Thanks so much for taking the time to answer. I do have three copies of the will - the one in William's estate file, the one in the will book, and a transcribed copy that's on the SC Dept. of Archives and History's website. It does not name a son Richard. There is a record in Chatham Co NC, Will Book A, image 43, dated 9 Jan 1800, that names William's children by his first wife Sarah. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-VN92-KV?i=44&cc=1867501&cat=511778)
There's no mention of a Richard Griffin in it either. However, it does name the couple's grown son John Griffin who was a legal adult when he signed it - not a child. In fact, William sold John some of his property on Pokeberry Creek in Chatham County on 6 Aug 1789 - so he was already an adult then, born at least 1768 or earlier. John is also named in William's will drafted 5 Oct 1800 in Pendleton Co SC. William bequeathed to him 10 shillings sterling. This John, son of Sarah, did not die as a child in 1800 - yet there is a second John Griffin wiki profile attached to William and his second wife Elizabeth Stroud - that has a death date for him of 1800. The bio says "died as a child." The only sources shown on this profile are some old Ancestry tree links that don't work - not sufficient. Someone most likely entered into their Ancestry tree that John died after the date of William's will in 1800 - since the will proved John was still alive on that date - but somewhere along the way, this probably got copied repeatedly and interpreted as his actual date of his death. However, John Griffin died before 4 Mar 1827 in Anderson District, SC - per the earliest dated document in his estate file. In it, his brother-in-law Kennon Breazeal provided an affidavit to the probate court concerning the value of John's land. John Griffin estate file
Averilla Griffin Anthony, a granddaughter of William Griffin through his wife Elizabeth, wrote a letter to her children in 1878 that names all of William and Elizabeth's children. She was born while Elizabeth was still living. The letter does not mention Elizabeth having a son named John. It names sons Henry, William, Sargent, and Oswell, as well as daughters Elizabeth who married James Trotter and daughter Patsy who married John Stanley. (Source of letter transcription: Lovvorn, Nancy Sue Griffin, "The Griffin Family," 1995, Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library, Easley, SC.)
Averilla's letter and the 1800 document drafted in Chatham Co NC accounts for every child William named in his will - no Richard, no second son named John by Elizabeth. I have not found any proof that either of these purported sons existed; so I was asking if anyone else does have proof. The only sources cited for the Richard Griffin attached to William and Elizabeth is a reference to imported data from a gedcom file and changes made to Richard's profile here on Wikitree. There's no actual documentation that proves anything about Richard or his parents. There also isn't any children or spouse attached to him.
William's profile is protected by the US Southern Colonies Project and needs project maintenance. It states in the research notes, "Needs relationship review: As noted above, not all of the children listed in his Find A Grave memorial are named in William's will, so further research is needed to reconcile and/or confirm the list of children."
This is what I am trying to do. Based on all documents I have found, here are William's children named in the will, sorted by mother:
William Griffin and Sarah Kirksey's children: Rebecca Griffin, John Griffin, Roseanna Griffin, Haskey Griffin
William Griffin and Elizabeth Stroud's children: Henry Griffin, William Griffin, Sargent Griffin, Oswell (Orswell/Oswald) Griffin, Elizabeth Griffin, Martha Griffin
No Richard Griffin or second son named John Griffin
