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The House of Griffin of Carbonear is a family which has primarily resided in Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador since the early 1800s. The first known Head of House was John Griffin Sr., only son of Margaret Griffin. The current Head of House is David Griffin, the eldest child of Peter and Ellen Griffin, who currently resides on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador.

History
The first known Griffin's in Carbonear are suspected to have arrived from Ireland sometime between 1806 and 1832. This family would include an unknown father, mother Margaret, daughter Mary, son John, and daughter Nancy. These Griffin's owned a Plantation in the Riverhead area, somewhere near the intersection of modern day Cross Roads and Pike's Lane. As detailed in Margaret's will, the land would be divided equally amongst the children, with John getting the house once he reached the age of 21. Mary would marry a William Green in 1832. Margaret would die in 1833.

An 1849 petition to Carbonear's MHA, Edmund Hanrahan, from John Griffin, specifies a repeated failure in potato crops and requested for various other wheat, oat, and barely seeds to be made available. John Griffin was also listed as owning sheep in 1868.

The next recording of Griffin's in Carbonear is in a record which specifies a John Griffin Sr. living in Riverhead, while a John Griffin Jr. lived on Battery Road. John Sr. being the son of Margaret. John Jr. is believed to be the first Griffin to settle in Cherry Orchard in a garden now known as "Griffin's Garden". A 1870 directory lists John Sr. and John Jr. both living in Carbonear, but a 1871 directory lists a John Griffin as a Policeman. The Policeman John Griffin later lived in Riverhead, Harbour Grace and was alive as late as 1891, his house having been burnt down in 1888.

John Jr.'s son, Martin Griffin, born in 1861, would be the next one to take over the land in Cherry Orchard. He married Alice Kennedy in 1886. They had six children, Mary Ellen, twins Mary and Elizabeth, John, Peter Joseph, and James Martin. Martin died in September 1907. When Martin's son James returned home from Labrador, he discovered his father had died and soon after his mother had remarried and taken his siblings, leaving James with the house. It is suspected Alice married William Hinchey of Northern Bay. Nothing is known about John, other than his birth. Peter Joseph married Mary Ann Besso from Holyrood. They would emigrate to the United States and had three children. Peter Joseph unfortunately died in Boston in 1916 from appendicitis while working aboard the SS Wave.

James Martin would become the Patriarch of the Griffin Family in Carbonear today, as all of the present day Griffin's in Carbonear are descendants of he and his wife Margaret Kelly. James worked as a miner out in Buchans, but was later injured on the job and had to return home, his eldest son Peter, as a result, had to take up the torch and go to work in the mine at age 12. In 1939, Peter Griffin would buy a house from the estate of the late Joseph Colbert on Irishtown Road. In 1942 he married Ellen Howard of Daniel's Cove. His father James then purchased the house across the road and moved his family from Cherry Orchard to Irishtown.

James Martin Griffin Sr. died in 1979 at his home on Irishtown. It was testified that he had died sitting on his daybed, and the cigarette he was smoking, had burned down to his fingers. Peter Griffin died at the Harbour Lodge long term care home in Carbonear in 2014.

The Griffin's of Carbonear now primarily reside on Irishtown and Gladstone Road. Most of the dead are buried in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery, with others in the Interfaith Cemetery.

New Dispute
It is now believed, but not confirmed, that John Griffin Jr. would be John Griffin II and was born in 1843 and died in Harbour Grace in 1921 at the age of 78. He would have had more sons, John III, Denis, and Patrick as well as some daughters. If he were not to have died until 1921, then Martin Griffin and his son Peter Joseph Griffin would never have been Head of House and it would have directly gone from John Griffin II to his grandson James Martin Griffin.

Membership and Eligibility
Membership into the House of Griffin is accepted at birth, providing that the father is a true blooded Griffin, membership is for life. Women who marry and take the name of their spouse do not lose membership, but membership is not extended to her spouse or children. Eligibility for the line of succession requires the member to be male and have a permanent residence on the island of Newfoundland. If a member in the line is living abroad, they do not lose their spot in line, but instead forfeit their spot in the event of an ascension to Head of House. An example of this was when Peter Joseph Griffin died in 1916, his family was permanently living in Massachusetts, USA, therefore, his son Harold Joseph Griffin, became the rightful heir, but forfeited his spot by not returning to Newfoundland. Ergo, Richard J. Griffin is currently the rightful heir, but has forfeited his place.

Heads of House

 * John Griffin Sr. (born 1816, 1833 - unknown)
 * John Griffin Jr. (1800s, dates unknown)
 * Martin Griffin (1800s, unknown, up to death, 1907)
 * Peter Joseph Griffin (1907 – 1916, upon death, because of immigration to the USA, title relinquished to brother James)
 * James Martin Griffin Sr. (1916 – 1979)
 * Peter Griffin (1979 – 2014)
 * David Joseph Griffin (2014 - present)

Past Male Members

 * John Griffin Sr. (1816 - unknown; Head of House)
 * John Griffin Jr. (Unknown; Head of House)
 * Martin Griffin (1861 - 1907; Head of House)
 * John Griffin (1890 - unknown)
 * Peter Joseph Griffin (1892 - 1916; Head of House 1907 - 1916)
 * Harold Joseph Griffin (1914 - 2004)
 * James Martin Griffin Sr. (1895 - 1979; Head of House 1916 - 1979)
 * Peter Griffin (1920 - 2014; Head of House 1979 - 2014)
 * James Lawrence Griffin (1946 - 2011)
 * James Griffin Jr. (1921 - 1991)
 * Martin Francis Griffin Sr. (1927 - 2005)
 * Leo Griffin Sr. (1928 - 2006)
 * Patrick Griffin (1930 - 2010)
 * Joseph "Joey" Griffin Jr. (1981 - 2024)

Female Members

 * Denise Marcella Griffin Heath
 * Deanna Joy Griffin Morgan
 * Cherish Griffin
 * Wannetta Rose Griffin Lawton
 * Monica Catherine Griffin
 * Isabel Sara Griffin
 * Amelia Rose Margaret Griffin
 * Emily Elizabeth Griffin
 * Karen Griffin Rice
 * Mary Griffin Curnew
 * Joan Griffin Clarke
 * Philomena Griffin Parsons
 * Rose Griffin Fahey
 * Jeanette Griffin Holwell
 * Marilyn Griffin Rumsey
 * Lorraine Griffin Lilly
 * Lori Griffin
 * Helen Maria Griffin Hunt
 * Nachesta Nathaniel Griffin Singh
 * Patricia Paula Griffin Smith
 * Ally Griffin
 * Avery Griffin
 * Anne Madonna Griffin Noel
 * Kelly Griffin Richards
 * Marie Griffin Sutton
 * Debora Griffin Sutton
 * Denise Griffin
 * Madison "Mason Matthew" Griffin
 * Kaylee Griffin
 * Summer Griffin
 * Margaret Griffin Penney
 * Carol Anne Griffin McCarthy
 * Eileen Griffin Crane
 * Michelle Griffin
 * Barbara A. Griffin Grella
 * Kathleen Griffin Dandy

Carbonear
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery
 * Martin Griffin (1861 - 1907)
 * James Martin Griffin Sr. (1895 - 1979), Margaret (Kelly) Griffin (1897 - 1993)
 * Patrick Griffin (1930 - 2010), Marie (Brady) Griffin (1932 - 2010)
 * Leo Griffin Sr. (1928 - 2006), Mary (Snow) Griffin (1930 - 1999)
 * Peter Griffin (1920 - 2014), Ellen T. (Howard) Griffin (1918 - 1998)
 * James Griffin Jr. (1924 - 1991), Joan (O'Grady) Griffin (1925 - 2011)
 * James Lawrence Griffin (1946 - 2011)
 * Mary Leone (Griffin) Reynolds (1952 - 2017)
 * Mary Griffin (1955 infant)
 * Olivia Frances Griffin (1997 infant)

Interfaith Cemetery
 * Martin Francis Griffin Sr. (1927 - 2005)
 * Shirley (Butt) Griffin (1951 - 2015)
 * Karen (Howell) Griffin (1954 - 2007)

Family Timeline
Not in relation to the page above.