1820 Settler
Thomas Griffin - B. 1784 - D. 1843
Thomas Griffin
Born -
15 May 1784 City Road, Islington, Middlesex, England
Death -
24 September 1843
Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa
Marriage
-
22 May 1809
-
All Hallows Church Barking London, England
Sarah Yates
Born - 1760 England
Death -
1847
St. Luke, London, England
Parents
William Yate 1741 - 1813
Martha Parsons 1743 - 1803
Children
Sarah Griffin
Birth - 25 May 1810 London
Death - 28 September 1907 Durban Natal
Married
20 April 1828
John Lake
1841 / 1919
Children
Sarah Lake, George Henry Lake, Elizabeth Maria Lake, William Lake, Margaret Ann Lake, Joseph Lake, Mary Lake, James William Lake, Alfred Charles Lake, Lake (Deceased at birth)
Brief Life History of Sarah
When Sarah Griffin was born on 25 May 1810, in London, England, United Kingdom, her father, Thomas Griffin, was 26 and her mother, Sarah Yates, was 30. She married John Lake on 20 April 1828, in Cape Province, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Enfield, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom in 1851. She died on 28 September 1907, in Durban, Natal, South Africa, at the age of 97, and was buried in Natal, South Africa.
Thomas Griffin
Birth - 1811 London
Death -26 November 1874 Humansdorp Eastern Caoe
Married
12 November 1933
Eliza Staines
1815 / 1852
Children
William Thomas Griffin, James Henry Griffin, Sarah Ann Griffin, Joseph Griffin, Ann Earl griffin, Charles Griffin, Thomas Griffin
Brief Life History of Thomas
When Thomas Griffin was born in 1811, in London, England, United Kingdom, his father, Thomas Griffin, was 27 and his mother, Sarah Yates, was 31. He married Eliza Staines on 12 November 1833, in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 26 November 1874, in Cape Province, South Africa, at the age of 63.
Elizabeth Griffin
Birth - 12 May 1813 London
Death - 22 April 1886 Durban Natal
Married
6 October 1834
George Christopher Cato
1814 / 1893
Children
Sarah Frances Cato, George Joseph Cato, William Henry Cato
Brief Life History of Elizabeth
When Elizabeth Griffin was born on 12 May 1813, in London, England, United Kingdom, her father, Thomas Griffin, was 28 and her mother, Sarah Yates, was 33. She married George Christopher Cato on 6 October 1834, in Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 1 daughter. She died on 22 April 1886, in Durban, Natal, South Africa, at the age of 72.
Harriet Griffin
Birth -7 January 1815 Whitechapel, Stepney, London
Death - August 1877 Pietermaritzburg Natal
Married
1834
William Ward
D 1855
Children
Elizabeth Ward, Harriet Anne Ward
Brief Life History of Harriet
When Harriet Griffin was born on 7 January 1815, in Saint Mary Matfelon, Stepney, London, England, United Kingdom, her father, Thomas Griffin, was 30 and her mother, Sarah Yates, was 34. She married William Ward about 1834, in Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 2 daughters. She lived in Pietermaritzburg, Umgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in 1877. She died in August 1877, in Natal, South Africa, at the age of 62, and was buried in Durban, Natal, South Africa.
Joseph Griffin
Birth - 14 January 1817 London
Death - 29 September 1879 Pietermaritzburg Natal.
Married
18 March 1847
Mary Dorothea Upton
1827 / 1868
Children
Charles Yates Griffin, James Petree Griffin, Olivia Emma Griffin, Joseph William Griffin
Brief Life History of Joseph
When Joseph Griffin was born on 14 January 1817, in London, England, United Kingdom, his father, Thomas Griffin, was 32 and his mother, Sarah Yates, was 36. He married Mary Dorothea Upton on 18 March 1847, in Cape Province, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 1 daughter. He died on 29 September 1879, in Natal, South Africa, at the age of 62.
James Griffin
Birth - 2 February 1818 London
Death - 17 March 1840
Brief Life History of James
When James Griffin was born on 2 February 1818, in London, England, United Kingdom, his father, Thomas Griffin, was 33 and his mother, Sarah Yates, was 37. He died on 17 March 1840, at the age of 22.
Margaret Griffin
Birth - 9 December 1891 At Sea on ship "Chapman"
Death - 26 September 1989 Pietermaritzburg Natal
Married
19 September 1842
Joseph Williams
1815 / 1889
Children
Joseph Williams, Rebecca Williams, Walter Williams, Edward Williams, Amelia Williams
Brief Life History of Margaret
When Margaret Griffin was born on 9 December 1819, in At Sea, her father, Thomas Griffin, was 35 and her mother, Sarah Yates, was 39. She married Joseph Williams on 19 September 1842, in Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 2 daughters. She died on 26 September 1898, in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa, at the age of 78.
Emma Griffin
Birth - 25 June 1821 Port Elizabeth
Death - 19 March 1823
Brief Life History of Emma
When Emma Griffin was born on 25 June 1821, in Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa, her father, Thomas Griffin, was 37 and her mother, Sarah Yates, was 41. She died on 19 March 1823, at the age of 1.
Stephen William Bill Griffin
Birth - 24 August 1823 Port Elizabeth Eastern Cape
Death - 22 April 1903 Escort Natal Willowgrange Farm at Griffins Hill outside Estcourt
Married
23 November 1846
Sarah Jane Lucas
1826 / 1890
Children
Sarah Jane Griffin, Thomas Yates Griffin, William George Griffin, Henry James Griffin, Edwin Bailie Griffin, Emma Griffin, Alfred Griffin, Walter Watts Griffin, Letitia Elizabeth Griffin, Charles Oliver Griffin
Brief Life History of Stephen William Bill
When Stephen William Bill Griffin was born on 24 August 1823, in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa, his father, Thomas Griffin, was 39 and his mother, Sarah Yates, was 43. He married Sarah Jane Lucas on 23 November 1846, in Durban, Natal, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 22 April 1903, in Estcourt, Natal, South Africa, at the age of 79.
Charles Carter Griffin
Birth - 3 December 1825 Port Elizabeth Eastern Cape
Death - 9 May 1896 Pietermaritzburg Natal
Married
22 April 1850
Ann Lucas
1833 / 1878
Children
Frances Yates Griffin, Elizabeth Anne Griffin, Arthur Charles Griffin
Brief Life History of Charles Carter
When Charles Carter Griffin was born on 3 December 1825, in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa, his father, Thomas Griffin, was 41 and his mother, Sarah Yates, was 45. He married Ann Lucas on 22 April 1850, in Natal, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Pietermaritzburg Townlands, Natal, South Africa in 1896. In 1896, at the age of 70, his occupation is listed as gentleman in Natal, South Africa. He died on 9 May 1896, in Natal, South Africa, at the age of 70.
Henry Griffin
Birth - 18 August 1828 Port Elizabeth Eastern Cape
Death - 1 December 1905 Pietermaritzburg Natal
Married
21 August 1849
Mary Ann Jefferson
1829 / 1918
Children
Sarah Ellen Griffin, William Henry Griffin, Frances Elizabeth griffin, Eleanor Griffin, Mary Jane Griffin, Jessie Griffin, George Christopher Griffin
Brief Life History of Henry
When Henry Griffin was born on 19 August 1828, in Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa, his father, Thomas Griffin, was 44 and his mother, Sarah Yates, was 48. He married Mary Ann Jefferson on 21 August 1849, in Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, South Africa. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 5 daughters. In 1905, at the age of 77, his occupation is listed as gentleman in Pietermaritzburg Townlands, Natal, South Africa. He died on 1 December 1905, in Pietermaritzburg, Umgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, at the age of 77, and was buried in Pietermaritzburg Townlands, Natal, South Africa.
Family Information
Military Service • 1805
Atlantic Ocean
Battle of Trafalgar
Military Service • 1808
London, England, United Kingdom
Employed as a gunsmith at the Tower of London
Military Service • 1814
London, England, United Kingdom
Discharged
Custom Event • Immigration
1819 South Africa
From the UK to South Africa. Came in the ship Chapman as part of Bailey’s party.
Occupation
1843
South Africa
Tradesman, a gunsmith, also a shoemaker
Custom Event • Probate
from 1843 to 1846
Cape Province, South Africa
When Sarah Yates was born on 6 February 1780, in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom, her father, William Yates, was 39 and her mother, Martha Parsons, was 37. She married Thomas Griffin on 22 May 1809, in Barking and Dagenham, London, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 5 daughters. She lived in Pietermaritzburg Townlands, Natal, South Africa in 1872. She died on 9 November 1872, in Pietermaritzburg, Umgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, at the age of 92, and was buried in Natal, South Africa.
Brief Life History
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).[3] As part of an overall French plan to combine all French and allied fleets to take control of the English Channel and thus enable Napoleon's Grande Armée to invade England, French and Spanish fleets under French Admiral Villeneuve sailed from the port of Cádiz in the south of Spain on 18 October 1805. They encountered the British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson, recently assembled to meet this threat, in the Atlantic Ocean along the southwest coast of Spain, off Cape Trafalgar, near the town of Los Caños de Meca. Villeneuve was uncertain about engaging the British, and the Franco-Spanish fleet failed to organise fully. In contrast, Nelson was decisive, directing the British fleet into two columns sailing straight into the enemy to pierce its wavering lines.
In a particularly fierce battle, 27 British ships of the line fought 33 French and Spanish ships of the line. The lead ships of the British columns were heavily battered, with Nelson's flagship HMS Victory nearly disabled, but the greater experience and training of the Royal Navy overcame greater numbers. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost 22 ships while the British lost none. Nelson himself was shot by a French musketeer, and died shortly before the battle ended. Villeneuve was captured along with his flagship Bucentaure. He attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain. Admiral Federico Gravina, the senior Spanish flag officer, escaped capture with the remnant of the fleet. He died of his wounds five months later.
The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century and was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy.[4] Conventional battle practice at the time was for opposing fleets to engage each other in single parallel lines, in order to facilitate signalling and disengagement and to maximise fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead arranged his ships into columns sailing directly towards and into the enemy fleets’ line.
