Daniel Griswold (1762 - 1836)

Born 5 Dec 1762 in Meriden, Connecticut

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 4 Aug 1836 at age 73 in Springfield, Vermont

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Biography

Daniel as born in 1762, a son of John Griswold, Sr. and Mary Ward.

He married Hannah Ames and they had children including Mary Griswold Boynton (1788–1832), Hannah (Brown), Lucy Griswold Stimson 1796–1860 and Martha E. (Lockwood).

He was a teamster.

Daniel passed away in 1836 and was buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery, North Springfield, Windsor County, Vermont. ^[1]

Genealogical Sketch: The descendants of Daniel Griswold, and their families, living in Springfield and vicinity, for several years past, with few exceptions, iuive liehl a picnic or family gathering at the iVeio La7id pasture, which was a portion of the Griswold farm, now owned by the heirs of Abner Field. This has been done not only for the purpose of having a "good time," but more especially, to get the family together, and particularly the memory of the old-fashioned parties, which many of us remember so well, and which the older members of the family so regularly attended, and which they so passionately enjoyed. These picnics have been held in the months of July and August, and have been peacefully attended, and apparently very pleasant occasions. The older Griswolds were known as good hvers and caters, and the tables which have been spread at these gatherings, have borne evidence that this trait has not wholly disappeared in the younger members of the family. These days have Ijccn sj)ent much as they used to be, and those present have indulged largely in reminiscences of the absent and the past. At t!ie i>iciiir in ISt't, it was voted, that the writer should prepare and read at the next gathering, a sketch of the life of grandfather Griswold, the first in our ancestry who settled in Vermont. In compliance with that request the writer read a hastily written article. Those present insisted upon its being printed, and it was suggested that a short genealogy of the family he edited to it, Th 'sketch is necessarily short and intended to embrace only the most important events of his life, and facts which would be interesting to his descendants. Of course, it is only a matter of interest to tiie family, and those connected therewith. The genealogical part is substantially correct some errors in dates may have crept in, but the information is mainly from the parties themselves. Some have answered more fully than others, and from some we cannot get the desired information. For some of the data herein, l am indebted to the late Rev. F. W. Chapman, of Conn., who began a genealogy of the Griswold family, but died before the work was completed, also to the February nundjer, 1876, of Harper's Magazine, whitch gives a very interesting article upon the Griswolds, of Conn., under the head of Lyme," but mainly to my mother, who has been very much interested in the little undertaking, and who was the youngest child of Daniel Griswold, and is the only survivor of a noble band of brothers and sisters, whom many, whose names are herein written, have called Father and Mother.

FRED G. FIELD.

Sketch of Griswold Family.

Daniel Griswold, or "Squire Griswold" as he was familiarly called, the father, grandfather, great and great-great-grandfather of most of us who are here assembled, was born at Meriden, Conn., Decembers, 1762, and was the son of John and Mary (Ward) Griswold. John Griswold is said to have been a very pleasant and social man, and also an easy, and a strict compliance with truth, would compel us to say, a very indolent man. He was undoubtedly anticipating sometime in the future a "windfall" from his father, who is supposed to have been in good circumstances, but like many others, he was disappointed, for his father left his property to another son. John attempted by process of law to get the property from his brother, but did not succeed, and lost his own in the attempt. He was so unfortunate as to break both of his thighs at a raising, but instead of disabling him for life, it appears that his strong constitution carried him through remarkably well, for we find that afterwards when the Revolutionary war broke out, he enlisted under Gen. Israel Putnam. In August 1776, at a battle on Long Island he took cold, and died in a few weeks on York or New York Island. It is not certainly known whether he wns taken prisoner or not. As usual in those days he left a large family of children, the youngest five years of age, Daniel, the sub- ject of our sketch, fourteen. Daniel was a healthy, robust boy, brimful of energy and perseverance, and he started out to battle with the world with a very small outfit, consisting simply of a light summer suit of clothes, including a pair of shoes which belonged to an older sister. He had a guardian whose name was William Curtis, whom people for some reason called "Old Hunks," but who, withstanding the doubtful sobriquet, was a good friend to him. While sixteen years of age Daniel was employed by someone to enter the army, for which lie received ten dollars per nujutli in silver. He remained in the army nine months during which time he was at the skirmish at New Haven, Conn. A portion of llif time he was stationed at Peekskill. N. Y., and most of the time was employed as a teamster, instead of serving in the ranks. After the death of his father, his mother married again, a man said to have been in "better circumstances" than her first husband, but it is not known that Daniel reaped any advantage, pecuniary or otherwise from the marriage. At this time of his life, certain traits of character were exhibited, which later in life were developed more fully, and which ever made him a prominent man in the town and vicinity where he resided; his integrity and good judgment were proverbial, he was economical without being mean, add to these an untiring industry, a firm will, and considerable perseverance, and we have the probable cause of his apparent success in life. When a youth any employment, no matter how menial, was honorable to bin), and it is said that while he was twenty-one 3- ears of age he had accumulated the then large sum of one thousand dollars. When in the army he sold his rations of rum, instead of drinking them, then even hating the smell of it, but later in life the custom of using it on all occasions was so universal, even at weddings and funerals, that he yielded to it, and used liquor to a limited extent. August 24, 1784, he put chased his first land in Springfield of one John Gilmore of Rockingham. James Chittenden, grandfather of the present Daniel Chittenden, came up and cleared a portion of the land, built a log house upon it, and lived in it until February 1790. Grandfather came from Connecticut and worked with him one or two seasons, bringing his provisions with him. Realizing that it was not best for man to be alone, in January', 1786, Grandfather gave his hand, where he had a long time before his heart, to Hannah Lenthal Ames, who by occupation was a tailoress. His love, "at first sight," began when he went to her to have a suit of clothes made. It is certainly reasonable to infer that she did her work thoroughly. In preparing for a settlement in Vermont he encountered so many obstacles and suffered so many privations that he was nearly discouraged and about decided to sell out, or abandon the clearing, but Hannah Lenthal wouldn't listen to this, she had made up her mind to go to Vermont — and they went. In 1790 they started from Connecticut, with an ox team, and arrived here after a ten days' journey, moved into their log house, which was situated a few rods west of the large brick house occupied so many years by "Uncle Joe." In 1798 a new framed house was built, the one in which Dea. J. M. Boynton now resides, which compares favorably with those of a more modern make. For all that is noble, true and worthy in their descendants, equal credit with Daniel should be given to Hannah Lenthal, who was the daughter of Anthony Ames and Hannah Eells, and granddaughter upon his mother's side, of Lemuel Eells and Hannah North, he a minister of the New Light faith, and she an English lady. Annah Lenthal was born February 17, 1764, at South Farms, Middletown, Conn., and was one of a family of ten children; her father, by occupation, was a ship carpenter, and died in 1817. A portion of the winter ot 1807-8 he resided with Grandfather Griswold. He is said to have been a quiet and a remarkably good man, and his wife, Annah Lenthal's mother, was a very religious woman, perhaps somewhat exacting, who carried out to the letter, in her family, the spirit of the old Connecticut "Blue Laws." Annah in many respects was much different from her mother. She was full of life and fun, and rebelled inwardly, if not outwardly, at the, as she thought, unnecessary restraints imposed upon her by her mother. She had, what most of her female descendants are possessed of, considerable pride, and a will of her own, so that whatever she determined to have done was generally accomplished. To the original purchase which Grandfather made, from time to time as his means permitted, he purchased more land, until he became one of the la

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #146456130 Daniel Griswold (1762-1836)

• https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KLLX-3R5: "Family Tree," database entry for Daniel Griswold contributed by various users.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Kitty Smith for contributions to this profile.