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            The Griswold family comes from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England, about 117 miles northwest of London. Our oldest known ancestor Edward GRISWOLD had at least 5 boys, all of whom, according to one source, emigrated to the new world.

            In 1639 Matthew GRISWOLD I and his older brother Edward came to New England as part of the company of Rev. Ephraim Huit on the Mary and John, arriving in Windsor, Connecticut. Later the other three brothers followed them. Matthew settled in Saybrook, Connecticut having become an agent of Lord Fenwick. There he received a grant of land in 1645 which became the foundation of a large fortune. There he met and married Anna (or Annah or Hannah) WOLCOTT in 1646. Matthew was a lawyer by profession, though by trade a stone-cutter. He made a stone table over the grave of his father-in-law, and a note in the State Library states that Matthew Griswold thus commemorated the graves of many of the early settlers, but unfortunately there is no monument over his own last resting place in the cemetery at Saybrook.

            His son Matthew GRISWOLD II, known as the champion, was probably born at the family estate known as Black Hall, Lyme, Connecticut in 1652. He built a house of eight rooms east of his father's, which house stood until it was blown down in the gale of 1815. He was a man of large size and of great strength.

            Lyme was bounded on the east by the lands of the Niantic Indians, and by New London and Niantic Bay. It is a territory of four miles in width, which belonged to neither, Leat between them. A petition was made to the legislature to have it divided squarely to each town, stating it should be two miles each. The petition was granted, the parties met to make the division, but could not agree. Each claimed for itself three miles and to give the other one but one mile. After some heat they agreed to "leave it to the Lord" and each town appointed two champions and they should meet on the contested ground and fight it out in a boxing match. Matthew Griswold was the winner and the land was divided accordingly.    

            Matthew married Miss Phebe HYDE, 10 years younger than he in 1683, who must have been extremely pretty, as there are a number of letters and poems that have been saved which were written by Matthew to his wife. Together they had 11 children, and unfortunately Phebe died at the age of 41, and Matthew remarried a widow, Mary (DeWolf) Lee in 1705.

            Of the 11 children we must follow George GRISWOLD I who married Hannah LYNDE and their daughter Lucretia GRISWOLD (b: March 26, 1730 in Lyme, Connecticut) and her marriage into the Latimer family.

Hamilton Index