San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. ELLEN GRIFFIN
By no means all the pioneer citizens
and successful characters have been men, and to omit the part which the women
played in the development and the civic progress of this western country would
be indeed a serious oversight. Among
such women was the late Mrs. Ellen Griffin, a pioneer of the county, who after
her husband’s death managed with admirable executive ability and sagacity the
large ranch located about eleven miles east of Stockton on the Sonora
Road. She passed away to her reward on
May 29, 1909, mourned by her family and a host of loving friends. She was born in County Kerry, Ireland,
January 4, 1831, a daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Ford) Commins,
both natives of Ireland. When she was
twenty-one years old, in 1852, took passage on a sailing vessel and after a
long and tedious voyage of six weeks and three days she landed in New York
City. There on the twelfth day of the
following October, she was united in marriage with John Griffin, who was born
in County Kerry, Ireland, April 29, 1829, and who had preceded his betrothed to
America by only a few months. The happy
couple remained in New York until early in 1856, and then once more
considerations of their own material welfare separated them for a short time. In that year Mr. Griffin came out to
California, and after having decided upon a suitable location in San Joaquin
County, he sent for his wife. She came
around by the Panama route, and from San Francisco arrived in San Joaquin
County in the same year of 1856.
Mr. Griffin with keen foresight
purchased in San Joaquin County 480 acres of land at the site of the present
ranch, which has been the home of the Griffin family since 1856, but this tract
was only the nucleus around which his diligence and fine business management
built up, by subsequent purchase, a large estate of 1,980 acres, some of which
has been sold since his death; and the well cultivated ranch of which his
daughter Anna F. Griffin is now the owner and manager still comprises 1,430
acres. Mr. Griffin was a staunch
Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were very public-spirited and
favorable to anything pertaining to the upbuilding and welfare of their
community. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin were
members of the Catholic Church as were also their two daughters, Anna F. and
Nellie C. The latter passed away five
months after her mother, October 14, 1909.
Miss Anna F. Griffin, the only survivor of the pioneer couple, is
classed with the progressive, enterprising and successful agriculturists of San
Joaquin County.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1600. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases