Nancy Griffis 1845 - 1912

Date: 1845 to 1912
Location: Georgia, United States
Surname/tag: Griffis

Nancy Griffis a Medicine Person

Daughter of Joel Griffis

This article was found in the Homerville Genelogy Library. I do not know the writer of this information.

Nancy Griffis 1845 - 1912

"In my research I have uncovered information that Nancy Griffis was a witch. Nancy's grandmother was a full blooded Creek Indian as far as I can determine. An Indian witch, or medicine person, was a worker with the supernatural. (Webster's dictionary). Over the years many stories of her spells, chants, deeds and abilities have been related to me.

September 4, 1980: Lucius Henry Davis told me of his life with his grandmother. One night when he was about eight years old, he woke up and could not breathe. Something was over his face. He struggled and squirmed until he was free. His grandmother, Nancy, had been holding a pillow over his face trying to suffocate him.

September 4, 1980: Nancy's son Charlie Davis was married to a lady named Georgia. They had one child. One day Nancy killed the baby by sticking an old fashioned hatpin into the soft part of the top of its skull, penetrating the brain. Nancy is said to have smothered another of Charlie's children. Charlie and his second wife, Lue Vessie Anderson, wanted a child. They begged Nancy to allow it. Nancy told them that if they wanted a child and for her to let it live, then they must name it Robert Leonard Davis and call it "Senior". This was done and the child lived. But relatives always said that "Senior" was possessed or had a spell cast over him. At one time he came home and beat his father Charlie (a very small boned man) until Charlie was blind. His mother (a huge woman) pulled "Senior" off of Charlie and beat him senseless. He was then put in jail for beating his father.

October 26, 1985: Hubert Dixon Griffis (son of Lucius Calvin Griffs and grandson of Dixon Griffis, who was the brother of Nancy) told me this story. One night Nancy came to the home of Lucius Calvin Griffis. She was a wanderer. She would spend a night or a week at one of her relatives home than move on to the house of another. She never spent more than a week or two at anyone place. When Lucius saw her coming,he told the children to be nice as pie to Aunt Nancy. They were told several times, because Lucius did not want Nancy to put a spell on them. When Aunt Nancy came into the house Lucius's wife, Nancy Johnson Griffis, was holding the baby. Aunt Nancy wanted to get her hands on the baby, but Lucius would not let her have it. Aunt Nancy began swirling around and carrying on - trying to place a hex - or spell on the baby. Lucius Griffis told her to cut out that nonsense. He said that he would not let anything happen to that baby, so she might as well settle down. He invited her to spend the night. She at first refused but then she accepted. Nancy Johnson Griffis made up the spare bedroom and put a fine bowl and pitcher set in the room. During the night Aunt Nancy, the witch, crapped (defecated) in the pitcher and the bowl and placed them in the middle of the bed. Then she slipped out into the darkness. Nancy Johnson Griffis was so mad that she could have strangled the witch but she cleaned and scalded out the bowl and pitcher set.

One day Aunt Nancy visited the family of one of her relatives who had a herd of goats. She asked over and over to have one of them killed so that she could have a meal of goat meat. The owner would not hear of it. He refused to kill one of his goats just so she could have a meal. So that evening she left. The next morning the owner awoke and went out to feed his goats. Everyone of his goats were dead. They were lying on the ground in pairs. Each pair had their horns locked. Aunt Nancy, the witch, had put a hex on them.

Nancy is buried at the Bethel cemetery, Boney Bluff, Echols County, Georgia. She is in an unmarked grave just a little bit to the left of the grave of Henry J. Davis. Henry was one of her grandsons.

I spoke to Mattie Mae Griffis at the age of 98 about Aunt Nancy. She said that as a child she could remember her coming to the family home and that she was so afraid of her. She was a very mean person. Mattie Mae would hid when she saw her coming. So I believe that some of the above stories may be true. I believe that she was a mean person who wondered from place to place. I was told by Griffis family members that their was an Indian in the family. Nancy may be the lineage of that Indian.

Posted 09 Mar 2011 by vickielgriffis to Ancestry.com