Memorials › John Silas "Jack" Griffin

John Silas "Jack" Griffin

24 Jul 1868 – 29 Apr 1959

Birth24 Jul 1868
Death29 Apr 1959
CemeteryDevine Evergreen Cemetery
Devine , Medina County , Texas , USA
Added byDon Herring on 04 Oct 2014
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7505719

Bio

Revised April 23, 2020 to reorganize and to add lists of Siblings & Children. ********************************************** Jack Griffin’s Birth, Parents & Siblings Jack Griffin was born in Bandera County, Texas on July 24, 1868 - 3 years after the Civil War ended. He was the 4th of 8 children born to Mary Jane Stevens (1839-1934) and Hezekiah Griffin (1829-1910). Jack was their 2nd son. He had 3 sisters and 4 brothers, as well as a stepsister from his father’s first marriage (described below). Following is a list of Jack’s siblings/half-siblings, which shows their birth order, birth year, death year, birth location and the married names of the married females: 1. Amanda Melvina Griffin Thurber (1858-1877) - Marion County, Missouri - half-sibling 2. Laura Alice Griffin Moss (1862-1953) - Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas 3. Leona Elizabeth Griffin Peace Crutchfield (1864-1902) - Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas 4. William Albert “Al” Griffin (1866-1933) - Bandera, Bandera County, Texas 5. John “Jack” Silas Griffin (1868-1959) - Bandera, Bandera County, Texas 6. Mary “Mollie” Eveline Griffin (1871-1963) - Bandera, Bandera County, Texas 7. David “Dave” Hezekiah Griffin (1874-1959) - Devine, Medina County, Texas 8. Ezra Spencer Griffin (1876-1955) - Devine, Medina County, Texas 9. Charles “Charlie” Franklin Griffin (1879-1925) - Devine, Medina County, Texas Note that Jack’s parents as well as each of his siblings/half-siblings have Findagrave.com memorials with links listed below this bio. Click on their names below to navigate to their respective bio. Jack’s Family Origins Jack Griffin’s father, Hezekiah Griffin was the oldest of 11 children born to David Spencer Griffin (1796-1878) and Cynthia Burch (1805-1851). Hezekiah had 6 brothers and 4 sisters; he and 6 siblings were born in Monroe County, Indiana, while the remaining 4 siblings were born in Martin County. Hezekiah’s father, Spencer Griffin, was born in Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky, while Hezekiah’s mother, Cynthia Burch, was born in Stokes County, North Carolina. In 1850, all the Griffins lived in Mitcheltree Township, Martin County, Indiana and made their living farming. However, in 1852 or 53, a few years after the death of their mother Cynthia and their baby sister, named Cynthia also, the Griffins decided to relocate west. The reasons for the move are unknown - perhaps their intent was to join the country's migration west to seek more land and to escape the oncoming Civil War. As a family, they initially traveled northwest about 350-miles from Mitcheltree to Marion County, Missouri, where they settled for 5 or 6 years. There, Hezekiah met and married his first wife Sarah Ann Pearcy in 1853. Tragically, within a year of giving birth to their first child, Sarah Ann died in 1859; but fortunately, the child, Amanda Melvina, survived. At that point, the Griffins again decided to move, this time south to Texas. Once again, the reason for the move is not known - possibly because they heard about opportunities for vast farmlands in Texas. They were probably also motivated by the fact that Missouri was not a safe place to live in those days. It was plagued with bloody and viciously fought slavery/anti-slavery wars - neighbor fought neighbor. Missouri was a border state during the Civil War, so consequently almost half the population were for slavery while the other half were abolitionists (antislavery activists). By contrast, at that time Texas was a relatively new State, having joined the union only 14 years earlier in 1845, and it was relatively free of slavery/abolitionists Wars. No doubt the Griffins were hopeful of finding new and unclaimed farmlands in Texas to improve their lives and fortunes, but they were probably also anxious to escape the local Missouri Wars. So, they packed their belongings once more and left Missouri for Texas. During both relocations, the Griffins traveled on horseback and in ox-drawn carts/wagons. They crossed the Red River, bordering Texas and Oklahoma, and continued south to Gainesville, Texas, where they again settled temporarily in about 1860. It was a treacherous 1,000-mile journey from Missouri, but fortunately they all survived unharmed. Jack's mother, Mary Jane Stevens, was the 3rd of 5 children born to David Stevens (1808-1844) and Elizabeth Bacon (1812-1900). David Stevens was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina and his wife Elizabeth was born in eastern Tennessee. They married in 1831 in Washington County, Tennessee and made their living farming near Jonesboro in Washington County - Eastern Tennessee near the North Carolina border. Mary Jane and her older brother and older sister were all born in Jonesboro. In about 1840, the Stevens family relocated to Madison County, Arkansas, about 730-miles almost due west of Jonesboro – also a dangerous and treacherous journey crossing many rivers along the way, including the Mississippi. The reason for their move is also not known, but perhaps they intended to eventually continue to move to Texas, with David’s parents and siblings who struck out separately to Texas a few years later from their farms near Jonesboro. Elizabeth’s parents as well as many of her siblings and families also moved from Washington County to Arkansas at about that same time. So, it may be that all these Tennesseans (Stevens and Bacons) were aiming towards Texas like many of their countrymen having heard of vast farmlands from their fellow Tennesseans that fought in the Alamo or for Texas Independence in 1836. But unfortunately, few made it to Texas because of illness. In Arkansas, an additional brother and sister were added to Mary Jane’s family. Then tragically, Mary Jane's father, David Stevens, died from typhoid fever in about 1844 as did her grandfather, Charles Bacon, Elizabeth’s father. Elizabeth remarried in Arkansas within a few years and lost her second husband also to sickness before 1850. Eventually, Elizabeth moved to Missouri with her younger children before 1860, then Texas before 1880 and finally to Oklahoma, where she died in 1900. She never remarried. Few details are known about Mary Jane after the family moved to Arkansas. However, at the age of 20, in about 1859, she traveled from Arkansas to Gainesville, Texas, about 300-miles, with a Wilson family. There, she met and married Hezekiah Griffin in December 1861, eight months after the US Civil War began. Interestingly, Mary Jane gave her name as Mary Jane Wilson on the marriage license to Hezekiah. Therefore, it is suspected that the Wilson family she traveled with from Arkansas, were probably the parents of her deceased first husband, although no details are known of that marriage. Consequently, Mary Jane was most likely a widow when she arrived In Gainesville and married Hezekiah. So, they were both widowers. A year or so after they married, Hezekiah and Mary Jane, and most of the Griffin family including Hezekiah’s father, Spencer, moved again - about 350-miles south to Verde Creek, just south of Bandera, Texas. There the Griffins built a cabin; started a farm; and began raising families. However, in 1875, Jack’s parents and most of the Griffins abandoned their farms in Bandera and moved once more, about 50-miles south to Medina County. This move was to escape the Comanche Indian "infestation" in the Bandera area where their farm was frequently raided by the Indians, stealing their horses, livestock, and corn. Plus, on multiple occasions the Indians mercilessly killed their neighbors. Several of Jack’s uncles were Indian fighters, one was seriously wounded by five Comanche arrows. So, the Griffins left the Bandera area for Medina County and settled near Devine. There, they reacquired land; rebuilt their cabins; replanted their crops and raised their families. They finally found their "Home" there and sank their roots. A few years later, they built more permanent housing for the entire family and barns for their stock animals. They were there to stay. Jack Griffin's Marriage & Children On November 17, 1891, Jack (23) married Georgia Anna “Annie” Crutchfield (17), probably in Devine, Texas. Annie was born in Homer, Angelina County, Texas. Her parents migrated to Texas from Alabama and Georgia. Jack and Annie had eight children - two boys and six girls. The following list of Jack and Annie’s children, shows their birth order, birth year, death year, and the married names of the married females: 1. Elbert Griffin (1892-1985) 2. Naomi Griffin Pitts (1894-1984) 3. Kathryn “Kate” Griffin Fairchild (1896-1987) 4. Oscar H. Griffin (1899-1980) 5. Altha Griffin Oefinger (1902-1988) 6. Smithie Lurline Griffin Herring (1905-1982) 7. Hazel Griffin Landrum (1908-1998) 8. Mary Griffin Duke (1911-1989) All their children were born in the house that Jack built in Devine, which is described below. Note that each of Jack’s children has a Findagrave.com memorial with links provided below this bio. Jack Griffin the Man Most people in and around Devine liked Jack Griffin because he was a good, honest & fair man - well respected in the community. He was a hard-shell Baptist. If you lived in Devine during his era, you either knew Jack Griffin personally or you heard about him. Like most people of his generation, Jack Griffin did not smile during a portrait sitting - something about looking “proud and dignified.” I always thought he looked like Mark Twain or Albert Schweitzer. I think his sense of humor was probably like Mark Twain's. Jack was a carpenter by trade. Yet, he served on the school board in Devine, because he took great interest in the education of his children - five of his six girls attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos, Texas. Some graduated and became teachers; others married while in college and started families. Jack was also quite a character - always trying to make people smile and laugh. He delighted in embarrassing my mother with his playful shenanigans working as a carpenter at her school. One year he worked on the roof at her high school above her classroom and occasionally made noises like a “Billy-goat.” Mother was embarrassed to no end. He had a mischievous playful twinkle in his clear blue eyes most of the time. He always chewed Prince Albert pipe tobacco and spat in the fireplace from his rocking chair. He told wonderful stories from that chair. He walked to town every day to get the mail and to buy groceries; he never learned to drive a car. My mother would run to meet him when he came back from town because he always brought her a peppermint candy stick. With his arms full of groceries, she stood on top of his shoes and wrapped her arms around one leg as he walked her back to their house to keep the hot sandy road from burning her bare feet. My mother loved peppermint all her life and it always reminded her of her father. My mother used to tell the story that my grandmother Annie called Jack to lunch one day after she had prepared a meal of cabbage and hash. He did not particularly like cabbage, so after she placed a plate of food before him at the table, he picked it up and "zinged it" out the window into the yard. Obviously, this startled my grandmother and they had a good laugh. Such was Jack Griffin. He died at 91 from an allergic reaction to a penicillin shot. He was never sick a day in his life. The attending physician told us he had a strong heart - we all agreed. The House That Jack Built Jack built the house that he and Annie lived in on Zig-Zag Lane west of Devine - half a mile east of Rose Hill. The house was built around 1891. It was a large single-story wood frame peer & beam house, built 2-ft off the ground with high gables, high ceilings, and tall windows. It had a tin roof. Rooms in the house included a fireplace room with a large wood burning fireplace - complete with rock hearth, mantle & brick chimney; a living room; a dining room; a guest bedroom - probably the master bedroom at one time; a kitchen/breakfast room with running water; and a large bedroom off the fireplace room they called the "barracks," where all their children slept. Although the house had an indoor bathroom with toilet & bathtub (all probably added later), they also had an outhouse in the chicken yard when it got too crowded. The house also had big front and back porches. The front porch had a bench swing suspended from the ceiling and a honey-suckle vine. It was always busy with people visiting and children playing. The back porch was “L-shaped” and spanned the back of the house. It had running water faucets and counter tops above the porch railings, probably for cleaning garden vegetables and washing up outside after a long days’ work. It was also for doing laundry. Jack always shaved in the morning on the back porch from a washbasin using a straight-razor and a small mirror. Behind the house was a large windmill and wooden water tank - all built by Grandpa Jack. The windmill was much taller than the house and could be seen miles away. It was the first thing visible when you approached the house from any direction. The water tank stood on six or eight concrete columns that lifted it 10-ft or so off the ground - you could walk under it on the flat sandstone rocks/pavers described below. The tank was about 15-ft in diameter and about 10-ft deep. On at least one occasion two of my older brothers swam in it (without permission) when visiting my grandparents in the summer. Jack quarried and hauled multiple huge red sandstone or slate rock columns/slabs from Rose Hill to make the front and back steps of the house. The stones were each about the length, width, and depth of two railroad crossties laid adjacent to each other. They were hauled with mule drawn wagons while suspended from chains slung under the wagons, then stacked offset on top of each other to make at least 2 steps. The steps to the front porch had 2 of these slabs, while the back porch had 4 slabs to make a set of steps for each section of the L-shaped porch. They were not an easy task to quarry, haul and place to make porch steps. No doubt they required many hours of back breaking manual labor in those days. The yard area out from the back porch and extending under the tank described above, was paved with large flat sandstone rocks also quarried and hauled from Rose Hill. Jack Griffin's house is over 128-years old and is still standing to this day. All of Jack & Annie's children were born in that house and at least three of their children were married there, including my parents. My two oldest brothers were also born there. Written by his Grandson, Don Herring ************************************************************** Please feel free to notify Don Herring at Findagrave.com Memorial # 48531255, if you dispute any of the information in this bio or if you have additional or more up to date information regarding persons described in this memorial.

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