The Giffin Family Pioneers in America Prior to 17 42 This Giffin History has to do with at least Eight Genera­ tions in America, widely scattered in many of the Far West States, as well as in the Eastern and Middle States. Following the Descent of Andrew Giffin I, from Eastern Penna. "Big Spring," Cumberland County And of his Son, the fourth born of his Five Children, Andrew Giffin II, to Western Penna. Washington County, in 1797 Scotch in Origin, Daring and Venturesome in Spirit, Fearless in their Every Undertaking. Published August 24, 1933 Giffin Reunion Association, Canonsburg, Pa. Wm. Ewing Giffin, Pres., R. D. 1, Bridgeville, Pa. S. Alice Freed, Secy., R. D. 1, Bridgeville, Pa. T. Andrew Riggle, Treas., Houston, Pa. Book arranged by William W. Rankin Manufactured in Pittsburgh, Penna., by American Printing Company The Giffin Family Dedicated to the Unnamed Gua,ontors who generously made the J,ublishing of this book possible by their payment in advance for a sufficient number of the books to justify the Publishing Committee in placing the order for the printing of the work.Starting at the Bienlfial Giffin Reunion August 20, 1915, with Twenty-six Dollars, this fund was at the 1931 Reunion and since, increased to several hundred dollars. Meanwhile for eighteen years, the original nest-egg has been gathering interest in a Sav­ ings Bank and is now being put to practical use. The Giffin Reunion Association. Contents Frontispiece, Dr. Isaac Boyce 4 Title Page 5 Dedicatio" 6 Are You a Giffin! Buy a Family History 8 Contents 9 Foreword 10 Portrait of Isaac Newton Boyce, Owr Eldest Giffin 12 History of the Giffin Family 13 Summary of Generations 33 Indexing Library System 34 William Giffin 49 Nancy Agnes Giffin 63 I ane Giffin 82 Joh,. Giffin 92 Andrew Giffin 116 lames Giffin 122 Mary Giffin 124 Eleanor Giffin 132 Hervey Giffin 143 Rebecca Giffin 150 Will of Andrew Giffin II 157 Giffin Poems 164 Addenda and Corrections 166 Index 168 Are You a Giffin Either by blood or marriage ties? Do you know that the name Giffin s<tands' high in the annals of American history? Do you know that they took an active part in the War of the Revolution, the war which resulted in establishing the "Land of Liberty, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?" Do you know that their pioneering helped to turn an Indian infested wil­ derness into some of the most fertile and productive lands in the State of Pennsylvania, and that they later were aetive and aggressive settlers in many of the States of the Far West? Do you realize the hard­ ships which they had to undergo; the rough log cabins which both the men and their women-folk had to live in; the rough land which had to be cleared of stumps and underbrush after the lumber was removed; the tedious days, months and years given over to the fenc­ ing of these lands after securing title to them and o:ten through expensive litiga:tion; the building of well drained roads in order to sell their market crops ; the problems of maintaining the health, the schooling, the religious and the cultural accomplishments of themselves and their children; and the arduous prob­ lems of every-day living? Was not this a terrible price to pay merely in some cases to eke out a bare existence? Is it any wonder in the early days that thousands upon thousands of emigrants remained in the eastern cities where life offered conveniences and comforts and greater freedom from Indian attacks? Being so closely connected by such close ties to our forefathers, is it any wonder that we are proud to be one of them, proud to stand up and be counted with 8 The GIFFIN Family men and women of such distinction, proud to have our children know of the courageous, self-sacrificing, a:i.d self-denying lives which necessity, conscientious scruples and high ideals, forced them to lead? Are we not zealous in our daily lives to gently win over our children to the conviction that self­ restraint and s2lf-restrictions against the pit-falls of life and over-indulgence, result in character build­ ing and strengthening one's determination to lead a c~lm, well-poised, moral and upright life, UJt only for one's own good but for its influence upon the children and upon those of our associates whose will power is not sufficient to readily keep them out of trouble? Buy Yourself a Family History To get this unpretentious Giffin Family History into the hands of several hundred people who will be the m03t interested in it, we have gotten it out at a price which barely covers the cost of the printing, the cloth case binding, and the distribution. Once this is out of print, like the first, printed, pape1·-back pJmphlet that was issued in 1897, it may be many long years until another Giffin Book is published. We feel sure you will want to know how you can help in handing down this information to your child­ ren and to your children's children, so that they too can lcok back with pardonable pride to their family \Von't you help to explain away the excuses of those who know in their hearts that they should have the 1:02k, but who, for one reason or another, put off ge!tirg a copy? Won't you help get them to get the book and keep it for later generations and themselves The Giffin Reunion Association. 9 Forward to the For the preparation of such a work as this, full and accurate information regarding the family descent are essential; and the writer lays no claim to such store of knowledge. Indeed, seemingly, it should have occurred to the members of the different family lines in naming your humble servant for such a task, that he had not had such close contact with the Giffin clans as would qualify him inj any marked degree for such a task. For almost a third of his life he had been striving to acquire an education; for more than a third of his life he has lived in a foreign country; an;d during the last third of his life he has been so load­ ed down with work as to preclude his giving any con­ siderable time or thought to the gathering of data, or to the cultivation of his codescendants, in order to in­ form himself regarding the history of the family of Andrew Giffin II, and his wife Janet Harvey. It was an entirely new line of work to him, and begun under the very serious handicap of a late start. If, however, it was begun under the above handi­ cap, it was begun with some enthusiasm, and with a willing mind to do a considerable amount of honest hard work. It was soon impressed upon him most em­ phatically that the subject of the family history had been almost entirely neglected; and as well, that the day for securing authentic material regarding the family history had been lost. The only positive data available was that contained in the brief treatise pre­ pared by Unde William Giffin, and presented to the 10 Giffin Family inAmerica Family Reunion held in 1897. His information was largely drawn from his memory, and had been gather. ed through personal contact with the children of An.. drew Giffin II, all of whom he had known well; and from their children, his own cousins and their child.. ren. Born in 1820, he had lived, except for a very few years, in the immediate vicinity of the home of his grandparents. He had worked and played with his relatives; had attended the weddings of many o! his cousins; and had bid God speed to not a few of them when they left the old home neighborhood to seek homes in the far West. His knowledge was of that intimate, personal character which gives living interest to the story told. It is altogether different now. There are very few individuals, members of the family, living today who were born prior to 1850; and these few are wide­ ly scattered. They rarely ever come in contact with each other. None of them live in the immediate vicin­ ity of the former home of Andrew Giffin II. The only way open to the gathering of data for a family history was by correspon{dence. Scattered over almost every State in the Union it was no small task to get in touch with members of the Giffin lines; the correspondence was necessary with entire strangers in most cases; and but few have sent in data. Instead of taking up the subject in a spirit of co-operation and helpfulness the name of someon/e else was, in many cases, sug­ gested as one who would be able to furnish endless 11 The GIFFIN Family stores of information. Exceptions there were to this rule, certainly; but the fact remains that there was n:0t manifested by many, any marked response to re­ quests for accurate, authentic data even regarding the immediate members of their families. More than three hundred letters and postal cards were sent out, and these as a precautionary measure, bore the address of the writer. Answers came prompt­ ly to perhaps ten per cent of letters. In most cases a second communication, or a third was necessary to bring an answer; while in a few cases as many as four or five requests failed to get a response of any kind.