The materials in the collection contain genealogical information on the Giffin family consisting of photos, diaries, correspondence, clippings, and publications (paper and microfilm) assembled by Florence Giffin Martin Johnson and Mary Giffin Strange. Includes material on Preston King, Doane family and Pemberton Johnson.
Title page from the book The Giffin Family.
Collection Overview
Simon Giffin was born in Ireland around 1711 and emigrated to the U.S. around 1738, marrying Jennet Lechman in the Boston area in 1739. He later lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This first generation Giffin had four children. In the 1880s, Dan Spafford Giffin of Heuvelton, NY, a direct descendent of Simon Giffin, began a quest to write a family genealogy. Through extensive travel and research in New England and Nova Scotia, Dan Giffin had compiled much information. A later generation of Giffin, Florence Giffin Martin, would continue her earlier relative’s work and would publish Simon Giffin and His Descendents in 1971.
This collection was donated to St. Lawrence University by Florence “Billie” Giffin Martin Johnson.