John M. Griffin

He died either 10 June 1810 or 10 September 1810 Individual: Griffin, John County/State: Amherst Co., VA Page #: 047 Year: 1783 Census type code: Tax List

His son, Robert, made this deposition in regards to his father's war service: State of Illinois, Clark County The deposition of Robert Griffin of the county of Clark aforesaid, taken before me Willis Daugherty, one of the justices of the Peace in the foresaid county, on the twelfth day of May in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty one. The said Robert Griffin being by me duly sworn according to law, doth depose and say as follows, to wit. that he is fifty one years of age on the twenty-two day of February last past, That he is a son of John Griffin and Susannah Griffin, and was born in Franklin County in the state of Virginia. That he has frequently and repeatedly heard his father, the said John Griffin, relate his service in the Revolutionary war, and that he first enlisted as well as now recollected, in Albemarle county, Virginia in the year of 1775 or 1776 and that enlistment was under Capt. Thomas Holt of one of the Virginia regiment. (The number of the Regiment he disremembers, as also, the commander of the regiment.) and that this dependent frequently heard his father the said John Griffin, relate the battles that he had been in, some of which he distinctly yet recollects, to wit, The Battle of Brandywine, The Battle at Monmouth, Germantown, Long Island (which he said was the hardest and toughest of any) and was lastly, in the seige of Charleston in South Carolina, where he was taken prisoner by the British and put on board of a British prison Ship, and was there confined in a dungeon, about nine months, that he never seen land. That he was confined in irons while prisoner and that his legs and ankles were made extremely sore by the irons which never finally healed up while he lived. That the dependent seen the marks and sores caused by the irons on his father's legs, while a prisoner. That one William Westbrook, was taken a prisoner by the British, at the same time and was confined in the dungeon in irons upon the same vessel with the said John Griffin and that this dependent has frequently heard the said Westbrook and his father John Griffin, relate over together the same story about their being taken prisoners at the Seige of Charleston and of their sufferings while such prisoners and that they, the said John Griffin and Westbrook, both made their escape from the British somewhere at or near Quebec in Canada while the vessel lay near the shore one night and while they had the irons taken off their legs on account of the extreme soreness and danger of becoming mortal. And that they returned home together in Albermarle county Virginia about the year 1782. That he has repeatedly heard the said John Griffin and Westbrook when speaking of their services and sufferings in the war say that they had been messmates together while in the service. That the said Westbrook has been dead a number of years and that he died in Virginia. That the dependent heard the said John Griffin say at often time that he seen two horses shot dead from under General Washington during battle.

The dependent further states, that the said John Griffin died in Virginia about thirty years ago, and that he never drew a pension, nor was placed on any pension list in the United States.

The dependent further states that the said Susannah Griffin is the real identical widow of the said John Griffin and that she has never intermarried with any other person since the death of said John Griffin and that she is now living unmarried (to any other person) AS SUCH WIDOW in the county of Clark and state of Illinois and that she has never has received any pension or compensation on account of the Revolutionary services of her husband the said John Griffin from the United States.

This dependent further states that the said John Griffin and Susannah Griffin lived together as man and wife from the time of their marriage up to the time of the death of (excepting the time he served in the War which was almost seven years) said John Griffin as above herein stated that the said John and Susannah had born in wedlock eight children and that John Griffin Jr. was the oldest child who was born in the year 1783 in Albermarle county Virginia as dependent heard his father and mother and the said John Griffin say and that the said John Griffin Jr. died in the state of Kentucky two years ago last fall and was of the age of about fifty-five years at the time of his death and that the said John Griffin and Susannah Griffin had been married as he was always informed several years before the birth of the said John Griffin Jr. their oldest child. That there is six other children now living besides the dependent and the said John Griffin Jr. deceased, who were born in wedlock with the said John Griffin and Susannah Griffin, the youngest of which is about thirty-six years of age, some of which children are now living in Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois.

The dependent further states that he has no knowledge of any family record of the marriage of the said John and Susannah Griffin ever being kept nor any family record of the births of their children as aforesaid. That the following are the names and ages of the said other six children of the said John and Susannah Griffin, to wit, "Nancy, now Nancy Ryan, aged about 56 years, now of Anderson county Kentucky. Lucy, now Lucy Wright, aged about 54 years, now of Missouri. Polly, now Polly Driskill aged about 50 years, now of Kentucky. James Griffin, aged about 48 years, now of Missouri. Austin Griffin, aged about 36 or thirty seven years, now of the county of Clark and state of Illinois. This dependent further states that the said Susannah Griffin is the same identical person and widow of the said John Griffin, deceased whose declaration for a pension as such widow is now on file with suspended case in the War Department in Washington city as per letter of the Hon. J. L. Edmonds, Center of Pensions of date "April 24th 1841 and which declaration was made by the said Susannah Griffin before the county commissioners court in and for the county of Clark and state of Illinois on or about the 4th day of September 1840. Robert Griffin

A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA with the rank of Private. DAR Ancestor # A131180