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Letter from John Griffin to his brother Asa [#5]
Fulton Oct [5] th 1837
Brother Asa i take my pen in
Hand in answer of your request
in your short letter i received the
twenty Ninth you wanted forts know
My properity in this fertile Land
i can tell you that i prosper just
Abot as well as usual i live in
Williams Hous yet and i Dont know
When i shall geet me one Built i Have
Been all Sumer dwoing nothing and
I dont know How long i shall Be a Bout
that kind of Busines But i am in hopes that
I shall get at some other Busines Before long.
I think that i shall get me up a shop
for to liv in this winter some time
this month i have got the logg principaly
Cutt and think of raising this Weak
the reson of my putting up a shop first
is Be caus that i am a going for to Have
the loggs for my House i go ... d Hav
ing logg and got part of them ... and
found that i should not be able for to get
Don Before Cold wether therefore i quitt
that and go to Build a thine, that will Do for
livie in this winter and will Do for a shop after ...
So now I gess that you know my pros
perity thare fore i will quit this and go to
Coopering? this Business i think that i can
gee a prety good living at it if work Hard
anof at it We gett some thing for to
Eat yet
[Page 2]
And the Prospect is that we Shant Starve
this year for Wheat is seventy five cents
a Bushell and Corn twenty five and
Beef and pork will petty low this fall Beans
the Cropps is aBundant thare is a nuf of
Everry thing Here except frutes and some of
them i can get appels fore one Dollar a Bushel
And now i will inform you a Bout the Contery
As much as i can the Climit is mild and the land
is verry fertile and the waters good and the Conterry
is fare the Best that i was in fore a poor
Man to liv in Becaus when He gets a peas of
land He hunt got to Slave Him Self to Deth
Be fore He can rais any thig He may fence
a peas of land and Brake up and then it is
as good as Bes of old .... .... farmers in the
Conterry – i mean ethe[r] in timber or in pear .. ?
for the farmers way they farm it in this Conterry
you would think that thare would ... enof
at all ... will furro thare ground out and
plant thare corn and then plow ... it
and it will gro beyond Description it will
grow So High that you would have to .. jump?
for to Hang your Hat on some of the ears and
then they will sow thare Wheat amongst thare
Corn and Rais as good Wheat as Corn analy grow?
Whare you live and the rest of thare farming is
ABout as good — Here .... for to take a
stop and if you want to know for What i will
tell you it was for to partak of a wild goos and
It went well i will assure you for our Healths is good
At this time and generaly Speeking Hav Been ever cence
We left old Cicero all tho we Have lived ever
Way and any way Bu Starving the. we hant
Had any thing to Do with
[Page 3]
And Brother Asa Now i will inform
you a Bout What you Call Christianity
As well as i know a Bout it for the fact is
that i no nothin atall aBout it in the way
you profess it But we live in a neighbor
Hood Whare they mos all profess it thare
is people of Most all Denominations and
they are as Superstitious as people ware thare
twenty years ago and as for Joining in
With them i never Shall un till i can see
Som thing Diferent from What i now see
My Religion is for to Do as iam don ... by?
So imus Bid you good [da?]y for the present.
-------------------------------------
If thare is any mistakes in my Right
ing you must ove look is for the Chanc
that i Have for to wright is Bad you mus
know whare thare is tenn yung Children in
one Hows i had lik to Have for got that we Have
an other Boy
------------------------------------
Now i will inform you a Bout the Distanc
for to Do Bussines is eight miles to mill
and i Have to go that Distanc for tabaccoe
And ... nog and i Dont gett much at that
for i Have got so that i dont think that
it is profatable
So you must
giv mi Respects to all inquirring
friends if i hav got any So i
Reain you friend and well wiser [wisher].
[Page 4]
Am the same old John that
i ever was i mad a mistake in the dat
of this – it is the fifth of Nov
NB you mus direct your letters to
Bernedot fulton County
to Mr Asa Griffin
[END]
Letter from Aaron Griffin to his brother Asa Griffin? [#13]
1841
Mohican Ville Wayne Co Ohio August the 28th
My Much esteamed And well Beloved Brother and sister to ...
I set down to right A few lines in Aner to A letter Received from
you Bareing Date April the 30 1841 that letter Brought some of
the Most sollom sensations to my Mind of Anyone that’s ever received
In the first place it Anounced the deth of My Dear old Mother
And sister And uncle And now whilst i right Reflections
Still passes through My Mind shall i not Meat? My frinds
And Relatives which are near And Dear to one by the ...
If Neighture till i meat them At the judge ment of the
Great Day i of ten think of the Dayse that have gown by
And the pleasure we have enjoyd in the sosiety of each other
And in that of our parents Brothers And sisters but that time has
passed Away A number of them have gown Down to the grave And
A sensation that we too Must pass away Brings to my mind
the Adminotions of the lord of heaven Bee yea All so redy
the lord from heaven sais hear adn your sole shall live ..lend to
My precepts And walk in them And i will bee a father to you
And your sins And eniqites i will remember no more And agai
n in the last of our lations at the verse 14 he sais Blessed and holy is he
that Does My commandments that he may have a right too the
Tree of life and May enter in through the gates into the city
I will Again return too your letter As too your own case
In regard to your bodily infermity with the rumatism it seams
Truly... Wee have A neighbor by the name of John
Plants that says he had it so bad that he was unable to gow ...
the house without the aid of a chair And some person told him
the wild cowcumber that to take about a quart of them And
put in About a quart or too of whiskey And put it in to something
.... that could be shut up tight And steapit About half
.... and take a little of it in wardly And bathe the part afficted
... few Dayse it would cure hin he Done so And it afficte
.... Anomber of others have tryed it it has cured them allso.
[Page 2]
And Now My Dear Brother to your present condition in the world
Much Depend Upon the location that we are placed in with regard
to our prosperrity or Adversity had you a taken the course idid and
Carne to this country in sted of go wing where you did i have no Dout
In my mind but it would a been foolishness? as well for you as too
the present good of this world the reasons that i have too asign is this in
the first place i think the country Natur ly is as good for produce as any part of
York state i am a quainted with And as healthy As any i noed any
thing a bout and produce hais been too a year a gow i was
... srated to by some corn i could by some for 25 cents And get 28
cents for flour bls. And butter for a pene per pound for the same pay
All the too ..... just i could get a bushel of wheat for too bls barrels
Was worth this spring 28 cents And eggs 3 cents per dozen and pork
from three too fore cents per pound the man that i sold the last imad?
too last spring calld on me about a month a gow and wanted fifty
Right a way But i could not make them for him in conciquence of
fisung to so some wheat this fall wee calculate too sow a bout thirty
Acres this fall i should bee out of Debt if i had not tryed to by
Any More land i had thought All along that i would not try to by
Any more till i had the means of my own to pay But ... must came
to this country Last fall i think you recollect him he used to live
Clost By old Mr. ludons he came rather unexpectedly to me Mooved in
too the house with me And staid for a while could find no place to send
Him for the winter i fixed the old cabin i livd in when i first came
Came on to the place he staid till spring he then looked around
And found no place that suited him as well to by as a lot agowing?
Mine he could get the lot of 80 acres for one thousand Dollars And
Not haveing moneye enough to by came and wanted Me to take
A part of it i told him i had not the moneye But i thought i could
He knowd that i wanted it he wanted to no what i would y?
20 acres i told him i would three hundred dollars proved ...
get the moneye i finily told him i would give thi....
so that in Bying i shall incumber Myself...
[Page 3]
The why i rote this circumstance is to let you no My pressent situation
And Mr Rust came to my house shortly after i got your letter
And i read it to him he said he wished you was out hear for he
Beleived it would bee Better for him or you he thinks it would bee
More for your health And a Much easier country to get a living in
I think this if you was hear And was suited As well as i am i should
Be glad of your company But i have All wayse thought that i
Never would pressure? Any of My relatives to come to any place where
I was for fear it would not suit them The Manners And wayse
Of the people Are verry Different from those in York state yet
they Are kind and good neighbor Not with standing All the ....
..... that seround me if i had been placed in the same situation
At the age of thirty years i think i could have placed My family
I in acomfortable situation By the time i was as old as i now am
I have Ninety acres of land paid for And the twentys’ am about
Bying i think with good luck i can pay for By a year from ....
the price of grain the sommer past has been verry low Wheat 44 cents
Corn 18 cents oats 15 potatoes 12s cents But wheat at the present
Was sold At Massalon on the canal a Distance of about ...
Last week at one Dollar and fifteen cents per bushell
Your letter states that our Native land was the winter past Aflicted
with Disease and Death And so it has been hear this summer especially
Amongst ? children Not in our neighborhood But not .....
off their hais quite a number Dyed with the summer complaint
As to My self and family Wee are all well that are at home
With us exception Adison he got badly pisoned with pison ivy
A few Dayse agow James And John i supose you no left us
Last fall to gow and live with their uncle John Bates in
..N York My own health and that of My family has been
....d since we left York state i supose you no that wee have
....A son born to us sincey we came to this state wee call him
.....ur name i am admonished that i must close for the
.....of room so fare you well May the lord prosper you ... too
.....his will
[END]
Letter from E. G. Griffin to his cousin, Roswell B. Griffin [#2]
Mohicanville, Ashland Co Ohio
November the 27th 1846
Dear Cousin,
I take this opportunity to write a few thoughts to you
as father and mother informed me you wished me
to do so and now I am in rather a difficult position
to know what to write that would interest your
mind as I am altogether unacquainted with you
and you unacquainted with the circumstances that surround
me in relation to country, and neighbours which would
be an interesting part of my story ware you acquainted
with them as I am but now as it respects the family
we are all well at present as is generally the case for
we are a healthy family and in a healthy place
father and mother returned home on the 28th of Sept
ember they seemed to have stood their journey well
and ware well satisfied with their visit.
Our Country is blessed with plenty this present year
but we are apt to lightly realise the benevollence
of him who sends us an abundance and clothes our
fields with plenty and claim the honour to our
own industry we have raised between . and 500
bushels of wheat 350 of corn 70 of rye 150 of oats
70 of potatoes 15 tons of hay etc. etc. wheat is worth
from 40 to 50 cents corn 25 rye 71 oats 15 potatoes 5 (?)
beans 62 buckwheat 25 and other things in preportion
James and Addison are in michigan with unkle Orin
he has employed them till the first of April next
they are in Niles Berien Co they have had a pretty
sick time of it this summer but think they have
no reason to complain more than others for they all
faired the same fate John is in Chicago illinois
he is going to spend the winter there in buying &
butchering cattle so you can see we are pretty well
scattered but thare remains nine of us yet at
home which makes a decent sized family.
[Page 2]
This letter is unsigned, but must be from Aaron Griffin to his
brother Asa, the father of Roswell Griffin, to whom Emerson wrote his letter.
Dec the 4 1846 Dear Brother Sister And
Family As Emerson Has commenced A letter to
Rosell And left some room unocupyed i thought i
Would ocupy the space through the goodness of god
Wee are all well After leaving you the third day
Wee got to Onondaga Co found our frinds well
Stayd About too weeks in the old neighbor hood And
Then went to the rapids stayed with gaylord About five
Days found him and family well And A general time of
II Health in the old Neighbor hood from their went
to Elnathan Griffins found him in A feable state
of health .had lost his wife An his oldest Daughter
Was verry sick And shortly After Dyed from this
Went to Ezera lelands found him and family tolera
Ble well got their on friday stayed with them till
Monday Morning left their for Coperstown thear found
A number of uncles Ants And cozens of My wifes frinds (?)
Got to troy A Bout the last of July from their went
to Berlin to visit old uncle Williams got through
visit learning fathers realatives some lived both
Ways from their some in new lebanon south And some in
Hoosick North wee went to hoosick found earl pierce(?)
And caleb Nikals those ware fathers sisters sons they
told us of A god Many More cozens said wee aught to
go And sea them But we thought Wee had not time
so we turned round for home on our return stoped at
Lelands 4 days At gaylords 5 days gaylord went with us to
Roberts found him At gates Burg purty(?) poor his wife is
doctering for a living After finishing our visits ready to
Leave old Onondaga Co it got to bee the 15 Sept the first
Night after leaving syracuse stayed at Baldwinsville with
Cary Griffin he has lost his wife has been quite unwell this
too years After leaving their our next visit Was at
Rochester with Williams girl she Married foster
From their went to Williams found him very poor And in
A Bad situation had a fit of the palsy About 2 years ago
that makes him quite helpless
[Outside Folds]
After An absence from home three months 12 dayse wee
got Back to our old habitation found family and frinds
Well Wee got A letter A few Day agow from James And
Adison they are with their uncle . Orrin they have All
Ben sick And say they are not verry well yet An so they
Begin to work some And feel in hopes their health will
improve
As to your farm if i was in your place And could sell so
As to save My self i would sell .. ... was Married
After wee got their the first time An before we returned the
second time And i think By what they said they will want
their Money Before you will Be able to rais it from your place
They are trying to get rich they have built them a new ... house this
season(?) And repaired their barns Ann Jenet was Maried
A short time Before wee got down All of these things make
them think they want moneye
[END]
Letter from Aaron Griffin to his brother, Asa [#16]
Newlancaster Warren Co, Illinois March the 27 1854
My Dear Brother After A long silence I take My pen to ...
A few lines to you it seams .f along time since i have heard or seen
of or from you their has a great Many seans of Both pleasure And
Sorrow passed Among us since we last met And whilst i right a thou
ght strikes Me shall we ever Met again My family the last
Intelligence was All well with the exception of Alexander we
think he has some thing like the consumption We have been calld upon By
the providencye of god to Mourn the loss of our first Born James he
Dyed on the 25th Jan it was thought that his disease was seomthing
like the Billious collick he dyed About 40 Miles from whare
Wee live he was ingaged in the coopering Business with Adison
Him and his uncle John ware to work for WM Adison At a
little town called vermont in fulton co he ownly lived ten
Days After he was taken sick the wether was cold And wee was
not Aprisd of his Danger and did not get to sea him till the seans of
life ware past wee got About half way down when Deth closed the sean
With him he has A farm About 3? quarters of Mile from ours
Wee Antisipated a grate Deel of pleasure in his sosiety But
Alass how soon our prospects wither And dy the rest of the familiy
Have All ben home in this present Month John is living in
New York sity he was hear About the 1? of March And emmerson
got home About the 20? His home has Been in wisconsin he
has sold And Moved his Afects ..... he did not sell hear
Him Allexander And the girles have gawn to their uncle James
Bateses in Marshall co About 70 Miles from hear they left
Day Before yesterday the season has Been verry dry And the winter
months prety cold this Month has Been prety warm till the
Last week since then wee have had a cold wind And rain And
And last night fell the Deepest snow that has fallen at
Anyone time this season it fell something like 8 inches Deep
Wee have .... 18 Bushels of spring wheat is About All that wee
have .... yet
the health of the country is prety good it is a genneral time
of health And provision plenty wheat is worth .... per Bushel
And corn And oats 20 cents each And potatoes 20 to 25 cents
[Page 2]
Stock of All kinds is high horses Are selling for from 50 to
$150 A peace A good common work horse is worth from 90 to 100.
And working oxen from 90 to 105 or And cows from 18 to 50 Dollars
pork was worth from $3.50 to 4 Dollars And sheap from 2 to three dollars
... is the grateist place for raising corn that i ever sea thare
could Be Bought in this co a good Many thousand Bushels for
20 cents this i think is a pretty healthy part of the world And a good
place for a poor Man to Make A living But i think likely it
would scare you About timber that is wanting tho the oldest settlers
say their is plenty I should like to have you come And make us
A visit And sea how it would suit you As to sosiety i think
that would suit you well for i think it is good wee have good
Neighbors And wee have plessant Meatings their is A Bapti
st Meating A Bout too Miles east of us they had A church
of ABout thirty MemBers And About Christmas they
Commenced A protracted .. it lasted some fore or five weeks And
the result was they ABout doubled their member And in
feBuary their was A protracted Meating commenced Among the
Christians that lasted some ten or eleven days And theyr
was 25 Aed to them the episcopal Methodist had a
protracted Meating At their house they they did not
get any this time their i quite an effort At this time
in town Among united Brethren what they will doo
to me is yet to disclose Adison was Married on the third of
March i supose that was the reason that John was hear this
Spring too of Johns children was hear the family all
Well with the option of Bad colds John And his wife was
up to sea us at Christmas. the rest of the Brothers orrin
i sea in June 52 Samuels family wee My wife and i visi
ted in June 50 Not heard from them dy.... since i had
A letter from Gaylords Daughter this winter she said she
Was at home this winter All well this is About all that i
have heard from our frinds lately I find i must close
for the want of room please to right soon so fare you well for this
tim Aron Griffin To Mr Asa Griffin
[END]
Letter from Emerson G. Griffin to his cousin, Mrs. Simpson [#4]
Blandinville Illinois Feb 1st, 88
Mrs Simpson Jasper NY Dear Cousin
Your welcome letter of 20 ult recd
last week glad to hear from you & will
try to aswer [answer] some of your inquiries &
first in regard to my Self begin to feel that
old age is upon me think I am a little
older than you are & have a family of 5
children 2 by my first wife & they are
twins a boy and girl the Boy James Shel
don is teaching languages in the new
Garfield university In wichita Kansas
his Salary is $1200, Mary his Sister is in
california married & has 4 children all girls
She is in (Anaheim Losangeles Co) and says
the trees are as green & flowers as beautifull now
as in June here and gardens are always in fine
condition yielding their fruits and vegetables
all the year round Straw berries grow and
ripen every month James S has been married
12 years and has no children they were 38 years
old last December Now my other children
Are 3 daughters Ida. E, the oldest is 31 yrs old
been married 4(?-ink blot) years & has 2 children a little girl
7 years & a boy 4 yrs old & Lizzie Jane 26 is marri
ed & has a little boy 3 years old & lives in
Macomb 15 miles from Blandinville it is
the County Seat of this Mcdonough Co
[Click image for larger version.]
[Page 2]
and Laura E the youngest is 22 in this month
is the largest & healthiest looking of any of them
but is hard of hearing caused by measles She is
our hope, of, comfort and makes up our family
no 3 but we are all living in Idas house in
B,vill her husbands name is Alvin B. Pond a, drugist
Lizzies is Mustain Mary’s is Nickel of Anaheim
And Now my Brothers James has been dead 35 years
Alexander died in the fall before him & mother
died in about 2 years after & John died in Buff
alo 2 years ago and father died at Addisons house
in macomb 2 years ago the 12 day of march next
he was borne the 12 day of December 1792 & was 93 yrs
& 3 months old the day he died, Addison has a
farm of 320 acres about 12 miles from macomb
but has it rented and moved to the city maco
mb has about 4,000 population Lurancy lives
in Kansas in Norton Co at the North side
and over 1/2 way across the state her post office
is Clayton. She would like to hear from
you She remembers you and all your folks
and is always glad to hear from her relatives
She has 3 children all grown & boys one has been
married but lost his wife the daughter Mary
is married and has 6 children the youngest son
is in California and not married the rest are all
near together in Kansas Celestia is in Smith
Co Kansas has no children her name is Carter
[upside down at top of p. 2]
My wife told Mr. Gardner that I had got a letter from you through his influence wich Seemed to please him much he said he also had recd one from you.
Emerson G. Griffin.
[Page 3]
And Lurancys is Wiltsey Bart is in Buffalo [NY]
Asa & Winfield were both born in ... Asa in 38
And Winfield in 41 Asa is the tallest of the family
being 6 ft and one inch high he lives in the South
part of Kansas has 160 acres and is farming he has
5 or 6, children 2 boys about grown and able to farm
Winfield went west after the war and the last
we hard he was diging gold in Idaho Territory
but have not heard from him in 3 years
he was talking of going to South america
he is a wanderer and Single Now this is a verry
brief and disconnected account of our
family but you may find some things
in it that will refresh your memory or
carry it back to our youth full days about
the last I remember of seeing you and your
folks was the Summer of 1836 when your
father & mother yith [with?] roswell came to make
us a visite the Summer before we sold our
farm in Dwit Onondaga Co I remember
it was the time of year when cherries
were getting ripe for Roswell & I got some
and he was verry cautious about eating them
unless they were dead ripe uncle John Griffin
died about 6 years ago near vermont in
fulton Co, about 10 miles from Addisons
farm where he had lived ever since he came
to Illinois not in the same house but within
a mile of the first one in the State where he made his home
[Page 4]
Now in regard to my life of business I have
always been a farme I worked at home in Ohio
on fathers farm till in my 25th year then I
went to Wisconsin in the year of 48
and was married on the 26 day of September
Same year bought a farm of 100 acres for $500,
and in Feb 1851 my wife died and I rented
my farm and went to Michigan taking my
James with me uncle Orrin then lived
there & James my brother was then just
married the second time & lived there we staid
there but a few days waiting for Father
who was on his way to Illinois then all
came together to this State the next year I
went back to Wis and sold my farm for
$1000, and bought here have sold and bou
ght twice here since and now own 195 acres
which cost me $6,000 over 20 years ago & I have wor
ked hard on it till 4 years ago last Spring
when I rented and moved to town to take care
of father & for relief from farm life for my
wife who was getting stiff and parelised in
her right side but we stayed and took care of
father till she got so bad that it was necessary
to do some things for her and we went to Eureka
Springs in Arkansas and stayed 11 months did
not get much help came home last oct a year ago
and She got worse and we moved to macomb and ...-
ored all winter with no benefit and last Summer
we spent at Kirkwood 30 miles north of here
[upside down at top of p. 4]
and not much better we now think her trouble
is Erysipilas in the blood and by Spell [?] it throws
her into spasms She has taken a great deal of medicine
to cleans the blood but does not get it out entirely
She is much better in the last of months but still has
symptoms of the same character but I must close by re
questing you to write again EGGriffin
[END]
David N. Smith typed out the text, and sent me xerox copies of, the letters that pertain to our Griffin family. They had been collected and passed down thru Herman W. Smith to the late David N. Smith.
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