Our 18th Century American Connection

4 August 1773

Lady Christina letting her father know that they will soon be setting sail from Glasgow for York River in the “Bell”.

“little Jack” went on to become a federal judge in Michigan.

6 August 1773

This document was drawn up by Cyrus two days after Christina wrote her farewell letter to her father. It relates to the terms of their marriage contract.

Cyrus is acknowledging receipt of £300 sterling but also reminding the earl, his father-in-law, that he is still waiting for a further £300 which was due to him in July, and expects to receive £400 six months after Christina’s death.

A year after Christina left for America her father, the 6th Earl of Traquair, went to live in  Paris. His daughter’s situation was still on his mind though, and he regularly exchanged snippets of information about the Griffins with William MacIver, his estate factor back at Traquair.

Cyrus was a close associate of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most prominent of the Founding Fathers of America. Franklin served as American ambassador to France in the late 1770s.

Here, he is being thanked by Cyrus for attesting a bond executed by his father-in-law, the 6th Earl of Traquair, who has recently died in Paris:

“”We have dined today at President Griffin’s, with a company of twenty-two persons, including many members of Congress, &c. ”

“The President of Congress gives a dinner one or two or more days every week, to twenty person, gentlemen and ladies”.

“You wish to know whether Lady Christina (for that is the name of the Presidents lady) is as handsome as you are. I think she is much that…  she is sociable & agreeable.”

“The President is said to be a worthy man; his wife is a Scotch woman, with the title of Lady Christiana Griffin; she is out of health but appears to be a friendly disposed woman; we are engaged to dine there next Tuesday.” 

“I was afraid that all my dear relations had forgotten me…”

Lady Christina wrote to her  brother, Charles, 7th Earl of Traquair, from time to time. Here she expresses her dismay that Cyrus seems to be disliked by her family in Scotland. Her financial settlement is worrying her too.

John Griffin, eldest child of Christina and Cyrus, writes to his uncle, the 7th Earl of Traquair, in 1793. Like his father, he has sailed across the Atlantic to study law. The earl and his family are now living in Spain – John regrets that he is unable to meet them in person before his return home.

John, on behalf of his mother, Christina, and equally for himself, regrets the ongoing lack of communication between the Stuarts of Traquair and the Griffins. Born in Scotland, he was “little Jack” who had spent the first two years of his life at Traquair before his parents’ departure for America in 1773.

“… a family to be allied to whom is my highest pride and boast…”

(original and transcript)

***

Cyrus fails to secure a position in an American Embassy abroad for his son, so he must return home.

1800 – President Adams  appoints John as a judge in Indiana Territory.

1805 – President Jefferson appoints him as a judge in Michigan Territory.

***

A poignant letter from Lady Christina to her cousin, Lady Winifred Maxwell – with its fair share of complaints. Her life now seems far removed from the social whirl of the 1780s when she and her husband were at the forefront of  the emerging American nation.

“not entirely forgotten by those I love”

***

Cyrus writes to his brother-in-law, the 7th Earl of Traquair, in 1803. Their relationship has never been an easy one, much to Christina’s dismay. Here he adopts a fairly relaxed tone which suggests that things have improved between them over the years.

Cyrus thanks the earl for his kindness to “our poor beloved Boy Stuart”  [Samuel Stuart Griffin] who is studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Inevitably, he touches upon money matters which have been an issue for so long. And it would seem that the unreliability of the postal service across the Atlantic has been partly responsible for breakdowns in communication over the years.

(original and transcript)

Lady Christina’s Obituary

Unlike her husband, who had returned to Britain during the struggle for American independence, Christina had never returned to her homeland.

Lady Christina is buried in the churchyard of Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia. The tombstone alongside marks the burial place of Mrs Sarah Griffin, wife of Samuel Stuart Griffin, Christina’s son.

Christina was, in fact, born in 1741, not 1751.

Cyrus Griffin’s Obituary

In his will written in 1808 Cyrus had stipulated:

“My body to be deposited in the Churchyard of Wmsburg [Williamsburg] near that of my dearly beloved Christina at the smallest expense possible in every respect”.

He was interred in an unmarked grave.

Following family tradition, Samuel Stuart Griffin had attended Edinburgh University, studying medicine from 1802 to 1806. He visited his uncle at Traquair on a number of occasions. Here, in 1822, he is lamenting to his cousin, Lord Linton, the lapse in communication since his return to America, but he seems eager to keep his relatives in Scotland informed of his situation in life.

“I still cherish in my heart the fond and flattering persuasion … that my memory is not absolutely forgotten…”

Samuel recalls the deaths of his parents, Christina and Cyrus. Keen to keep his Scottish connections alive, he has named his eldest son after his “beloved and singularly kind Friend”, John Anstruther. (Samuel’s maternal grandmother was Christian Anstruther from Fife). Like his Scottish family, he now owns a landed estate.

(original and transcript)

Built about 1757. Between 1759 and about 1773 it was the property of Col. John Tayloe, one of the richest and most influential planters in colonial Virginia.

Dr Samuel Stuart Griffin, son of Cyrus and Christina, bought this house in 1818 although he and his family did not take up residence here until 1823, upon leaving Gloucester County. He lived here until his death in 1864.

The house was sold by his son and daughter.

The Tayloe House

Nicholson Street, Williamsburg

The images in this gallery are from a small display of documents that were exhibited at Traquair House in 2010 that relate to our American connection which dates from the eighteenth century.