Where Were Our Ancestors in 1776?

Our Griffin roots were in Wales, then immigrating to Connecticut.     Benoni Griffin, Jr., father of our Jonathan Griffin, lived in Simsbury, CT during the Revolution.  His father, Benoni Sr. was a "Loyalist" during the American Revolution.   Other Loyalists/Royalists moved out to Nova Scotia, but Benoni stayed where he was.   Perhaps it was because his wealth was in land, cattle and sheep, things that could not be easily moved.   Despite being loyal to the crown, he did furnish cattle for the starving American Army.   George Washington appealed to Governor Trumbull for help to feed and clothe the men, and Washington’s  comment was, ' Only Brother Trumbull could have made it happen, and it could only happen in Connecticut.'   Trumbull, Washington, and Benoni  Griffin were all Masons.   There are certain appeals that MAY NOT be ignored by a Mason.   However, nephew Stephen II, son of Benoni's dead brother was in the colonial Army too.   Perhaps he had no choice but to feed when appealed to.     We have no mention of Benoni Jr. during the Revolution. His son, Jonathan, was born in 1777.  This family migrated to western Virginia.

William Sharp Sr., was the father of Rachel Sharp who married Jonathan Griffin.  William is described in records from the American Daughters of the Revolution as serving as a private and fifer in Capt. Lewis  Pelham's Company, Colonel Parker's Virginia regiment in 1778.  Mr. Sharp was likely in Bath county VA prior to 1769 to be  familiar with the Greenbrier property he was granted that year and he located his permanent homestead here about 1773.  He saw service as a  scout, spy and soldier against the Indians and the British.   His own parents had been killed by Indians, as well as those of his wife, Mary Meeks. 

Another ancestor, Joseph Rodgers, would have been about 20 at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.   He was the grandfather of our 2 gt grandmother, Elizabeth M. Rodgers Griffin. They hailed from Madison County VA, near the Rapidan River.   Joseph probably knew or knew of the patriots who came from  that area… Madison, Monroe, and  Jefferson.    Joseph’s son, James Rodgers, was married to Elizabeth Jackson,  daughter of Drury Jackson,  who was a Revolutionary Soldier, serving from 1776 to 1778.  Part of his service took place at Charleston, SC, and he mustered out at Valley Forge.  We have many documents concerning Drury’s service and pension.  

Drury Jackson’s wife Elizabeth Bryan(t), was daughter of Jeremiah Bryan(t),  a man of the same area of Virginia (Madison and Culpeper counties).  His wealth was in land, which he claimed by “tomahawk claim”, making improvements and staking out much land to the west of Virginia. Then he did a lot of trading and selling.  He was not mentioned as taking part in the Rev. War, but was probably expanding his own interests to the west.

 On our Terry side of the family, our known ancestors were still in England till 1840’s .  The McGills were in Ireland  until early 1800s.   The Frost family were in Massachusetts and Connecticut at the time of the Revolution. The DAR has record of our Samuel Frost, serving as a private in the 10th Regiment of Connecticut.   He was part of campaigns in New York in 1776 under Brigadier General Walcott. 

On our maternal branches of the family, I have recently found info that our 4 Gt Grandfather, Robert Cochran, was a Revolutionary Soldier from South Carolina. He was one of the first men to declare against the "Tories" in that state. Another maternal ancestor, Samuel Lowry, born 1757 in North Carolina, states in his pension application that he enlisted in 1775 (only 18 years of age) and served for 6 months. By 1776, he volunteered with a regiment fighting Indians, then joined "the company commanded by Samuel Young, and served as a Ranger, and was employed in resisting the scouting and plundering detachment from Lord Cornwallis' army which was then on its way to little York". After the war, he lived in South Carolina and became a medical doctor. (Coincidentally, my Gt Grandfather was named Samuel Young Griffin. I wonder if he was named for this Revolutionary Soldier.)

Our Easter ancestor, James Easter, originally from Virginia, served in Georgia as a Rev. Soldier in 1778. Muster rolls during that year listed him in Brunswick, and White Plaines, Georgia. He later brought his family to Georgia, perhaps on a land grant for his service. I guess he didn't feel a loyalty to the King who had granted his Virginia land, thirty years before.

Our Grant ancestor, Thomas Grant, was still an infant in Scotland, at the time of the Revolution. He possibly came to America as an orphan, indentured servant, ending up in Tennessee.

Fifth Great Grandfather, James Dillard III, was from Williamsburg, Virginia, a most interesting city during that time. On May 15, 1776, the Virginia Convention passed resolutions urging the Continental Congress to declare American independence from Britain. James is shown to have been a Captain in the 10th Virginia Regiment, retiring to Amherst, VA, after the war. His son John Dillard of Amherst was a Colonel, as declared by descendants who applied as members of the Sons of the American Revolution.

We continually discover more generations and try to chronicle ancestors' lives here in the United States and back into the colonies. We begin to relate to these ancestors as real people and wish we knew more about their lives.

 John Griffin Narrative.... not documented although several books have this info

Born in Wales,   Sergeant John Griffin, a Naval officer, went first to England, where he changed his name from Griffith to Griffin, the English version.   He immigrated to America in 1635 along with his older brother, Edward.

John sailed from England, August 24 aboard the ship, CONSTANCE, en route to Virginia. 

Link to Ship's Passenger List.

http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/tova_constance1635.shtml

He was in the employ of Capt. Claiborne, the Secretary of the Virginia Colonies.   He owned three square miles of land (l, 920 acres) in Virginia.

He worked with the Indians of Virginia.   He could speak English and Welsh, and record has it that he was able to converse with the Indians also.

In June, 1638 when Lord Baltimore of Maryland ordered an attack on the Virginia Islands of Kent and Palmer, John and Edward were on a ship that was captured.   They escaped by ship and left Virginia.   John went to Connecticut and his brother, Edward, went to the Dutch Colony of Amsterdam (New York).

John’s name appears in New Haven CT records in 1642 when he was enrolled in the militia.   In 1643 he was fined a few pence for not having his arms in shape. He took the oath of fidelity at New Haven on July 1, 1644.

He removed to Windsor, marrying there, in 1647, Anna Bancroft of Windsor, and appearing in the Windsor records in August, 1659.   John and Anna (Bancroft) were among the first settlers from Windsor to move to Simsbury where he was a Representative for some years.

Simsbury, CT (Indian name, Massacoe) was settled about 1647.  The first Indian deed was given to John Griffin, 1648, recorded in the town of Windsor.

The shipping industry had a great need for tar and pitch for the ships.   John having been on ships realized this, and having located a great source of pine trees began to manufacture tar and pitch.   He had joined with Michael Humphrey in the manufacture of tar and turpentine in the pine forest of Massaco and Salmon Brook.   The tar, used by the British Navy, promised fortunes for both of them.

About 1646, the tar kilns of John Griffin were set afire by Indians.   Somehow John found out that the name of the Indian responsible was Manahannoose, a local Algonquin who was tired of English encroachment.   Manahannoose was captured, and according to a new law was ordered to be a servant of Mr. Griffin,   or shipped off in return for enslaved Africans, or to pay 100 Pounds.

To prevent this from happening, his village deeded the area of Windsor known as Massaco to John Griffin.   Although technically illegal for John to accept this deed, he probably looked at it as a promising business venture and took advantage of it.   Thirteen years later, (probably after removing the tar and pitch) John turned his deed over to the colony.

In 1663 a grant of 200 acres was made to John Griffin in consideration for taking the land from the Indians and “that he was the first that perfected the art of making pitch and tar in those parts --The land was to be taken up where he can find it between Massaco and Waranoake, whereof there may be forty acres of meadow, if it be there to be had, and be not prejudicial to a plantation, and not granted."

This was later known as "Griffin's Lordship or Griffin’s Hardship" and today there are roads and areas with the name of Griffin. 

John Griffin is considered to be the first settler of Simsbury and Granby.   He represented Simsbury in the General Assembly from 1670-74.   He was a prominent and successful businessman and pioneer, but that was not all. He also had a lighter side.   In 1655 he was fined 20 pounds on a complaint of "riotous conduct of John Griffin, John Bancroft and Jacob Drake."

His estate inventory of August 23, 1681 included about three square miles of land, or about 1,920 acres.  We don’t have a copy of his will, but one of his daughters, Abigail Griffin Segar, received one cow.

Abigail Griffin Segar and husband Richard died within weeks of each other leaving 3 children.

Their household inventory included:  tallow, bees wax for candles, earthen dishes, bowls, a pewter cup and 2 pewter spoons, 2 glass bottles, a meal sieve, an old iron pot, iron kettle, and a frying pan.  Furniture: 1 bed, chest, box, 1 blanket & a “civerland” (coverlet).  No chairs or table. No plow, axe, hoe, or saw.  One cow had been Abigail’s inheritance from John, Lord Griffin’s estate.  They had looms and wove to barter and rent of tools (not many households had looms or spun cloth).  They had land and house of 26 acres total and 10 acres marsh.

There was not much schooling as all children had to work.  The Segar children had to sell their land.  Another son in law, Wilcoxson, had more tools and books, guns (Mindwell Griffin was his wife), spinning wheel, furniture and 150 acres of good land. But he died at age 47.  

 (Some of this information was copied for Ella Griffin Spooner who was seeking information to enable her   to join DAR)   Facts also taken from FAMILY TREE MAKER, ancestors of Lydia Carrington Payne and Ancestors of Mary Frances.   More information came from Kathy Griffin Hughes.

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week # 26 Theme - Identity

The word Identity would normally make me think of an individual discovery, but my entry is for a whole family line. When I was growing up, my father, Dan Griffin, in Oklahoma, would say "Our Griffin family is NOT the Virginia Griffins."  It stuck in my mind and when I began genealogy searching, I kept it as a clue.  My knowledge of his Griffin family stopped with my Gt Grandfather, Samuel Young Griffin, who was a Union Veteran and died in Kansas, where he had homesteaded.  As we traced his heritage, and the "Identity" of this family, we found his father and grandfather in an area of Virginia that would become West Virginia.  But Daddy said we were NOT the Virginia Griffins.  Further research showed that our Griffin ancestors came from Connecticut before claiming land in Bath/ Pocahontas County in West Virginia.  Before Connecticut, our immigrant Griffin came from Wales in the 1600s.  I believe that family tradition had passed along the "Not Virginia Griffins" because Virginians would have been Southern sympathizers.  The area of our family was in a Union area. Some families even being split by their loyalties.  My father and grandfather knew of the Union Veteran, Samuel Griffin, and wanted to carry on that conviction.  I am proud of that identity and those who carried it.  The Griffin name is still being passed along in given names of many descendants.

 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.

Come a Hip, Come a Whoop, Come a Hi Low

This is a song passed down in our Griffin/ McGill family for at least 4 generations. We always thought it was a nonsense song, as the "poor reindeer" couldn't have climbed a tree. But now as I search the Internet, I find it was a hunting song about a fox "Beau Reynard". I am wondering which branch of my family tree brought this song into the family lore, and which generation "mis-heard" the lyrics. Here are the words we know and below are the lyrics from a hunting song from Cornwall.
COME A HIP, COME A HOOP, COME A HI-LO
Chorus:
Come a hip, come a hoop, come a hi-lo
Across the merry way.
With a rip tip tip, and a rap, tap, tap,
And hurrah, boys..
And a bow wow wow and a roodle doodle doo,
And the bugle horn plays fee fie eeedle-ey I - dee oh...
And through the woods we’ll run brave boys,
And through the woods we’ll run.
Verse:
The first thing I saw was a school boy a-comin’ home from school
He said he saw a poor reindeer a - swimmin’ in a pool...
Chorus:
Verse:
The next thing I saw was a blind man, as blind as he could be,
He said he saw a poor reindeer climb up a hollow tree...
Chorus.
______________________________________________________________________________
Published in "The Book Buyer, Vol 11" in 1894, the song was at least 50 years old when printed. The writer says it was brought from Cornwall at that time.
Come all ye merry sportsmen
Who love to hunt the fox,
Who love to chase bold Reynard
Among the hills and rocks!
Come a whoop, come a whoop, come a hi lo
Along the merry lane
With a rap tap tap and a rip tip tip
And hurrah boys, with a bow wow wow
And a roodle doodle do goes the bugle horn
Sing fee-fi-fiddle-di- i -dee-ay
And through the woods we'll run brave boys,
And through the woods we'll run.
_________________________________________________
Another version, attributed to the Germans, says:
With a hoop, hoop, hoop and a heigh-O
Along the narrow straat.
Rat tat tat and a tippee tippee tap
With a bow wow wow
Come a hoodle doodle do
And a bugle sound.
As through the woods he ran brave boys,
And through the woods he ran.
Followed by many verses about Beau Reynard, the fox.

Sixteen Great Great Grandparents

Paternal Gt Gt Grandparents:
1. William Griffin. b. 27 Mar 1812, Bath County, VA (later Pocahontas, WV). m. 25 Oct 1838, Pocahontas Co., VA. d. 4 Nov 1889, Edmond OK OK. Nationality - Wales, England

2. Elizabeth M. Rodgers. b. 4 Aug 1818, probably Madison Co, VA. d. 16 June 1903, Edmond OK, OK. Nationality - probably English, some Dutch

3. William J. Terry. b. 11 Apr. 1812, England. m. 12 Sept 1836, St. Luke's, Old Charlton, Canterbury, Kent, England. May 14 1863, Macon Co., IL. Nationality - English

4. Charlotte Clarke. b. 5 Oct 1806, England. d. 8 Nov 1890, Clackamas Co., OR. Nationality - English, possibly Irish.

5. Patrick McGill. b. bet. 1782-1790 Ireland. m. before 1835 probably Carleton, Ontario, Canada. d. Between 1852 - 56 Ontario, Canada. Nationality - Irish.

6. Mary _____ . b. About 1814, Ireland. d. About Apr 1856, Johnson Co., IA. Nationality - Irish.

7. Elias Carlos Frost. b. 19 Dec 1826, Berea, Cuyahoga Co., OH. m. 5 Oct 1850, Johnson Co., IA. d. 3 Jan 1907, Perry, Noble Co., OK Territory. Nationality - English

8. Lucinda Harrington. b. 26 Jan 1828, New York. d. 11 Feb 1900, Perry, Noble Co., OK Territory. Nationality - English

Maternal Gt Gt Grandparents:
9. Hardy Richard Avera. b. 5 May 1825, Mississippi. m. about 1845 in Wayne Co., Mississippi. d. Sept. 1907, Texas. Nationality - Scotch-Irish

10. Martha Caroline McLeod. b. June 1829, Mississippi. d. Jan 1910, Texas. Nationality - Scottish

11. John C. Easter. b. 1841 in Athens, Limestone Co., AL. m. 19 Nov. 1860 , Grant's Prairie, Robertson Co., TX. d. 4 June 1862, Grant's Prairie, Robertson Co., TX. Nationality - English.

12. Nancy Levenia Grant. b. 21 Mar. 1845, Pontotoc Co., Mississippi. d. 1862, Grant's Prairie, Robertson Co., TX. Nationality - Scottish

13. Francis Asbury Cochran. b.15 Jun 1817, South Carolina. m. 1849, Tennessee. d. before 1880, Arkansas. Nationality - Scottish

14. Sarah Ann Lowry. b. 24 Mar 1833, Union Co., South Carolina. d. 21 Sept. 1878, Fairview, Hopkins Co., TX. Nationality - Scotch-Irish

15. Robert Dillard. b. 1807 Henry Co., VA. m. 15 Sep 1840, Ralls Co., MO. d. 18 Feb. 1868, Jefferson, Marion Co., TX. Nationality - English

16. Elvira Elizabeth Chitwood. b. 1821, Spencer Twp., Ralls Co., MO. d. after 1883, Cooke Co., TX. Nationality - English

My nationality would be from the British Isles. Over 50%, English, with a dash of Welsh. 31% Scotch or Scotch-Irish. And 12.5% Irish. 12 of the 16 born in the United States. 2 Ireland, 2 England. I hope to publish DNA percentages soon.

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.