Search for content in message boards

Parents of Griffin Cundiff born about 1786, Possibly in Lancaster County, VA

Parents of Griffin Cundiff born about 1786, Possibly in Lancaster County, VA

Posted: 1 Oct 2013 12:46AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cundiff, Long, Anderson, Harrow
I am looking for any clues to the parentage of Griffin Cundiff who was my 4th great-grandfather. I have found no information on him prior to 1807 when he first appeared on the Middlesex County, Virginia personal property tax list. Griffin owned a piece of property in Middlesex as early as 1808, when he sold 14 acres to John D. Long, but he does not appear on the land tax list until 1811. Griffin appears on the 1810 & 1830 Middlesex County census, and there are also two other Cundiffs in Middlesex during this timeframe, a William Cundiff and a James Cundiff, who appear on the Middlesex personal property tax list in 1809. However, I have not been able to ascertain their relationship, but there was a William and James Cundiff who were previously taxed in Lancaster County, VA., so possibly these three men were from Lancaster. None of them left a will.

Griffin married twice, 1) Mary Anderson 21, Dec 1808, and 2) Ann S. Harrow, 18 Jun 1823, and had at least 8 children, four by each wife. His children with Mary Anderson were John, Griffin, Jr., Mary Ann, and Nancy, and his children with Ann S. Harrow were Eliza Jane, Mary Ann, William, and Albert G.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Parents of Griffin Cundiff born about 1786, Possibly in Lancaster County, VA

Posted: 6 Oct 2013 8:24PM GMT
Classification: Query
Christi, not that you need to hear from me on this, but if memory serves me correctly Griffin is first on the personal property tax list in 1807, followed by William and James who were previously on the 1809 PP tax list of Lancaster County and then in 1810 on the Middlesex County PP list.

For readers not familiar with the Northern Neck of Virginia area, the two counties are seperated by the Rappahannock River near its mouth at the Chesapeak Bay. Your Cundiff's lived at Stingray Point and that William and James never owned any land, and Griffin very little land, suggests to me they were not planters but seafaring men. Do you have information on that occupation in this family?

Craig Kilby

Re: Parents of Griffin Cundiff born about 1786, Possibly in Lancaster County, VA

Posted: 7 Oct 2013 10:59PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cundiff, Colmary, Clark
Craig,

Griffin does indeed first show up on the Middlesex County personal property tax list in 1807, and William and James appear on the Middlesex list in 1809. William and James were previously taxed in Lancaster County, James through 1806 and William through 1807. As there was no tax levied in 1808, I don't know if William and James were in Middlesex in 1808.

I don't know the occupations of Griffin, William, or James; however, Griffin had four sons: John, Griffin, Jr., William, and Albert. John and Griffin, Jr. remained in Middlesex County as farmers, and William and Albert became steamboat captains and relocated to Baltimore, MD. Two of Griffin's daughters, Eliza Jane and Mary Ann, married steamboat captains, Abraham Colmary and George A. Clark, respectively, and also relocated to Baltimore.

Christi Shea

Re: Parents of Griffin Cundiff born about 1786, Possibly in Lancaster County, VA

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 10:49PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Craig,

You might want to heck the following cite at Familysearch Library:

https://familysearch.org/search/record/results#count=20&...~

I don't have any Griffith in my records but there are some ? G Cundiff in history records.

Good Luck

Don Cundiff
per page

Find a board about a specific topic