John Wesley Griggs was born 1757 in Ireland. He died 1820 in Anson County and was buried in Griggs Cemetery on the North Carolina-South Carolina state line. John: He is buried next to his wife, Fannie Rushing Griggs. The large new headstone was placed there by Elisha Griggs in 1927 ,with the proceeds from the sale of the family property. According to some relatives, there is some question of whether or not Elisha had the right to sell it.
The middle name “Wesley” may have just been fantasy on the part of Elisha or of John’s wife Fannie. Fannie was a devout Methodist and passed that trait on to several generations of Griggs children. There is some information that exists that indicates that the “Wesley” on the tombstone may have just been the idea of Fannie after John died. This may have been done in some misguided attempt to save his soul.
John and Fannie are thought to have been members of the Long Pine Methodist Church but there are no church records that date back that far. The original church burned down and the new church was built down the road so the church grounds could accommodate a cemetery. The original site was too close to the local well to allow a cemetery at that location. The original land deed for the church is in the Methodist Church Archives in Charlotte. The land for the original church was donated by Thomas Tarleton.
In the search for where John Griggs served his time in the American Revolutionary Army, at least four researchers have come up with at least three different armies and locations. I would like to debunk at least two of these and support the other. After all, my guess is just as good as the others who pulled the locations out of their collective hats. Everyone based their guesses on incomplete or wild thoughts and bad or no records. I admit that John was a bit of an enigma, so I tried to approach this logically. What we know about John for sure is this:
• John has a headstone that calls him John Wesley Griggs on a spot where he supposedly lived.
• Elisha, John’s grandson by John Wesley Griggs Jr., recalled in a letter how his grandmother told him that when John came home from the revolutionary war, he rested for a bit and then went over to a Rushing house nearby and shot the man for leaving the army in time of need. (Nice story!)
• John bought land in Anson County, North Carolina in 1804. It was pointed out in the bill of sale John was a resident of Chesterfield County, South Carolina. The land he bought was within a mile of the state line. At that time, the land was on what was called the North Fork of Thompson’s Creek. Later it was called Dead Fall Creek. The name on the “Bill of Sale” was John Grigg. The 1800 U.S. Census shows his name in Chesterfield County, South Carolina as John Greggs.
• John had six sons and four daughters by Fannie. These are spelled out in his will at the Anson County Courthouse.
• According to the tombstone, John was born in 1757 in Ireland and died in 1820 in Anson County, North Carolina.
His land was divided on his death between his sons, who then sold it in 1830 to William Griggs, the eldest brother. The Census records show that at least three of the sons remained in the area — William, John and Cleamand (Clement) — and that three left for what was to be Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. Lemuel, Lewis and Samuel were the three that left after the property sale to their brother William. I have found later census from 1850/1860 that mention people named Lemuel and Lewis. Because of the ages, I do not believe they are the same people as the sons mentioned in John’s will. I thought that these families should be mentioned for the sake of other researchers. I have trouble believing that Lewis born in 1815 was John’s son. You don’t normally father a son on your death bed and when your wife is 51 years old.
A headstone is too weak of a reference to support any family claims. This is where I point out that the death date on the headstone is 1820, but John’s will was probated in 1811 and several relatives believe he was alive after 1820.
Steve Bailey is employed with the Anson County Historical Society and has specialized in local African-American family history for 20 years.