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At Rootsweb.com World Connect Family Trees site, there are four trees headed by Hezekiah Griffith. One was copied from our chart. The others all dead end at Hezekiah. The US Census of 1880 is the first in which Nativity questions extended to parents of the person enumerated on the form. By 1880 Hezekiah had died. His birthplace is indicated as New York in censuses where his children are enumerated leaving us with no link to his ancestry in America or Wales/England. Having been born in New York in 1790, he should appear in census records, by name, from the time he established his own household. He does so appear in 1830 through 1860. He is missing from the 1870 census even though he should have been alive at age 80. He was missed or was removed to another place outside the area in New York where he lived his entire life. Hezekiah is also missing from the 1820 census; one in which he should appear being age 30. But he is listed in the 1810 census as Hesckian Griffin [Hezekiah Griffith] Stephentown, Rensselaer, NY 1810 in which he is incorrectly indexed followed by a correction in [ ] posted as alternate name. The entry for Hezekiah is on a line below one for Samuel. The lines read like this:
In this 1810 census we can see Hezekiah aged 16-25 and his wife Millicent aged 16-25. Hezekiah was born 1790 making him twenty years old in 1810 census. Millicent, also born in New York, would have been age eighteen. The surname is spelled Griffin rather than Griffith. On his tombstone in Concord, NY, his surname and others of his family is spelled Griffith. Perhaps he changed it. The proximity to birthplace and age at birth of Hezekiah Griffith and Hezekiah Griffin are identical. I propose he is the same person which still does not lead to knowledge of his ancestors. Stepping back ten years to the 1800 census we find entry for:
Hezekiah would in 1800 have been age ten. He is the child listed as Free White Male ages 10-15. Samuel, ten years younger than in 1810, is now the eldest in his household in the 26-44 column as is also his wife. Now we take another ten year step backward to the first census of the United States in 1790. We find on sequential lines, or living together or next to each other: [Possibly brothers
Now we go forward to 1820. We already know there is no entry for Hezekiah but we do find Samuel along with three other Griffin entries [no Griffith] for Elizabeth, Harvey & John in the same county and township. The line details do not concern us ... only Samuel's presence in Renssalaer, Stephentown where Hezekiah wa sborn. Jump forward another ten years to 1830 and we find Samuel still in Stephentown, Renssalaer County, New York, living with one free white female [his wife], both of them age 60-70. In the sane town is John who is 20+ years younger and has a household containg numerous younger people, presumably his children. Importantly, in this 1830 census, these same people from earlier censuses taken in the same town, are now listed by the surname GriffiTH rather than GriffiN. A reasonable conclusion from this research is simply that HEzekiah's father was Samuel Griffith(in). If true, it still doe snot tell us from where and when they came. This is presently a genealogical brick wall. Hezekiah could have been in motion during the 1820 census because it is obvious he moved from the eastern edge of New York where he was botn, to the western edge in Erie County where he died.
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