checked out our family's census record for 1950, I thought this was appropriate for this week.  This is a picture of my immediate family on Palm Sunday of 1950.  A rare photo of all the family together, as my Dad was always the camera man. We are standing in front of my grandparents' home in Edmond, OK.  In the photo:  Bess and Dan Griffin, baby Jim Griffin, I am in the center, with Christy on my left, Janelle in front.  Note that all 3 of us girls are wearing plaid... so "checks"... right? 

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 13 theme - Sisters.   

These are the 5 McGill girls circa 1900, Edmond OK. My Grandma Hattie and her sisters. Top: Mary Lucinda (Mamie), b. 1876, and Kitty Lela b. 1890. Center: Eliza Amelia, b. 1878. Bottom: Carrie Gladys, b. 1884, and Harriett Emily, b. 1880 (Hattie... my paternal Grandma).

I believe they all were seamstresses and may have made their dress-up blouses. Eliza and Hattie married two of the Griffin boys, who lived about two farms away. We grew up learning that those of us descended from their families were "double cousins". The McGill and Griffin families were '89ers... claiming free land in the Oklahoma Land Run and settling west of Edmond OK. I knew all these lovely ladies and wish I had asked them about their pioneer lives, especially about their grandmother, Lucinda Herrington Frost, who is my "brick wall ancestor". They would have grown up knowing her through their childhood and teen years. Lots to learn about the history of the McGill and Griffin pioneer families.

William Griffin, son of Jonathan

William Griffin, my great great grandfather, was the third child of Jonathan and Rachael Sharp Griffin. He was born March 27, 1812, in Bath County Virginia (later to become Pocahontas Co. West Virginia). An old family letter states that William was called “Billy”, and also that he was educated in Connecticut. I have seen no evidence of the latter. Although his father was born in CT, we find no information that family members returned to CT from West Virginia for education.

We do know that the family valued education, and William was a school teacher and Sunday School teacher. According to his obituary, he was an active member and later an officer, of the Methodist Episcopal Church from age 22. He may well have met his wife, Elizabeth M. Rodgers, at church, as her father, James Rodgers, was a devout man of the area. Of course, the churches met in homes in those days, or outdoors under the trees.

This quote is from “Moccasin Tracks and other Imprints” by William C. Dodrill, 1915.

“It is not known that any schools were taught in this county [Webster] before 1835. The first school of which I have any knowledge was erected by two brothers, William and Benjamin Hamrick, and James Dodrill, on the Elk [River] nearly opposite the mouth of Wolf Pen Run, six miles above Webster Springs. [My note: At that time this would have been in Nicholas or Braxton County, later Webster.] These three men employed William Griffin to teach three months, for which he was to receive 30 dollars and board. Spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic were the branches taught. The Bible was the text used in the reading classes. …”

Note: William would have been about 23 at this time. Another source says that William’s brother, Benoni Griffin, taught at the school. Benoni later married William Hamrick’s daughter, Nancy.

Elizabeth Rodgers, daughter of James and Elizabeth Jackson Rodgers, was born Aug. 4, 1818, in what she called “East” Virginia, probably Culpeper or Madison County, VA. Her mother died when Elizabeth was a child. Her father brought seven children over the mountains to the Buckeye area of Pocahontas County, where he married for a second time, and had six more children. They lived on Rodgers Mountain, south of the Stony Creek area where the Griffins lived.

After the time that William was a teacher, we next find a record of William as an adult, recipient of 62 acres (possibly more) of land transferred or sold to him by his father, Jonathan Griffin, Sept 4, 1838, just a few weeks before William and Elizabeth's marriage. The land was originally granted to Benoni Griffin of Connecticut, on the Greenbrier River (now site of the Green Bank Telescope.) Jonathan was somehow related to this Benoni; I hope to discover a father/son relationship.

We have a copy of the marriage certificate for William and Elizabeth, which is found on pg. 25, Pocahontas Co. Marriage Book as follows:

22 Oct 1838 Bond: William Griffin and Elizabeth M. Rogers. Surety, William Griffin and James Rogers.

25 Oct 1838 Return: William GRIFFIN and Elizabeth M. Rogers by Joseph G. McKeehan.

There is no indication that William and Elizabeth ever lived on the Green Bank land. Their first son, Joseph was born in 1839, in Pocahontas, where the rest of the Jonathan Griffin family lived. Then in 1840, William, Elizabeth, and son, under 5, are found in Nicholas County. This county was the home of Elizabeth’s two sisters, Tabitha Rodgers, wife of James McAvoy, and Sarah Ann Rodgers, wife of Adonijah Harris, and brother, Robert Rodgers. Harris and Robert Rodgers were both blacksmiths by trade. In later years, at least three of William’s children/grandchildren list their occupations as blacksmith.

William and his wife Elizabeth farmed in Pocahontas County near the family farm in 1850, as father, Jonathan, was aged. After Jonathan’s death around 1852, most of his sons and families, as well as their mother, Rachael, moved to Braxton (later Webster County west of the mountains near the Elk River. Brother, Abraham, stayed on the family farm on Swago and Stony Creek in Pocahontas County.

William was on the petition for the formation of Webster County West VA, in 1860. It has been stated in a family letter that he farmed 400 acres in Webster County. He was blinded in one eye by a corn stalk when walking through his field.

Military Service: Two sons, James M., and Levi J., died of illness, in service to the Union during the Civil War. James served in the 47th Regiment of the Ohio Voluntary Infantry - probably mustered in 1861. He died June 22, 1862. He was first buried in the military cemetery at Charleston West VA, then later re-interred at the military cemetery at West Virginia.

Levi J. was a Private in the 10th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, mustered at Sutton May 3, 1862, at age 18. He died Oct. 13, 1864, at Winchester, of fever. Another son, Samuel Young Griffin, also served the Union in the Ohio Vols 47th Regiment. Although he was stricken with illness, he did return from the war and accompanied the family as they headed west. Our Griffin line descends through Samuel. Letters to father, William, from Samuel during the Civil War.

During the latter part of the war, the families were forced to leave their farms in Webster County and relocate to the military base in Clarksburg, Harrison County. At the close of the Civil War, William and Elizabeth along with their remaining children, and several related families, decided to leave the new state of West Virginia to head for western states. Their sympathies for the Union brought persecution from their neighbors...to the extent that at one time they had to hide in a water filled ditch. The story of this exodus is recorded by a descendant of the Miller family, who traveled with Griffin and Harris families (all related). Click Here for John J. Miller's Civil War Story.

Family letters state that in 1865, William and Elizabeth and ten children, along with several other related families boarded a steamboat on the Ohio River (probably at Marietta OH), and sailed down the Ohio to the Mississippi, then to the Missouri River and up to Council Bluffs, Iowa. As John Miller had land in Exira, Audubon County Iowa, the family must have traveled there by wagon. Elizabeth’s aunts, Julia and Elizabeth Rodgers, in their 80s, (Julia was blind) traveled with them and then on to their brother Chesley’s home in Indianola, Iowa.

As stated in Miller’s story, the Griffins and Millers farmed for a short time in Iowa, then in Carthage, Missouri, and finally in Montgomery County, in southeastern Kansas. Sycamore Township became the home of this family and descendants for many years.

In 1889, William and Elizabeth’s youngest son, Peter Griffin, unmarried, age 28, made the Oklahoma Land Run, staking claims for himself and his parents, west of Edmond in Deer Creek. Soon after they moved to Edmond, Oklahoma Territory, William died. He is now buried at Gracelawn Cemetery. Elizabeth died in 1903, after her daughter in law, Lizzie Griffin, widow of Samuel, and children moved to Oklahoma.

This obituary comes from a Kansas Newspaper, although Wm.'s death occurred in Oklahoma. Jan Griffin Leaf has provided this.

GRIFFIN - William Griffin was born in Pocahontas County, VA., March 27, 1812, and died near Edmond, I. T., [should be Okla. Terr..] Nov. 4, 1889. He married Elizabeth M. Rogers, Oct. 25, 1838. There were born to them twelve sons and two daughters; seven sons and one daughter survive their father, and also his aged wife. He was a devoted member of the M.E. Church for 55 years, during which time he filled various offices in the Church. Father Griffin was a true type of a man and Christian. He was one of the few that opposed secession in his township at the breaking out of the Rebellion. He moved and settled for a time in Montgomery County, Kans., during which time the writer was his pastor and always found him in his place at church when it was possible for him to be there. He died as the good man dieth, and leaves behind him the savor of a good name, more to be desired than gold. J. ALBERT HYDEN. Cherry Vale, Kans.

More information on the children of William and Elizabeth:

Three children did not survive to adulthood and we do not know their dates of death or burial place. They are Rachel J., Robert O., and Alpheus. The oldest son, Joseph, is said to have died of fever about 1861, at age 22.

Samuel Young Griffin married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Terry, in Montgomery Co., Kansas. When he died in 1891, Lizzie brought the children to live in Oklahoma on the land claimed by her brother-in-law, Pete. The story of Sam and Lizzie, their life and family will be found on a separate blog page.

Adam Bland Griffin. We have a biography of Adam, contributed by a descendant, Elisha Dawn Barnett. Adam met Sarah Wiggins in Iowa, where they eloped. They then came to Kansas, farmed and raised a large family. Adam made the Oklahoma Land Run of 1893.

Sarah Ann “Sally” Griffin, the only surviving daughter of Wm. and Elizabeth, married Hugh McNutt when the Griffin family lived in Iowa. She was widowed in her 40s, and after living in Edmond, OK, with sister-in-law, Lizzie for a while, followed her children to Burbank, California, where she died in 1937.

Andrew W. Griffin married Zara Mayfield. He farmed in Montgomery Co., Kansas. Andrew was listed as a blacksmith in the 1870s, as was his brother Adonijah Harris Griffin. We have made contact with a descendant of Andrew and Zara, who lives in Colorado. Link to Andrew’s obituary.

John L. Griffin, with wife Clara O. Piersol & family, migrated from Kansas to Colorado around 1892. John was a mathematician and held positions as teacher, principal & Supt. of Schools, in Boulder and Everett, WA. We also have a biography of John L. and family, contributed by Jan Griffin Leaf of the Seattle, WA area.

Adonijah "Nije" Griffin went to Colorado at about the same time as John, and then to Texas. His first wife was Mattie Hinton, and second was Ida Groseclose. In Baylor County, TX, Nije was a blacksmith and served as postmaster. His descendants are found in New Mexico, Arizona and California.

William F. Griffin married Ellen Davis in Montgomery County, KS, in 1880. He was a farmer and settled in Sparks, Lincoln County, OK. Later he listed his occupation as house painter, was divorced, and lived for a time in Oklahoma City, OK. He died in Sparks, OK, in 1922. His children stayed in Oklahoma.

Peter Charles Griffin was the youngest son of William and Elizabeth. "Uncle Pete" never married. He worked the farm with his father. In 1889, he made the Oklahoma Land Run, staking a claim at Edmond, for himself and his parents. At his death in 1934, he willed his accumulated wealth to his many nieces and nephews. His will provided for a stone for his parents, Elizabeth and William Griffin, in Gracelawn Cemetery, Edmond, Oklahoma. Link to Uncle Pete's story.

Oklahoma Land Run of 1889

The anniversary of the Oklahoma Run of April 22, 1889 is upon us. As children we celebrated by re-enacting the Run, making covered wagons, dressing in long skirts or cowboy garb, packing a lunch and staking our claims on the playground. Being descendants of '89ers, we also went to the parades, picnics, and rodeos on '89ers Day. Grandma Hattie (Harriett Emily McGill Griffin) was a true 89er, having arrived by covered wagon from  Iowa after her father, Daniel Patrick McGill, had staked his claim on that memorable day. Her husband, Charley Griffin's family came in the earliest years of the new Oklahoma Territory, living on land claimed by Uncle Pete Griffin also near Edmond. (see Peter Griffin's story in archives).

To read more on the 1889 Land Rush, follow this link transcribed from 1889 Harper's Weekly Magazine. Note the mention of the train coming from Arkansas City, Kansas. Both of our ancestors, Daniel McGill and Peter Griffin, came on that train. Found this photo on line taken at Arkansas City before the Run. Can you find your Gt Grandpa?

The Santa Fe Tracks veer off to the west when they go through Guthrie, and the land west of Edmond would have looked great from the tracks around Waterloo Rd. So Pete Griffin made his claim and his parents' on the south side of Waterloo Rd. on a creek later called "Bloody Rush" or "Bloody Run" creek, west of the Deer Creek. It is now just "Rush Creek" on maps.

Out in the Sleet, I see Uncle Pete

Little kids in the Griffin family made jokes about the eccentric old Uncle who dressed up in his 3 piece (though mis-matched) suit. Carrying his black umbrella, he would walk to work, or just walk through the then small town of Edmond, Oklahoma. No one knew the story of Peter C. Griffin until we began to search the family of William and Elizabeth M. Griffin (see link in previous post.)

Peter was the youngest child of our 2Gt. Grandparents William and Elizabeth, born in West Virginia in 1860. So he was just a toddler when one older brother died of a virus, and 3 older brothers joined the Union armies and went to war. Only one of those brothers, Sam, came home from that war in 1864, when Peter was only 4. Other brothers, Robert and Alpheus, closer in age, died as children, as did sister, Rachel.

When Peter was about 7, the Griffin family, along with many uncles, aunts, and cousins, had been moved from their Braxton County homes to the safety of the Union Camp in Harrison County. Upon coming home, they found destruction of their farms and persecution by neighbors. So they boarded a steamboat on the Ohio River and sailed down the Ohio to the Mississippi, then to the Missouri River and up to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and on to Exira, Audubon County by wagon. Eventually, the families went to Missouri and on to Montgomery County, Kansas to homestead. Within a year or two, Pete's older siblings married, leaving 4 boys to help father William farm. Soon Pete was the only one left at home. He never married, possibly as he felt the responsibility for his parents and the farm.

In 1889, news of the free land in Oklahoma Territory spread. As Peter's father was elderly and probably not well, the young man decided to participate in the Land Rush. He traveled to Arkansas City where he boarded the crowded train and entered the Oklahoma Territory. Nearing the Edmond area, he jumped off near Waterloo Road, walked west to Deer Creek, and staked two adjoining claims of 160 acres each... one quarter section for himself and one for his parents. The family soon made the move from their Kansas home. William died Nov. 4, 1889, leaving Elizabeth, and Pete to construct buildings and start gardens and prepare for future crops.

In a couple of years, Lizzie Terry Griffin, widow of Pete's brother, Sam, came to Oklahoma from Kansas, with sons and a daughter, to farm with Pete and the elderly Elizabeth. The young men and women (my Grandpa's generation) also married and left the farm. Before 1910, matriarch, Elizabeth M. died, and all the Griffins moved into Edmond, leaving the large farm for smaller acreages, and Pete went to work at the bank in town. He was about 50 years old, and lived with relatives.

This was the time that his gt. nieces and nephews would make jokes "Out in the sleet, I see Uncle Pete." He must have just seemed like a strange old man. Little did they know, besides caring for his family members, he was saving his money for all those years. His death came at age 73, on April 25, 1934, just 4 days after the celebration of "Eighty Niners' Day". We find a photograph of Pete among other Eighty Niners (listed as Charles, his middle name) probably taken in the 1920s.

When Peter Griffin's will was probated, many were probably surprised. His estate totaled about $103,000, comparable to more than $1,000,000 in 2008. After providing for his own funeral and estate expenses, he specified that a large stone would be placed in Gracelawn Cemetery of Edmond, OK, for the Griffin Family, with small ones for himself and his parents. Then he gave $4,000 to his remaining sister, Sarah McNutt, and provided $1,000 each for the education of orphaned great niece and nephew. The remainder was to be divided among 32 living nieces and nephews, which amounted to about $3,000 each. His obituary has not yet been found, but could have called Peter Griffin an eccentric millionaire today, rather than the strange little man with an umbrella "out in the sleet.... Uncle Pete."

Gt. Grandmother Lizzie Terry Griffin

We have found the obituary of our Great Grandmother, Lizzie Griffin, mother of Charley who was posted yesterday.
Edmond Oklahoma Newspaper.
Biography, Mrs. Lizzie Griffin
Elizabeth Ann Terry was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 21 1849 [incorrect, 1850] and departed this life Monday morning, March 20, at the age of 90 years and 2 months, after an illness of two weeks.

Her parents, William and Charlotte Terry, came to America from London, England, in 1848, and settled in Milwaukee. In 1850 they moved to Chicago, where they lived for a short time, later moving to a farm near Decatur, Illinois, where she, with her nine brothers and sisters grew to maturity. In 1869, the family moved west, locating near Independence, Kansas. At this place, she met and married Samuel Young Griffin, October 9, 1873. To this union, 7 children were born, two daughters, Mata, who died in infancy, and Clara, who died in 1918, and 5 sons, who survive her. The husband, a Union Soldier in the Civil War, died October 2, 1891. The widow, with a family of six children, ranging in ages from two to seventeen, seeing a better opportunity in a new country, moved to Oklahoma in 1892, locating on a farm ten miles north of Edmond. In 1899, in order that she might educate her children, she moved to Edmond, where she lived until her death.

A wonderful home-maker and mother, Mrs. Griffin yet found much time to devote to her church, which she loved with an abiding love. In 1898, while living in the country, she helped found and was a charter member of Bethel church. During her years spent in Edmond, she was a devout member of the Methodist church, as active in the Home Missionary Society, the W.C.T.U., and the Ladies' Aid. She taught a Sunday School class for forty years continuously. Her well marked, worn Bible was a daily companion, and in later years, when she was unable to read its words, she could repeat them lovely from memory. She had an unusual gift for friendship and love for humanity, and none came to her for help without receiving it.

She is survived by her five sons: Harry L., Charles W., Ira D., Elmer E., all of Edmond, and Floyd F. of Portland, Oregon, also fourteen grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

CARD OF THANKS
We wish to express our sincere appreciation to our many friends and neighbors for their kind expressions of sympathy and beautiful floral offering during the illness and death of our beloved mother and grandmother. THE GRIFFIN FAMILY
_________________________________________________________

"Speaking Personally" article by D.B.W. in an Edmond Newspaper.
" MRS. LIZZIE GRIFFIN...
In 1892 a widowed mother with six children, ranging in age from two to seventeen years, moved to Oklahoma and settled on a farm ten miles northwest of Edmond.

Old timers recall the hardships that confronted a family with an able bodied father to fend for it. The drouths, the lack of any modern facilities, all of which points to the fearless, sturdy qualities of this mother who so bravely faced what the future had in store for her and her brood in this new land of opportunity.

This week saw that pioneer mother pass to her final reward, and hundreds of friends gathered to pay their final tributes of respect to Mrs. Lizzie Griffin, who, having rounded out her ninetieth year of helpful and inspiring living, gently left this earthly life.

I have known this mother since my early boyhood. I know full well the respect which all held for her, and I hold with deep reverence the high ideals which she ever kept before herself and her family.

Five stalwart sons are truly monuments to her life. They are all men who command the respect of their friends, and I think that no greater tribute can be paid any mother than such a contribution to her country.

Women of her ilk are fast traveling the valley of death, and a few more years will see the true pioneer mothers only a memory to us. But we can always hold their memories close to our hearts .... for they bore their young and reared them righteously and fearlessly."

Grandpa Charley Griffin

Cotton County, Oklahoma, about 1915 or so. My Grandpa worked hard. His Dad died in Kansas and Gt. Grandmother Lizzie came to the brand new Oklahoma Territory to start over. Five sons and a daughter were put to work on the new farm, northwest of Edmond. Charley raised his three sons with a strong work ethic, and a love for learning. Now that we are learning of his heritage we find that the character traits have been passed along for many generations.

Ravages of Time

Ravages of Time - Dan Griffin (private collection, do not copy)

Our Daddy was a photographer with an eye for the special shot. Found this print among his things years later. I believe he was sadly remembering the land of his youth. He must have climbed just such a ladder to view his domain as a boy. When he was past his climbing days, he wrote his name on the topmost point of the KWTV tower as it lay on the ground between Oklahoma City and Edmond, waiting to be raised as the tallest structure in the world at that time. Within a few miles of his boyhood home, at least his name would then be overseer to the edges of the horizon.