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.

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."