185:
65:...handsome, well built, shrewd, wise, polite, always good-natured, cheerful to gaiety, honest, religious, a cautious truth-speaker, devoted friend to the family, champion of its interests.... He was the peace-maker in the kitchen—in fact the peace-keeper, for by his good sense & right spirit & mollifying tongue he adjusted disputes in that quarter before they reached the quarrel-point.
69:
Griffin worked as the
Clemens' family butler for 17 years and appears to have been very close to the family (even after Griffin purchased a house in the city, he maintained a room at Clemens's home in Hartford). This was the period in which Clemens wrote
34:). Details of Griffin's early life remain largely unknown, but there is much information about Griffin's later life, primarily from Clemens's letters and unpublished memoirs. For example, according to Clemens' unpublished manuscript
275:
265:
54:
226:
184:
142:"The butler BEHIND Mark Twain: George Griffin was a part of Samuel Clemens' family and remains a key figure in Hartford's African-American heritage"
255:
280:
260:
61:. He was remembered as having a knack for making money and lending funds back to the African American community. Clemens describes him as:
219:
285:
72:
212:
39:
77:
145:
58:
250:
245:
173:
270:
130:
Curtis, Nancy (1996). "Black heritage sites: an
African American odyssey and finder's guide", p.279
27:
43:
57:, active political leader, and family man. He married servant Rhoda Marrian Hayes about 1871,
192:
23:
196:
47:
239:
30:
in 1849. In 1874, as a free man, Griffin came to work for Samuel L. Clemens (a.k.a.
121:"After Long Absence, Twain's Butler Is to Return", New York Times (6/18/1994): 27.
98:
149:
103:. Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut: National Archives and Records Administration
141:
100:
George
Griffin in household of Samuel Clemens, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut
31:
42:
set him free, & as a young fellow he saw his fair share of the
80:, one of two major characters in the novel. He died in 1897.
76:, and Griffin may have been an inspiration for the character
200:
63:
55:Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church
144:. No. 6 February 1994. Hartford Courant.
38:, Griffin "was a Maryland slave by birth; the
220:
8:
276:People of Virginia in the American Civil War
266:African Americans in the American Civil War
227:
213:
16:African-American confidant of Mark Twain
89:
7:
181:
179:
174:Who Was "G.G., Chief of Ordnance"?
14:
183:
73:Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1:
256:19th-century American slaves
199:. You can help Knowledge by
53:Griffin was a Deacon in the
281:People enslaved in Maryland
261:African-American Methodists
302:
178:
193:African American–related
286:African American stubs
67:
59:Hartford, Connecticut
26:born into slavery in
46:as body servant to
28:Baltimore, Maryland
140:Neyer, Constance.
208:
207:
97:George, Griffin.
20:George H. Griffin
293:
229:
222:
215:
187:
180:
161:
160:
158:
156:
137:
131:
128:
122:
119:
113:
112:
110:
108:
94:
24:African-American
301:
300:
296:
295:
294:
292:
291:
290:
236:
235:
234:
233:
170:
165:
164:
154:
152:
139:
138:
134:
129:
125:
120:
116:
106:
104:
96:
95:
91:
86:
36:A Family Sketch
17:
12:
11:
5:
299:
297:
289:
288:
283:
278:
273:
268:
263:
258:
253:
248:
238:
237:
232:
231:
224:
217:
209:
206:
205:
188:
177:
176:
169:
168:External links
166:
163:
162:
132:
123:
114:
88:
87:
85:
82:
48:General Devens
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
298:
287:
284:
282:
279:
277:
274:
272:
269:
267:
264:
262:
259:
257:
254:
252:
249:
247:
244:
243:
241:
230:
225:
223:
218:
216:
211:
210:
204:
202:
198:
195:article is a
194:
189:
186:
182:
175:
172:
171:
167:
151:
147:
143:
136:
133:
127:
124:
118:
115:
102:
101:
93:
90:
83:
81:
79:
75:
74:
66:
62:
60:
56:
51:
49:
45:
41:
37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
201:expanding it
190:
155:28 September
153:. Retrieved
135:
126:
117:
105:. Retrieved
99:
92:
71:
68:
64:
52:
40:Proclamation
35:
19:
18:
251:1897 deaths
246:1849 births
107:19 February
271:Mark Twain
240:Categories
150:2277077693
84:References
32:Mark Twain
44:Civil War
146:ProQuest
22:was an
148:
191:This
197:stub
157:2021
109:2021
50:".
78:Jim
242::
228:e
221:t
214:v
203:.
159:.
111:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
