John Poyer Griffith

John Poyer Griffith the elder, nephew of John Poyer (q.v.) and father of John Poyer Poyer né Griffith (q.v.). Claimed the compensation for Husbands estate (shown in his will as in St Lucy), which was paid to his son after is death, and awarded the compensation for the Henly estate in Barbados, for which the claim was made originally by 'John Poyers', for whom John P[oyer] Griffith was executor.

1. John Poyer Griffith married Sarah Howard Griffith in St Lucy, 06/07/1810. Julia Howard (born 16/04/1811) and John Poyer (born 27/01/1816), children of John Poyer Griffith and Sarah Howard his wife, baptised in St Lucy, 27/07/1816.

2. John Poyer Griffith was the churchwarden in St Lucy who brought a warrant against the Rev. William Marshall Harte in July 1827 for 'uttering certain words...as tended..to excite a spirit of insubordination and tumult among the said slaves.'

3. John Poyer Griffith junior, son of J.P. Griffith of Russell pl[ace] esq., in compliance with the will of his great-uncle John Poyer esq., to take the name of Poyer only 27/05/1834. The application was made by John Poyer Griffith the elder on behalf of his only son, John Poyer Griffith junior, a minor aged 20.

4. When John Poyer Poyer married Maria Jane Shepheard at St Pancras 23/11/1837 his father John Poyer Griffith was described as 'dead.'

5. Will of John Poyer otherwise Poyyer of Russell Place Fitzroy Square had been proved 28/02/1834. Will of John Poyer Griffith of Russell Place proved 11/03/1837. Under the will [made in 1836] John Poyer Griffith left the Husbands estate in St Lucy to his son John Poyer Poyer, together with his contingent interest in the Henley estate: the will identifies Howard Griffith as his brother. Burial of John Poyyer [sic] Griffith aged 50 St Marylebone 21/02/1837. Will of John Poyer Poyer of Russell Place Fitzroy Square proved 06/07/1850. Will of John Poyer Poyer of 7 Russell Place Fitzroy Square proved 13/02/1851.

6. John Poyer (d. 1834) was a supporter of poor whites and the author of 'History of Barbados', 1808.

7. Anne Griffith, "free black woman", of The Two Acres on Husbands Plantation, daughter of Pauly Griffith, was baptised in St Lucy, Barbados 30/06/1832, along with three of her natural children (John, Sarah Branford, and Charles Thomas Griffith) who were described as "free coloured". Sarah Jane daughter of John Poyer Griffith and Anne Griffith of Russell Place baptised St Marylebone 29/10/1834; no marriage has been found for John Poyer Griffith and Anne (maiden surname unknown) and none of the above four children are mentioned in John Poyer Griffith's will.

T71/899 Barbados claim no. 4297 (Henly Estate), which gives him as John P. Griffith; T71/897 Barbados claim no. 2734 describes him as 'at present in England'.

The NDO4 series shows John Poyer Griffith signing at the National Debt Office. He was the son of John Jordan Griffith [identified as such in T71/1283 Barbados claim no. 2734] and Mary Poyer, although a genealogical site http://dgmweb.net/FGS/G/GriffithJohnPoyer-AnneGriffith.html [accessed 22/02/2012] attributes 3 children including 2 sons all born c. 1832 in Husbands, St Lucy Parish Barbados to the John Poyer Griffith son of this couple and his wife Anne.

1. Christian Remembrancer Vol. 9 p. 767.

2. Gentleman's Magazine Vol. 157 (1834) p. 207; London Gazette, Issue 19158, p. 966.

3. Ancestry.com, London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database online].

4. PROB 11/1828; PROB 11/1874; Ancestry.com, London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980 [database online]; PROB 11/2116 ; PROB 11/2127. The latter two must be the same man.

5. David Lambert, White Creole Culture, Politics and Identity during the Age of Abolition (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp. 76-8.

6. Familysearch.org, Barbados Church Records, 1637-1887 [database online]; Ancestry.com, London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 [database online].

We are grateful to Milton King for his assistance with compiling this entry.