Notes:

There is a James Griffin of Boston with a Will for 1764 (see below)that also discusses his immigration to America by the same sourcepeople as William & John's immigration that is listed onwww.Ancestry.com.
Also, if James died in Aft. Sept. 14, 1764-Dec. 31, 1764, this wouldexplain the land record for William in Virginia for 1764, and thereason that James is not listed with William on the Sons Of Libertylisting as well. William probably left Boston after the fire thatravaged Boston in 1760, and his brother's death in 1764, whileholding ties to Boston through Griffen's Wharf. This does explain andadds to the evidence of the Family Lore of the brothers.

SOURCE BOOK: AMERICAN COLONISTS IN ENGLISH RECORDS, A Guide to directreferences in authentic records, Passenger Lists not in "Hotten," &c.,&c., &c., by George Sherwood; Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co.,1961. Obtained: 05 May 2007, per Joshua E. Wethington, familyresearcher, from the Davenport Public Library, 321 Main Street,Davenport, Iowa 52801, in the Special Collections Section of thelibrary.
Page 85: "From the MSS. of J.R. Carr-Ellison, Esq., at Dunston Hill,Newcastle-on-Tyne. (Hist. MSS. Commision, 15th Report, App. X. 92.)A.D. 1764. At Boston. GRIFFIN, JAMES, correspond with Carr, Ralph,of Newcastle, merchant & banker.
Page 172: "From the Records of the Drapers' Company, London. Wardens'Minutes. 1737, Sept. 14.
GRIFFIN, JAMES, of Boston, in New England, merchant."

SOURCE: www.Ancestry.com; Passenger and Immigration Lists Index,1500s-1900s;
Obtained: 16 April 2007, SLJuhl, compiler.
Name: JAMES GRIFFIN
Year: 1764
Boston, Massachusetts
Source Pub. 8400
Primary Imm: Griffin, James
Annotation: Date and port of arrival, date and place of first mentionof residence in the New World, or date and place of" WILL". Theindexers only included the names of the persons who had wills andothers who were known to go to the New World. All spouses andchildren
Bibliography: Sherwood, George. American Colonists in EnglishRecords: A guide to Direct References in Authentic Records, PassengerLists Not in "Hotten," &c., Ser. 1-2. London: G. Sherwood, 1932-1933.2 vols. Reprinted, 2 vols. in 1, by Genealogical Publishing Co.,Baltimore, 1961. Repr. 1982. Page: 85
Source Information:
Gale Research. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc.,2006. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed.. Passenger and ImmigrationLists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research,2006.

Notes:

GRIFFIN
SOURCE: http://www.houseofnames.com
IRISH
THE NAME ?GRIFFIN? ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN GAELIC AS:
?O GRIOBHTHA?, WHICH IS DERIVED FROM THE WORD ?GRIOBHTHA?,
WHICH MEANS, ?GRIFFIN-LIKE?.
WHILE MOST OF THE INSTANCES OF THIS NAME IN IRELAND CAN BE TRACED TOTHIS NATIVE IRISH SOURCE, THE NAME ALSO CAME TO IRELAND IN THE 12THCENTURY WITH THE ANGLO-NORMAN INVASION OF STRONGBOW. IN THISINSTANCE, THE GRIFFIN SURNAME IS DERIVED FROM THE WELSH PERSONALNAMES, GRIFFIN, GRUFFIN, OR GRIFFITH, PET-FORMS OF THE MIDDLE WELSHNAME, ?GRUFFUDD?.
SPELLING VARIATIONS INCLUDE: GRIFFEY, GRIFFY, O?GRIFFEY AND OTHERS,ETC?.
FIRST FOUND IN, ?COUNTY CLARE?, WHERE THEY HELD A FAMILY SEAT FROMVERY ANCIENT TIMES. [Transcribed 09 October 2006, SLJuhl, compiler]

It is not known as yet the name of the Elder Griffen. There are noWILLS listed for any of the sons below that would match them inVirginia at the Library of Virginia web site:
http://ajax.lva.lib.va.us/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas08&local_base=CLAS08

"SOURCE: A Booklet belonging to Penny Sue Park:
"JOHN FINLEY & JANE GILES GRIFFIN; Pages 1-17. Headstone Committee:
Alice Hunter Anderson (MO), Thomas Fout (TX), Donna Thielen Goves (AZ)
Minnie Mae Griffin Holman (IL), Beatrice Griffin Justice (KS), BonnieFerry Kipp (IL)
Eunice Griffin Reehl (IL), B. Edna Park Waller (SC)
Dedicated, this 18th day of July, 1992, ETC...."
"FAMILY LORE
Family tradition maintains that our Griffin line descends from thefour Griffin brothers who emigrated from Ireland to Boston in thelatter half of the 1700's. Two of them, James and William, settleddown there and were on the tax rolls. They built Griffin's Wharfwhere the Boston Tea Party took place and, after the wharf burneddown, James stayed in the area, but William disappeared. It is thenthought that William went to Virginia ...etc..."
SEE WILLIAM, JOHN, AND JAMES GRIFFEN/GRIFFIN NOTES PLEASE !!

The Boston Tea Party took place at a much earlier time than theinformation claimed by family researchers in Guilford County, NorthCarolina. The ages do not match up to the two time periods givenGeorge's age, Thomas age, and the age of G/J Griffin. However, if thefamily researchers are convinced that the Guilford County, NorthCarolina family is the correct one, I 'd encourage them to take aclose look at the 1810 Federal Census for G.(J) Griffin. THERE IS ANOLDER MALE GRIFFIN LIVING IN THAT HOUSEHOLD AT THE TIME OF THE CENSUSWHO IS OVER 45 YEARS OLD. THE OLDER GRIFFIN IN THE 1810 CENSUS HAD TOHAVE BEEN BORN AT LEAST BEFORE OR AROUND 1750-55 probably.
I suggest that perhaps the three males and their families listed inthe 1810 Census are brothers, that the father is living with the oneson, and that father may actually be perhaps "WILLIAM GRIFFEN" who wassupposed to have disappeared from Boston or one of the other brotherssuch as "JOHN GRIFFEN" who is not mentioned at the time of the BostonTea Party. We know it's not James Griffin since he elected to remainin Boston, and may have died in 1764.

REASON FOR CHANGES TO FAMILY GENEALOGY LINES HERE IN AMERICA:
SOURCE: In the 1810 CENSUS for G. Griffin (Image 41-www.Ancestry.com,Guilford County, No. Carolina), it proves that there was an older malein the family in North Carolina who would definitely have been oldenough for the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Please take a ruler and goalong the bottom of the name to verify. The line will slant downwardto the right which is a natural thing for a right handed person to do. But in doing so, you will notice the older male listed. These arethe only Griffin in the Guilford County at the time of the census.Edna Waller states that this is where the family is located previousto moving to Indiana, and a marriage bond record that states Georgewas in Guilford County as well is available. So, it can only be thisfamily.
It is strongly believed by this compiler then that the older male mustbe one of the original brothers, and probably either John or WilliamEsq. of Virginia since all three of the sons, Geo., Thomas, and G/J.in later census records were indicated as being born in Virginia, andalso noting that William is known as William Griffen, Esq. ofVirginia in the Sons of Liberty listing (See William Griffen's notes),plus John Griffin is also found in Augusta County, Virginia plus therelationship of Griffin to John Finley of Virginia ( See WilliamGriffen's notes).
This compiler could not make out the first letter of the name for thehead of one of the three households, Geo., Thos., and G. Griffin (thisone). The web site has it as a "G"., but if you look at all the otherletter G's on the page of the 1810 Federal Census record of GuilfordCounty, It's doubtful that it is a G. It may be an I--J ???
Also, all three of the males, Geo., Thos., and G/J., who are listedfor the heads of households, were between the age of 26-44 years in1810, living in the same Guilford County, and Thomas signed forGeorge's second marriage bond in Guilford County, North Carolina. So,this would conclude that they had to be brothers. And, they had to beborn between 1766-1784. Much too young for the Boston Tea Party in1773.
In the 1820 Federal Census Record for Guilford County, George turnedover 45 years of age. So, it is likely that either Thomas or Georgemay have been the oldest, and George's birth had to be between1766-1780. This would still make him too young for the Boston TeaParty. [16 April 2007, SLJuhl, compiler, sljuhl1234@yahoo.com]

Please read through William, John, and James Griffin's notes. I wouldsuggest that finding the two books, (1). PUNCH, TERRENCE M. "The Irishin Halifax, Nova Scotia, before 1830.", and (2). SHERWOOD, GEORGE.American Colonists in English Records: A guide to Direct Referencesin Authentic Records, Passenger Lists Not in "Hotten,", would help toenlighten the search on this family. It could also be that perhapsthree of the brothers made the voyage first and the another followedlater, but in any case the two books listed may help. I found alsothat there were so many Griffin/Griffen immigrations by similar nameson www.Ancestry.com, and that it was very difficult to ascertain whothe family members may have been or when they arrived to the Americas. The only two with matching dates from Ireland were William & John whowere recorded in the first book, and there is a third relative thattraveled with them as well, but is not listed. I'd also like to pointout that not all of the records are recorded on the www.Ancestry.comweb site for immigrations, and this was only my first attempt intrying to find the four brothers immigration.

HOWEVER, all of the information that has been gathered so far wouldindicate that there is truth to the family story, or "FAMILY LORE."
[SLJuhl, compiler]

Birth:
Possibly Scotland Or Ulster, Ireland ("...The Foundation Of Ulster Society Is Scotch."--Ftm, Pg. 140.)

Elder married Wife between 1720 and 1730 in Possibly Scotland Or Ulster, Ireland. and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]