One of my recent projects was a follow up on John Griffin’s
family. As you remember the search for John began with the discovery of two of
his children, Truman and Chloe, buried next to he and his parents in Essex,
Vermont. Chloe’s headstone read in part,
“dau of John and Mary Griffin.” This discovery set us off on a journey, in
which we were introduced to John’s wife Mary Tyler, and Truman and Chloe. We
found a will, which introduced us to Malinda and after a search that involved a
cipher worthy of any detective story, Jane. A Killingworth records listing a
marriage for Samuel of Essex and Lodah
Field had intrigued us for a long time now Samuel identified himself as John’s son. We
had as part of the Essex records a marriage for a Eunice Griffin and Freeman
Sinclair we now understood that she was John’s daughter. John’s family was the
last of the direct line of Griffins to be sealed into the family circle. He had
been waiting since the 1930’s the only evidence of him lost in a remote little
cemetery in Vermont. The family, I am sure, had been concerned for his welfare
and praying for a resolution. We continued the project by reaching out to John’s grand children
bringing them into the family circle. Recently this work has centered on
Eunice. Her connection to her father
came in the form of his will. As each of his children are granted their earthly
inheritance we find Eunice’s portion being granted to her daughters, Charlotte
and Fannie Sinclair. We discover that Eunice has preceded her father to the
other side of the veil. Her mother was
named the guardian of her children. Amidst the joy of finding John’s family
came a moment of melancholy. I worried
and wondered as to the fate of those two girls having found no follow up
records. A fruitless search for them delayed finishing their temple work as I
sought to understand where they had lived, where they had died, who they
married, and how may children? Teenagers
when their mother died, living with their father and his second family in their
twenties, living with an uncle, then no more trace. Then! A new digitalize book
published by the Saint-Clair family, a successor of the surname, Sinclair. A chance review surprised to find a listing
for Freeman A. Sinclair who married a Eunice Griffin. Their two daughters, Charlotte born 29 July,
1823, married 1850 Josephus Thatcher. Fannie Jane born 1827, died 3 June, 1882,
married John Bliss. A follow up in the Census records confirmed that the girls
had married later in life and sadly had not been blessed with children. I was
delighted that I had found them, saddened that Eunice’ family circle had
closed. As I began to organize and prepare a Temple Ready File I found myself in
deep reflection on these two girls. Their lives affected by the loss of their
mother. What circumstance led to their late marriages? I know that the Griffins
were a close family, had unforeseen events kept them on the margins of family
life? If their mother had lived would their lives have turned out differently? Was
the deciding factor a disruption in the principals of family? I also reflected
on the broader issues facing the concept of family today. How can the world
turn its face from that blessing? Mormon youth delaying marriage. Silly
divorces, childless marriages, Gay “marriage”. A turn away from family values. I
resolved to as quickly as possible finish the temple preparation for Eunice and
her family. I used the second half of the Sunday Block to process the
information in family search only to find that the work had already been
completed in 1923 by the Sinclair family. When I entered it under the Griffin
family file, their names had not appeared, when I ran it through the
correlation program with the Sinclair connection I found it. With mixed
feelings I sat back and contemplated the unfolding evens. Delighted that
Charlotte and Fannie were enjoying the full blessings of family. Sad that we
were not to be blessed with the joy of performing the work. So why the new revelations? Why was I led on
this journey? That night on my way to
bed I instead turn into my office and turned on the computer. I opened up one
of my new discoveries a file containing probate records for Chittenden County,
Vermont. After a brief search I found the records for Charlotte Thatcher. The
file contained eighteen pages. They
seemed to say I wanted you to get to know me. I wanted you to know my life ended well. I am in the family circle. In her hand she
writes, “in the Winooski Savings Bank $1490.20, Household goods $50.00 and a
small home and lot in Jericho. Franklin and Polly Sinclair my brother and
sister are looking after my affairs.” Subscribed and sworn to August 19, 1901.
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