1. William1 Griffith was born circa 1638. He married (--?--) (--?--) before 1660. He married Lydia (--?--) before 1682. He died after 1710.
His origins have not been found. The fiction that he is the son of Joshua and Alice of Boston is based on an error by Whittemore which has been unwittingly promulgated by the LDS Church and others. He was in Yarmouth as early as 26 Sept. 1662 ("26 of the 7th month" which from the context is per the older reckoning of month numbering), when it is shown that he brought ten gallons of liquor into the town (Nathaniel B. Shurtleff M.D., ed., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England (Boston, MA: The Press of William White, 1855-1857) Court Orders: IV:28). This reference has his name as "Griffin", an error which persists with the surname even to this day. He was married at least by the 5 Oct. 1663 court session, at which "Richard Berry, William Griffin (sic) and his wife, and Richard Mitchell and his wife" were each fined 40s for playing cards (Ibid., IV:47). At the court session of 8 March 1670/1, "William Griffin (sic) and Richard Mitchell, both of Yarmouth" were fined 3s 4d each for fighting (Ibid., V:53). At the court session of July 1681, William Griffith and Richard Mitchell were each fined 10s for not attending public worship on the Lord's day (Ibid., Miscellaneous Records 157). At the court session of 7 July 1685, Joseph Nickerson of Monomoit [now Chatham] complained against William Griffeth, Senior of Monomoit for making improvements on Nickerson's land; the complaint was withdrawn before trial (Ibid., Judicial Acts 288-9). This implies that there was a William Griffeth Junior at this time who was probably over 21 years of age, and therefore born before 7 July 1664. At the same session, John Nickerson of Monomoit complained against William Griffeth of Monomoit for damages of £30 for cutting wood on Nickerson's land the previous winter. The jury found for the plaintiff to the amount of 5s and court costs, for a total of £2 4s 6d (Ibid., 289).
Smith and Deyo assume that William first appears as a resident of Sandwich, assisting in the settlement of the estate of Edward Dillingham in 16671); Simeon J. Deyo, ed., History of Barnstable County Massachusetts (New York: H. W. Blake & Co., 1890), 896). It was postulated by the late George P. Howard of Marion, MA, that, although Edward Dillingham was a resident of Sandwich, he may have been living with his son John in Yarmouth when he made his will, and thus near William Griffith. Smith goes on to state that in 1667 William Griffith purchased of Gov. Thomas Prince one-half of the corn mill on the Sauquatuckett river and became the miller in Yarmouth, and lived on the west bank of the river.Paine [Josiah Paine, A History of Harwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1800 (reprint, Yarmouthport, MA: Parnassus Imprints, 1971)] page 39 says, regarding the corn mill at Sauquatucket, that Gov. Thomas Prince owned it, but at the time of his death only owned one quarter, having sold a half part to William Griffith and a quarter part to Thomas Clarke. In 1677, Griffith sold his half part to Clarke, who continued to hold his part until his death in 1698. Paine amplifies on this on page 65, saying that on 14 May 1677, William Griffith of Sauquatucket sold his part of the corn mill to Thomas Clarke of Boston, but late of Plymouth, merchant, "together with his dwelling house thereto belonging, and the one half part of the upland belonging to said mill adjoining to the easterly side of Stoney brook for thirty-one pounds and eighteen shillings." [A footnote says that this original deed was in possession of C. E. Mayo of St. Paul, Minn. in 1890.] Paine continues that William was in Yarmouth in 1676, that part called Sauquatucket, and paid a tax of £3-10s-2d toward the charge of the war. He was called a planter. On page 67, Paine tells that in 1678, meadow and upland were laid out by the land measurers of Yarmouth to Thomas Boardman, Thomas Gage and William Griffith in a neck on the west side of the Herring River, which at that time down to 1681 was in the limits of Yarmouth. William Griffith having purchased six acres from Thomas Gage, it was laid out to him from the "entrance of the neck" along the river side northerly "to a brush island." Griffith's meadow was on the east side of the road as it enters the neck. Paine, page 65, shows that William attended the Friend's meeting, and is reported of the "wrong Spirit" in 1684. On page 353 discusses the Quakers, and says "Among the early settlers of the town there were a number in fellowship with the Quakers or Friends. Prominent among them were John Dillingham, John Wing, William Griffith, and Abraham Chase. As early as 1681, their monthly meetings were held at John Dillingham's and were continued for some years." Smith, on page 116, says William was an appraiser of the estate of Richard Berry of Yarmouth in 1681, and of the estate of Nicholas Nickerson of Yarmouth in 1682. He removed to Monomoit by 1685, where he bought a 40 acre farm, lying on both sides of the highway leading to the "inlands", or Indian Lands. The 30-acre portion on the north side of the road, where he built his house, was purchased of William Nickerson Sr., while the 10-acre lot on the south side was bought of James Maker. With his son Philip, he bought a 20-acre lot on the Great Neck, called the 4th lot. In a deed of 8 April 1703 he sold his property and his share in the Monomoit meeting house to Thomas Howes (Chatham MA Hist. 116).On page 65, Paine says that William was of Monomoy in 1691, and one of the petitioners to the Plymouth Court for enlargement of the Constablewick of Monomoy. He was a citizen of Monomoy in 1694. Page 86 further describes the wish of the inhabitants of Monomoy to extend its boundaries westward; a committee consisting of Nicholas Eldridge, William Griffith, Hugh Stewart, and William Mitchell were authorized to petition the Plymouth Court for this expansion, which they did on 11 Feb. 1691. The court acted favorably thereupon. Smith, on page 141, shows that at the 10 May 1695 town meeting of Chatham, William Griffith Sen. was chosen constable. He continues on page 143, showing that the town officers for 1697 included William Griffith Sen. as a selectman. Page 146 shows that William held no office in 1698, but was again selectman in 1699. Page 154 shows that William Griffith (no Sr. or Jr. indicated) was selectman in 1703. So it seems that, in spite of his earlier problems, William became a respected citizen of Monomoit and Chatham. Smith states that it is not known where Griffith went after this sale, but, as will be shown, he went to Rochester. It is perhaps worthy to note here that the house of Edward Hawes, town clerk of Yarmouth, burned in 1674, destroying the town records, which may have included the births of William Griffith's children, and the Barnstable Court House burned in 1827, destroying relevant deeds, including those for Rochester, which until 1707 was part of Barnstable County.
The Rochester proprietors' records show that on 11 May 1704, William Griffith Sr. was laid out 30 acres by his other lands near the Mirey Meadow (Rochester Proprietors Records (mss. copy held at the County Commissioners' Office, Plymouth, MA), 1:64). Thus he had land at Rochester prior to 1704. In a deed dated 8 Jan 1707/8, William Griffith of Rochester sells "all my messuage of upland, meadow ground & swamp in Rochester & all my housing, fences, orchard & other land & all my salt meadows & what I bought of my son William Griffith" to James Winslow; his wife Lydia also signed this deed (Plymouth Co. Deeds, 7:234). This shows that his wife at this point was Lydia, but does not necessarily mean that she was the mother of his children, born on Cape Cod say 1660-1685. Luann B. Seamons of Preston, ID, recently provided information from the Quaker records of the Sandwich Monthly Meeting which shows that William and "Liddia" Griffith appear as witness to a marriage 22d 9m 1682. This suggests that Lydia is mother of at least Jeremiah, and perhaps the other children as well. The name Lydia is not passed on in the families of his descendants, though; a female name which is common is Thankful. Smith shows William Griffith's sons as William, Philip, Stephen, and James (Chatham MA Hist. 116).
Children of William1 Griffith and (--?--) (--?--) were as follows:
Children of William1 Griffith and Lydia (--?--) were: