John S. Griffith married Maria Louisa Eastman on 8 Nov 1837 in Jennings County IN. They were the parents of 15 children, all born in Jennings. Maria was the older child of Nancy Maria (French) and Solomon "Rowley" Eastman. She had a younger brother, Horace French Eastman. Maria is buried in Drummer Township Cemetery in Gibson City, Ford, IL.

John was the oldest child of his parents, Lydia (Mobley) and Hezekiah Griffith II. The "Rachel Wilkins Letters" tell us that John was a church-goer who often took the lead in singing. Rachel noted that John and his father-in-law came to church together in a buggy.

The 15 children were: (Some adjustments may occur as more information comes to light.)

Sarah Ann 10 Apr 1838-20 Mar 1926; married Ira M. Kiefer/Keefer.
Jasper Alphonso 1840-1889; married Mary Eliza ("May") Walker.
Eliza Amelia 1842-1864; never married.
Isabel Jane 1844-1931; married Samuel C. Davis.
Nancy Maria 1846- 1915; married Thomas G. Slavens and Lewis High.
(Twin) Lydia Louise Mar 21, 1848-May 18, 1923; married John Gant.
(Twin) John "Howard" Mar 21, 1848-Mar 1, 1917 Jennings IN; never married.
Amanda, age 0 in 1850; died young.
Mary Evelyn 1851-1919; married Ira Brininstool, Albert J. Gant, and Jacob E. Rife.
(Twin) William Cornett 1852-1916; married a cousin Hannah J. Tyler, Sarah (Beatty) Banister, and Emma L. Meyers.
(Twin) Sidney Olive 1852- 15 Feb 1900; married John J. McCormack.
(Twin) Daniel Latimore Jun 26, 1853-1892; married a cousin Abigail Ann "Abbie" Tyler.
(Twin) Elizabeth Clemetine Jun 26, 1853-1-1-1937-KY; married John Hotz, Elmer Oliver, and Henry Sphar.
Effie Angeline 1857-1863.
Laura "Helen" 1861-1899; married Elmer Oliver 7 Jan 1892 in Clay Co. IN. Helen died 20 Feb 1899 in Altamont IL.

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Maria L. and John S. Griffith's oldest child Sarah Ann married Ira M. Kiefer in Jennings. She and her husband moved to IL along with Sarah's parents. Sarah was a widow when she later moved to Galesburg, Knox, IL. According to her death certificate she was born 10 Apr 1840 in Jennings (but that year appears to be incorrect), and died 20 Mar 1926 in Waukegan, Lake, IL, where she had been for three days. Her death record said she was a resident of and buried in Zion IL. Her daughter Grace, who lived with her mother her whole life, predeceased her mother and was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Galesburg, which had been their home for over 40 years.

I am investigating the burial location of Sarah Ann Kiefer, hoping to create a Find A Grave memorial for her so I can connect her to her family. Sarah must have moved to Zion IL after Grace died. Sarah and Ira were the parents of two known children, Grace who is enumerated as being Irene age 3 weeks old in Oldham KY in 1860, instead of being Grace age 3 days old; and Elmer who went west to mine gold and died single in Montana in 1917.

Daughter Nancy Maria had a short-lived marriage to Thomas G. Slavens in Iowa on 12 Jun 1883. She was 38 when she married. Another researcher reported that they had a daughter Maude Myrtle Slavens, but I never found any records to substantiate this. Nancy left Thomas G. Slavens, and on 1 Mar 1885 in Rockford KS, she is married to Lewis High as his third wife. Lewis died in 1887. Nancy then returned to Illinois where she lived for a while with her sister Sarah A. Kiefer. In 1910 it appears that she was working as a housekeeper in the household of Walter Brickman in Alva, Wood, OK, age 64. Nancy died 4 Aug 1915 in Ft. Smith, Sebastian, AR.

Daughter Sidney Olive married John J. McCormack on 22 Feb 1885 in Ford, Illinois. Sidney and J.J. had one known son, Charles Roy McCormack, b. 27 Jul 1886 in Gibson City IL who I found living with his Aunt Lizzie, who was then Elizabeth C. (Griffith) Oliver, in 1900 in Effingham IL, age 13. His mother had died on 15 Feb 1900; she was erroneously listed on a list of burials in Drummer Township Cemetery transcript under the name of J.J. McCormack's third wife, Elizabeth Fisher. See Sidney's Find A Grave memorial in Drummer Twp. Cemetery for a full explanation. I found later, in newspapers, that Roy was, for some unexplained reason, raised by his aunt.

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The Rachel Wilkins letter dated 12 May 1862: "John Griffiths can't pay his debts. His property was set off to him a short time ago. Their clothing was all appraised. All his property only amounted to about $200.00. He gave his farm to the railroad company as many others did. This war makes hard times for a great many."

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The Rachel Wilkins letter dated 7 Feb 1864: "John Griffiths and family has all moved to Illinois last fall - poor John did not go for 2 or 3 weeks after his wife and [son] Jasper. They seem to talk as though John lived with Jasper and his mother. John worked out this summer by the day, and his son [worked] at home - their eldest daughter [Sarah Ann] is married - they [Sarah and husband Ira Kiefer] went [to Illinois] also - John's brother give them all they can make [??]. She [wife Maria Louisa ?] said maybe they would raise enough to eat for they never had yet."

Here Rachel shows us the beginnings of the dissolution of a long marriage that produced 15 children. John's position in the family was, at this point, in question. It appears that the family had been hungry and unhappy. The records in Illinois do show that Maria Louisa and John did separate. Perhaps the old adage "when poverty comes in the door love flies out the window" came into play. It would be difficult to provide for so large a family, and the stresses may have been overwhelming.

Despite hardship and disillusionment on both parents' parts, I trust John continued to provide for the care of his family since so many of the Griffith children were still very young when he and Maria Louisa separated. If so, he did it while living under a different roof.

Update (30 Oct 2018) - The Pantograph newspaper, Bloomington IL, Tuesday 26 Sep 1876: John S. Griffith vs. Maria L. Griffith. Decree of divorce. Complainant to pay costs.

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The Rachel Wilkins letter dated 17 Sep 1865: "John Griffith has buried a daughter in Illinois." [Eliza A. Griffith, b. 10-6-1842, d. 3-10-1864; Eliza and her father are buried in the same cemetery.]
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The Rachel Wilkins Letters were written to my GG grandparents, Phebe "Polly" (Hinchey) and Rowley Alonzo Sprout in Pinckney, Livingston, MI. Polly and Rowley were Rachel's neighbors when they lived in Scipio IN for four years before moving to Michigan. Luckily the letters were preserved and are available online at the Jennings County IN GenWeb site.

For the most part Rachel updates Polly and Rowley about the Eastman and Sprout relatives, as well as some former friends and neighbors. Rowley Alonzo Sprout and Maria Louisa (Eastman) Griffith were first cousins. Rowley's mother was Phebe Hendricks (Eastman) Sprout, and Maria Louisa (Eastman) Griffith's father was Phebe's younger brother Solomon "Rowley" Eastman.

Rachel really knew what was going on in her Scipio IN neighborhood. She didn't pull a lot of punches. She sometimes apologized for being so honest. Rachel didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, and she hesitated in some of her letters to tell the whole truth. But in the end, the truth came out in her few precious letters. One thing Rachel did mention was that some of the older Griffith daughters (not by name) were still living at home rather than working out to contribute to the family welfare.
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You will often see the Rowley name in our relatives. They were named after their ancestor Naomi Rowley who married Dr. Nathaniel Eastman.

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The birth years inscribed on some of the children's headstones do not appear to be correct.
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Bloomington Daily Leader IL, 28 Mar 1879: Mr. John Griffith visited #1 East Twin Grove school and made some amusing and interesting remarks which caused great laughter. He is a witty and ready speaker and for a man of his years (65) is remarkably vigorous and well preserved.

Bloomington Daily Leader IL, 30 Oct 1882: Death of Uncle John. Mr. John Griffith, familiarly known to people of Dry Grove as "Uncle John," died at his home Friday [27 Oct] at 12 o'clock, a victim of malarial fever. He was a member of the First Presbytarian church in Bloomington and an upright Christian. He was about 60 years old and enjoyed an extensive acquaintance with people of McLean. One by one old settlers, like autumn leaves, are falling, and are being gathered home to their Father's house -- to their beautiful palace home in the skies.
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John's descendants are eligible for membership in the DAR or SAR (#70778), per SAR application of a relative, as follows:

William Griffith 1653-1699; married Sarah MacCubbin who died 22 Apr 1716.

Orlando Griffith, 17 Oct 1688-Mar 1752; married Katherine Howard.

Greenbury Griffith, 31 Dec 1727-1 Aug 1809; married Ruth Riggs.

Lt. Hezekiah Griffith, 25 Nov 1752 Anne Arundel Co. MD-28 Jul 1825 Steubenville OH; married Katherine Warfield, 17 Apr 1757-10 Apr 1796.

Hezekiah Griffith married Lydia Mobley.

John S. Griffith married Maria Louisa Eastman.