Individual Details
William Griffith
(April 15, 1697 - )
From various sources:
William Griffith
b. 1657 in ,,England:
Came from England to Maryland before Jun. 18, 1675 as a settler transported by Michael Stuppel and Stephen Bernard. He was probably a minor, for he remained unmarried until about 1687, and did not receive a land warrant until 1694. William owned land between the South and Severn Rivers in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland. His will dated Aug. 31, 1699, and probated Oct. 23, 1699, names his wife Sarah and the four children. Some descendants show his birthplace as Cardigan, Wales, England. In the Westminster Branch of the Carroll Co. Public Library, in Westminster, Maryland was a book, ca 1997, titled Genealogical Notes on the Griffith Family of Anne Arundel Co., Maryland
“William Griffith was British, transported in 1675 while still a lad into the province of Maryland by Michael Stuppel and Stephen Bernerd, who applied June 18, 1675, for 1,750 acres for transporting 35 persons.
The history of the Griffiths, of Wales, forms an exciting review of the feudal splendor of Griffith, Prince of Wales, but that history is too voluminous for quotation here. Their descendants in Maryland fought valiantly for American independence as did their sires in Wales.
William Griffith took for his wife a daughter of another distinguished house in Scotland. She was Sara Mackubin, daughter of John Mackubin who came from the Lowlands, and claimed descent form the McAlpines, of the Highlands, who back to Kenneth II, the first King of Scotland. (Mackubin is the same name as cAlpin–Mackubin in the Lowlands and McAlpin in the Highlands.)”
Consider the notes above about the 1675 date of William’s arrival: The book titled The Riggs Family of Maryland; a genealogical and historical record, including a study of the several families in England, by John Beverley Riggs, 1939, on pg. 105, has a note that quotes an 1849 letter from one J. Howard Griffith to his grandmother which mentions an old bible in the line of Joshua Griffith that says “the first Griffith that came to America was William. He was kidnapped in Wales & brought in company with William McElfresh to then British Plantations and landed in Maryland, about the year 1655 in the 12th year of his age.” We think the above accounts showing the year 1675 are accurate, and are consistent with Maryland land records. We note that some descendants show William’s birthplace as Cardigan, Wales, but none seem to have any information to support that.
William’s will was dated Aug. 31, 1899, and was proved at Annapolis, Maryland Oct. 23, 1699:
“The last will and testament of William Gr iffith of the County of Anne Arundel, in the Province of Maryland. Planter, made the 31st day of August in the year of our Lord God, 1699, in manner and form following, being weak of body, but of perfect memory. First, I bequeath my soul to God, that gives it to me, in hopes of a joyfull resurrection, in and through the merits of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in whom I trust to have remission of all my sins, and as for my body, I commit it to the ground, to be decently burried at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named, and as for my worldly goods, I dispose of them in manner and form following. I give and bequeath to my wife Sarah Griffith, my home plantation and personal Estate, to her and her disposal. I give and bequeath to my son Charles and Sofiey my daughter, the land lying at Black Acre(Frederick Co) called “Griffiths Lot,” to be equally divided between them. I give to my son Orlando one horse.
William (his mark) Griffith (seal)
Sealed, signed and delivered in the presence of us. William Maccubin, William Ridgely Jr., Thomas Macaley.
(Book H, folio 302, Annapolis, Maryland)
See the book Genealogy of the Griffith Family: The Descendants of William and Sarah MacCubbin Griffith, by Romulus Riggs Griffith, 1892, 335 pp. Another reference is Our Maryland Heritage Book 33 – The Griffith Families of Maryland, 2002, by William Neal Hurley Jr.
Facts:
Wm Griffith had a farm named ‘Black Acre’ – heirs grew the farm over time, expanding it to close to a 1000 acres. It was located just west of Sugar Loaf Mountain pg 91-a Map of the farm exists today-in ‘search ‘ field- type ‘Griffith’ for all book references on family.
2. William Griffith (son of above)
b. 1697
William and Comfort settled in Prince George Co., Maryland, near Catocin (or Catoctin) Mountain, before it became Frederick Co., Maryland in 1748. He was one of the first Justices of the Peace there. His will was witnessed on July 28, 1757 in Frederick Co., Maryland, and proved Sept. 3, 1757.
William Griffith, Jr. lived on Black Acre and had it surveyed on April 12, 1742. (Not to be confused with an earlier Black Acre surveyed for William Black of London, 1724.) The younger William Griffith had come to western Maryland by 1734 when he leased two lots (10,000 acres) on “Carrollton” between “Monoccose and Potowmack.”
He was appointed Constable for Upper Monocacy Hundred in 1735 and in 1742 signed the petition to divide Prince George’s Parish. He also signed the 1744 petition for a road to be laid out from “Tuscarora Creek to Kitoctin Creek.” The March Court of 1748 (Prince George’s County) ordered him to alter the road which led to the Ferry at the mouth of the Monocacy River. In 1757 he wrote his will, which was witnessed by Arthur Nelson. — Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, The Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland 1721-1743, Grace L. Tracey & John P. Dern.
Facts:
Wm Griffith in the mid 1740’s became a big part of road expansions and relocations- The Road to Monacacy-to Antietam see pages 53-55
In 1750, William Griffith was one of three men who were given the responsibility in contracting the first courthouse and jail in Frederick Co. The original ‘Hanging Bell’ still survives today.
A new road became necessary for the growing town of Frederick, William Griffith was called upon to help: ‘In 1754, the Frederick County Court appointed “Thomas Beatty and William Griffith, Gentlemen, to agree for keeping a ferry at the Middle Ford on Monocacy.”8 Beatty and Griffith, in turn, appear to have contracted with Daniel Kennedy, who operated the ferry. ‘
3. Orlando Griffith:
His son Zadoch went to Iredell Co. and his son Chisholm went to Montgomery Co., North Carolina. Other family members went to Yancey Co., North Carolina in 1806.
Orlando Griffith continued to live on Black Acre. After his father’s death he had the tract enlarged by a 1758
survey to 708 acres, but renamed it Griffiths Chance. In 1767, he added other surrounding land to increase the total area to 1,002 acres. In 1769 a further survey, now called Chargeable, extended the Griffith holdings all the way to today’s Greenfield Mills. The map of 1808 identifies the little water falls in the Monocacy there as Griffith Falls.
On May 31, 1774, Orlando Griffith devised his estate to his brothers Henry, Joshua, Benjamin, Charles and
Greenberry and his niece, Lydia. — Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, The Early Settlement of Frederick County,
Maryland 1721-1743, Grace L. Tracey & John P. Dern.
Orlando’s will was date Sept. 10, 1800 and was probated July 31, 1801 in Frederick Co., Maryland.
4. Chisholm Holland GRIFFITH :
Chisholm served the Rev. War at the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey, along with Gray Briggs, the brother of his future wife, Polly Briggs. Chisholm enlisted in the Militia Oct. 1776 in Frederick Co., Maryland. He had the rank of Capt. and fought in the Battle of Germantown. His company marched to Philadelphia where they joined General Washington’s Army and was with the main army at Trenton, New Jersey when 900 Hessians were captured. He spent the winter months guarding them and in 1781 he guarded the British soldiers at Fredericktown who were taken at Yorktown, durinf the winter until the early in 1782.
After the war, in Mar. 1782, Chisholm left Frederick Co. and went direct to Rutherford Co., North Carolina where the Briggs family was located. He met and married Polly there.
Chisholm was a farmer of moderate circumstances and resided in the present Cool Springs Twp. in Rutherford Co. In 1806 he relocated to Buncombe Co., North Carolina, settling there in the Mills River District near the town of Hominey, now called Candler. He appears there on the 1810 census. His wife Frances died very shortly after, late in 1810 or early 1811. Chisholm’s son John, still living in Rutherford Co. came sometime in Aug. 1810 and took his five sisters with him to Hickman Co., Tennessee, including Rachel. Rachel married Robert Boydstun there in Hickman Co.
Chisholm departed Buncombe Co. in 1811 to Franklin Co., Virginia where he married Elizabeth, the widow of John Bowman. Chisholm may have been acquainted with John Bowman as soldiers in the Revolution.
He may have had an additional daughter Eveline, born 1790, by Polly Briggs, and an additional son Thomas born about 1782, by Mary Scott.
William Griffith
b. 1657 in ,,England:
Came from England to Maryland before Jun. 18, 1675 as a settler transported by Michael Stuppel and Stephen Bernard. He was probably a minor, for he remained unmarried until about 1687, and did not receive a land warrant until 1694. William owned land between the South and Severn Rivers in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland. His will dated Aug. 31, 1699, and probated Oct. 23, 1699, names his wife Sarah and the four children. Some descendants show his birthplace as Cardigan, Wales, England. In the Westminster Branch of the Carroll Co. Public Library, in Westminster, Maryland was a book, ca 1997, titled Genealogical Notes on the Griffith Family of Anne Arundel Co., Maryland
“William Griffith was British, transported in 1675 while still a lad into the province of Maryland by Michael Stuppel and Stephen Bernerd, who applied June 18, 1675, for 1,750 acres for transporting 35 persons.
The history of the Griffiths, of Wales, forms an exciting review of the feudal splendor of Griffith, Prince of Wales, but that history is too voluminous for quotation here. Their descendants in Maryland fought valiantly for American independence as did their sires in Wales.
William Griffith took for his wife a daughter of another distinguished house in Scotland. She was Sara Mackubin, daughter of John Mackubin who came from the Lowlands, and claimed descent form the McAlpines, of the Highlands, who back to Kenneth II, the first King of Scotland. (Mackubin is the same name as cAlpin–Mackubin in the Lowlands and McAlpin in the Highlands.)”
Consider the notes above about the 1675 date of William’s arrival: The book titled The Riggs Family of Maryland; a genealogical and historical record, including a study of the several families in England, by John Beverley Riggs, 1939, on pg. 105, has a note that quotes an 1849 letter from one J. Howard Griffith to his grandmother which mentions an old bible in the line of Joshua Griffith that says “the first Griffith that came to America was William. He was kidnapped in Wales & brought in company with William McElfresh to then British Plantations and landed in Maryland, about the year 1655 in the 12th year of his age.” We think the above accounts showing the year 1675 are accurate, and are consistent with Maryland land records. We note that some descendants show William’s birthplace as Cardigan, Wales, but none seem to have any information to support that.
William’s will was dated Aug. 31, 1899, and was proved at Annapolis, Maryland Oct. 23, 1699:
“The last will and testament of William Gr iffith of the County of Anne Arundel, in the Province of Maryland. Planter, made the 31st day of August in the year of our Lord God, 1699, in manner and form following, being weak of body, but of perfect memory. First, I bequeath my soul to God, that gives it to me, in hopes of a joyfull resurrection, in and through the merits of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in whom I trust to have remission of all my sins, and as for my body, I commit it to the ground, to be decently burried at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named, and as for my worldly goods, I dispose of them in manner and form following. I give and bequeath to my wife Sarah Griffith, my home plantation and personal Estate, to her and her disposal. I give and bequeath to my son Charles and Sofiey my daughter, the land lying at Black Acre(Frederick Co) called “Griffiths Lot,” to be equally divided between them. I give to my son Orlando one horse.
William (his mark) Griffith (seal)
Sealed, signed and delivered in the presence of us. William Maccubin, William Ridgely Jr., Thomas Macaley.
(Book H, folio 302, Annapolis, Maryland)
See the book Genealogy of the Griffith Family: The Descendants of William and Sarah MacCubbin Griffith, by Romulus Riggs Griffith, 1892, 335 pp. Another reference is Our Maryland Heritage Book 33 – The Griffith Families of Maryland, 2002, by William Neal Hurley Jr.
Facts:
Wm Griffith had a farm named ‘Black Acre’ – heirs grew the farm over time, expanding it to close to a 1000 acres. It was located just west of Sugar Loaf Mountain pg 91-a Map of the farm exists today-in ‘search ‘ field- type ‘Griffith’ for all book references on family.
2. William Griffith (son of above)
b. 1697
William and Comfort settled in Prince George Co., Maryland, near Catocin (or Catoctin) Mountain, before it became Frederick Co., Maryland in 1748. He was one of the first Justices of the Peace there. His will was witnessed on July 28, 1757 in Frederick Co., Maryland, and proved Sept. 3, 1757.
William Griffith, Jr. lived on Black Acre and had it surveyed on April 12, 1742. (Not to be confused with an earlier Black Acre surveyed for William Black of London, 1724.) The younger William Griffith had come to western Maryland by 1734 when he leased two lots (10,000 acres) on “Carrollton” between “Monoccose and Potowmack.”
He was appointed Constable for Upper Monocacy Hundred in 1735 and in 1742 signed the petition to divide Prince George’s Parish. He also signed the 1744 petition for a road to be laid out from “Tuscarora Creek to Kitoctin Creek.” The March Court of 1748 (Prince George’s County) ordered him to alter the road which led to the Ferry at the mouth of the Monocacy River. In 1757 he wrote his will, which was witnessed by Arthur Nelson. — Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, The Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland 1721-1743, Grace L. Tracey & John P. Dern.
Facts:
Wm Griffith in the mid 1740’s became a big part of road expansions and relocations- The Road to Monacacy-to Antietam see pages 53-55
In 1750, William Griffith was one of three men who were given the responsibility in contracting the first courthouse and jail in Frederick Co. The original ‘Hanging Bell’ still survives today.
A new road became necessary for the growing town of Frederick, William Griffith was called upon to help: ‘In 1754, the Frederick County Court appointed “Thomas Beatty and William Griffith, Gentlemen, to agree for keeping a ferry at the Middle Ford on Monocacy.”8 Beatty and Griffith, in turn, appear to have contracted with Daniel Kennedy, who operated the ferry. ‘
3. Orlando Griffith:
His son Zadoch went to Iredell Co. and his son Chisholm went to Montgomery Co., North Carolina. Other family members went to Yancey Co., North Carolina in 1806.
Orlando Griffith continued to live on Black Acre. After his father’s death he had the tract enlarged by a 1758
survey to 708 acres, but renamed it Griffiths Chance. In 1767, he added other surrounding land to increase the total area to 1,002 acres. In 1769 a further survey, now called Chargeable, extended the Griffith holdings all the way to today’s Greenfield Mills. The map of 1808 identifies the little water falls in the Monocacy there as Griffith Falls.
On May 31, 1774, Orlando Griffith devised his estate to his brothers Henry, Joshua, Benjamin, Charles and
Greenberry and his niece, Lydia. — Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, The Early Settlement of Frederick County,
Maryland 1721-1743, Grace L. Tracey & John P. Dern.
Orlando’s will was date Sept. 10, 1800 and was probated July 31, 1801 in Frederick Co., Maryland.
4. Chisholm Holland GRIFFITH :
Chisholm served the Rev. War at the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey, along with Gray Briggs, the brother of his future wife, Polly Briggs. Chisholm enlisted in the Militia Oct. 1776 in Frederick Co., Maryland. He had the rank of Capt. and fought in the Battle of Germantown. His company marched to Philadelphia where they joined General Washington’s Army and was with the main army at Trenton, New Jersey when 900 Hessians were captured. He spent the winter months guarding them and in 1781 he guarded the British soldiers at Fredericktown who were taken at Yorktown, durinf the winter until the early in 1782.
After the war, in Mar. 1782, Chisholm left Frederick Co. and went direct to Rutherford Co., North Carolina where the Briggs family was located. He met and married Polly there.
Chisholm was a farmer of moderate circumstances and resided in the present Cool Springs Twp. in Rutherford Co. In 1806 he relocated to Buncombe Co., North Carolina, settling there in the Mills River District near the town of Hominey, now called Candler. He appears there on the 1810 census. His wife Frances died very shortly after, late in 1810 or early 1811. Chisholm’s son John, still living in Rutherford Co. came sometime in Aug. 1810 and took his five sisters with him to Hickman Co., Tennessee, including Rachel. Rachel married Robert Boydstun there in Hickman Co.
Chisholm departed Buncombe Co. in 1811 to Franklin Co., Virginia where he married Elizabeth, the widow of John Bowman. Chisholm may have been acquainted with John Bowman as soldiers in the Revolution.
He may have had an additional daughter Eveline, born 1790, by Polly Briggs, and an additional son Thomas born about 1782, by Mary Scott.
Events
| Birth | April 15, 1697 | St. Ann's Parish, Anne Arundel County, Maryland | |||
| Marriage | Comfort Duvall |
Families
| Spouse | Comfort Duvall (1700 - ) |
| Child | Ezekial Griffith (1720 - ) |
| Child | Orlando Griffith (1730 - 1801) |
| Child | William Griffith (1742 - ) |
| Father | William Griffith (1657 - ) |
| Mother | Sarah MacCubin (1672 - ) |
| Sibling | Orlando Griffith (1688 - ) |
| Sibling | Sophia Griffith (1691 - ) |
| Sibling | Charles Griffith (1693 - ) |