Eleventh Generation

1024. Reverend Thomas GRIGGS (*) (!) (`)¹⁰⁴¹ was born on 5 December 1585 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^{487,984,987,988,1042,1043,1044,1045,1046,1047} (His date of birth is also listed as 2 Sept 1585 and 1587 in various sources.)

From the Macdonough-Hackstaff Ancestry: "The earliest recorded mention made of Thomas Griggs is among the Roxbury (Mass.) town records, on a loose leaf, somewhat torn and obscure but in a tolerable state of preservation, written between 1638 and 1640. It is by nearly ten years the oldest record in the town books and contains, no doubt, an accurate and complete list of the inhabitants of Roxbury at that time. It is headed 'A note of ye estates and persons of ye inhabitants of Roxbury,' and Thomas Griggs is mentioned therein as being the owner of 12 acres of land.

He, with his wife and children, came to this country in or before 1639. The family was no doubt a substantial and respectable one, for it is recorded that 'the Roxbury people were of the best that came.'

No particulars concerning his life have come to us. He must have been an honorable and useful member of the community and an upright and conscientious Christian, for the Reverend John Elliot in recording his death speaks of him as 'Bro. Griggs, who lay in a long affliction of sicknesse & shined like gold in it, greatly glorifying God & magnifying his grace in Christ.'

He was married twice. His first wife was Mary ( ), who, according to Pope, was buried November 29, 1639. His second wife was Mary Greene, whom he married August 26, 1640. There were no children by the second marriage so far as is known. He died May 23, 1646, and the widow married Jasper Rawlings.

The children of the first marriage, in tabulated form for convenience only, were:
1. John, married Mary ( ) and had no issue.
2. Joseph, married Mary Crafts and had issue.
3. Mary, married Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth (Bigg) Stow, December 4, 1639, and had issue; died August 21, 1680.
4. A daughter who died in 1645 about twelve years old.

INVENTORY.

An inventory of the goods & chattells of Thomas Griges deceased made this 25th of ye 3d moneth 1646.
one ffeatherbedd Bolster & pillowes 03 10 00 (GLG Note: their value is in Pounds, Shillings, and Pence)
one Coverledd 8s one blankett 2s 00 10 00
A paire of Sheets 10s two billowbeeres 2s & a Diap tablecloth 4s 00 16 00
An old Chist 1s a reasonable goad chest 5s a boxe 3s 00 09 00
one flockbed 12s 4 pillowes 8s 3 blankets 3s 01 03 00
Three kettells the greatest 10s the lessor 6s 8d the least 4s 01 06 08
A pewter milke Bason 38s 1d A morter & pastell 3s A chaffing dish and a strong water bottell 2s 00 09 01
A pottattage pott & an old ladle 00 10 00
Tonges hangers Smoothing Iron 00 03 06
A Table & kneading trough 00 05 00
Bacon in weight 82 poundes 01 10 09
There is one Cow & two yeerelings 06 10 00
one white backt Cowe which his wife is to have dureing her liffe with liberty to change her & if the Cowe or the exchange dy she is not to make it good but it if live she is to ritorne the Cowe or ffour pounds which she please.

Taken uppon oath of Philip Eliot & John Grigges before the court 1 (5) 1647.
William Aspinwall Recorder"

From Pitman, “Early Griggs Families,” pp 171–72.
“It is suggested by J. W. Linzee, Jr., in his Ancestors and Descendants of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles, 1913, p. 475, that Thomas was a son of John and Martha Griggs of Boxted, Co. Suffolk, England born in 1585 whose ancestral chart is reproduced on page 475 from Joseph James Muskett’s Suffolk Manorial Families (1900), 1:265. However, there seems to be no proof whatever of the identity of the two Thomases. It might equally well be claimed that George son of John and Martha Griggs of Boxted, given in the same chart as born in 1595, was the George, subject of the first part of this article. The age very nearly corresponds. The latter George, however is given in the shipping list as of Landon, Bucks. A search of the wills or estates of John and Martha Griggs of Boxted might reveal the validity or falseness of either or both of these assumptions. “Clarence Bowen in his History of Woodstock, vol. 6, states that this Thomas Griggs was born in 1603 (which might well be) and that he came to New England in 1635. He claims also that Thomas’ first wife was Grace Wells (not Mary _____). This writer has been unable to determine the source of such statements, but, because much of Bowen’s account of the Griggs families is erroneous, not much reliance can be placed on any of the statements about the Griggs families.”

The surname 'Griggs' comes from Grig, son of Gregor, who was the son of Chief Alpin, b. A.D. 787. In the words of Sir Walter Scott: 'They were the most lawless of a lawless lot, of untamable and innate ferocity.'

"The relationship, if any, between George Griggs, who came to America aboard the 'Hopewell' in 1635, and Thomas is not known. It was suggested in 'Ancestors and Descendants of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles,' by J.W. Linzee, Jr., that Thomas was a son of John and Martha Griggs of Boxted, co. Suffolk, England, born in 1585. See Joseph James Muskett's 'Suffolk Manorial Families,' 1900, 1:265 (reproduced in Parker/Ruggles on page 475). However, proof on this relationship is lacking." He was christened on 5 December 1585 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.¹⁰⁴⁷ He emigrated about April 1639 from Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^{265,932,933,995,998,1048,1049,1050,1051} An article in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties, CT notes that: "Thomas Griggs came from England to Roxbury, Mass., in 1639, and brought with him his son Joseph."

An article in the "Genealogy of The Griggs Family" states, "Thomas Griggs, who came from England in the spring of 1639, settled in Roxbury. With him were his wife, Mary, and two sons, John and Joseph."

The obituary of John Chandler Griggs says that his ancestors came from Northamptonshire, England, in 1637. A report entitled "The Descendants of Chauncey Wright Griggs and Martha Ann Gallup" based on "The History of Woodstock, Connecticut," indicates that he settled in Roxbury in 1636. Those dates are believed to be incorrect.

Excerpt from "Genealogy of The Griggs Family": "The earliest colonial ancestors bearing the name of Griggs settled in Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina. The New England families descended from George and Thomas, who arrived from England about the year 1635.... The original settlers in Massachusetts found their off-spring moving to Connecticut, or New Hampshire, and then to New York, and later to Michigan, Ohio and the West and Northwest...." Thomas and his children were the Massachusetts branch of the family. After 1639 Thomas was in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.¹⁰⁵² He died on 23 May 1646 at the age of 60 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.^{487,933,984,987,995,1043,1045,1047,1053} Life Sketch: "Thomas Griggs was born in England in 1585. The name of his first wife was Mary, parentage unknown. Mary died in Roxbury, Mass., and was buried there on 11-29-1639. On 8-26-1640 Thomas married Mary Greene, probably widow of John Greene. Thomas died in Roxbury on 5-23-1646, and his widow Mary married Jasper Rawlings on 6-8-1651. She survived her husband, who died in Boston in 1667.

Thomas Griggs came to New England before 1636, since he and his family were already settled in Roxbury by that year. His name is in the original town records of Roxbory, 1636-1640, his estate being given as twelve acres. He was a member of the First Meeting House of Roxbury. Rev. John Eliot wrote of his death that 'Brother Griggs lay in a long affliction of sicknesse & shined like gold in it, greatly glorifying God & magnifying his grace in Christ.'

The inventory of his estate, taken by Philip Eliot and John Ruggles, amounted to L(bs)125, and included 'one white backt cow,' which his wife was to have during her life. His heirs were his sons John and Joseph."

(His place of death may have been Roxbury Crossing. His date of death is also listed as 23 Jun 1646.)

From the "Genealogical and Biographical Notes Prepared in connection with the publication of 'More Lasting Than Brass: A Thread of Family from Revolutionary New York to Industrial Connecticut' (Boston: The Northeastern University Press and the Newbury Street Press, 2004) by Peter Haring Judd":

"THOMAS GRIGGS, d. 23 May 1646 at Roxbury, Mass., having lain 'in a long affliction of sickness and shined like gold in it, greatly magnifying his grace in Christ'; m(arried) (1st wife) ca. 1615, prob. in England, MARY _____, (who was) bur(ied) 29 Nov. 1639 at Roxbury; m(arried) (2nd wife) on 26 Aug. 1640, at Roxbury, MARY GREEN, prob. wid. of John Green who d. in 1638/9. She m(arried) (2nd husband) 8 June 1651, in Roxbury, Jasper Rawlins."

From the Genealoy of the Griggs Family: "Thomas Griggs, who came from England in the spring of 1639, settled in Roxbury. With him were his wife, Mary, and two sons, John and Joseph. Mary died a few months after their arrival and was buried in Roxbury, 25 September 1639. In five years, Thomas married Mary Green, 26 Agust 1640. Thomas died 23 May 1646, after a long illness." He was buried on 23 May 1646 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.^{265,1047,1052} Mary Grace WELLS (*) and Reverend Thomas GRIGGS (*) (!) (`) were married in 1615 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^{307,775,779,1045,1048,1054,1055} (Their marriage year is also listed as 1617 in some sources.)

1025. Mary Grace WELLS (*)^{185,186,1052,1056,1057} was born in April 1590 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^193,779,1052 She died on 25 November 1639 at the age of 49 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.^{487,988,991,1011,1043,1044} She was buried on 29 November 1639 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.^{265,487,991,1011,1045,1058} Mary has Ancestral File Number L5RZ-KKZ. (Her name is listed as Mary Grace Green (1590-1639) on a FamilySearch.org family tree. Other sources list her as Mary Wells.)

Children were:

	i.	Mary GRIGGS (`) was born in April 1618 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^{487,983,987,988,1044,1048,1059,1060,1061,1062,1063} She emigrated before December 1639 from England, United Kingdom.¹⁹³ She died on 21 August 1680 at the age of 62 in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America.^{193,987,988,1044,1064} Mary was buried on 21 August 1680 in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America.²⁶⁵
	ii.	John GRIGGS Sr.^311,1005 was born in 1623 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^{487,984,987,988,1041,1043,1048,1054} He was christened in 1636 in Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England.¹⁰⁶⁵ He emigrated in 1639 from Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^1011,1066 According to the "Genealogy of The Griggs Family," he emigrated in the Spring of 1639 with his parents and his brother, Joseph. "On 14 March 1672, John Griggs of Roxbury sold to 'Samuell Dunkin Sr. of Muddy River' three acres and three score rods in the common field in Boston beyond Muddy River [SLR 9:140]." John signed a will on 5 January 1691.¹⁰⁶⁷ "The will of John Griggs of Roxbury in New England, Senr., mentions my Eldest son John Grigs forty pounds; my dau. Mary ffielder ten pounds; my dau. Hannah Raynsford Twenty-two pounds; my dau. Abigail cooke Twenty pounds; my dau. Sarah Kidder Twenty pounds; my grand dau. Sarah ffielder Ten pounds when she comes of age; these legacies to be paid in corne, cattle or pork or beefe within six years after the decease of the Testator. Appoint my Brother Joseph Grigs and my son George Grigs my exors., and my son James Grigs as soone as he comes to the age of one and Twenty years to joine as exor. Remainer of estate both real and personal, to my sons George and James. My son John shall have his choice of my woolen coats, and so of one of my small chests, and a great sword and his choice of any one of my books, the rest of my Bookes of divinity shall be divided amongst the rest of my children, by my Physick books I give wholely to my son George, my son James shall have my fowling piece and my Muskett & sword. And none of these lands should be put away by any sale, but to remine with my youngest sons and to their natural heires." Made 5 Jan 1691 in the presence of Joseph Griges, Robert Pierpont, John Searle. Proved 24 Mar. 1691-2, by Joseph and George Grigs." "(Suff. VIII"240) An inventory of the Lands and Chattells of John Griggs Senr, Late of Roxbury, decd apprized by Samuel Ruggles senr; Robert Pierpont, John Ruggles Senor, the 17 Feb 1691-2. Included among items: The dwelling house, Barne and outhousing and orchard home. All the lands upon the great Hill both planting and pasture and orchard lying up the grat Hill butts upon the Highway leading to Dedham. A piece of land lying by John Searls, a piece of land commonly called Genner's lott and it on the other side of muddy highway which was formerly the land of Mr. John Gore. A piece of woodland lying at the backside of John Scotts. A piece of meadow lying at muddy River. A piece of salt marsh lying at Gravelly point. Boston 24 Mar. 1691-2. Joesph & George Griggs Exts made oath to this inventory of John Griggs." He died on 23 January 1691 at the age of 68 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.^{775,779,794,933,984,987,988,991,1041,1048} in King Philip's War. He owned on 24 March 1691 in Roxbury Neighborhood, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.¹⁰⁶⁷ "(Suff. Deed IX:140) I John Griggs of Roxbury Co. Suff., Sell unto Samuel Dunkin three & threescore rods of Arable Land Lieing in the common field beyond Muddy River in Boston founds & there abutting upon the Land of Samuell Ruggles South upon the land of John Searle. Proved Boston 24 Mar. 1691-2 by Joseph and George Grigs." John has reference number 2294-P9.
512	iii.	*Joseph GRIGGS Sr. () (!).**
	iv.	Judith GRIGGS²⁵⁴ was born on 1 February 1625 in Colchester, Essex County, England.²⁵⁴ She was christened on 1 February 1625 in Colchester County, England.¹⁹³ in the Saint Nicholas' Church. She died in 1645 at the age of 20 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.²⁵⁴
	v.	Martha GRIGGS was born in 1626 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.⁷⁹⁶ She died in 1645 at the age of 19 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.⁹⁹⁹
	vi.	Elizabeth GRIGGS was born in 1633 in Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^{487,986,987,988} She emigrated about 1639 from Boxted, Babergh District, Suffolk County, England.^986,1011 (The "Genealogy of The Griggs Family" does not list her as emigrating with her parents and brothers John and Joseph, so her date of emigration is not known for certain.) She died in 1645 at the age of 12 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.^{986,987,988,1046} (Her place of death may have been Roxbury Crossing.)