David
Golden Griffith was born October 17, 1845, at Mohawk,
Herkimer County, N.Y. His father, Ira Griffith, and
mother, Nancy A. Griffith, nee Golden, were natives of
that state. His great-grandfather, James Eaton, and
family, were among the only survivors of the great Indian
massacre of Wyoming, Pa. By the death of his mother in
1853 and father in 1859, David G. was left dependent upon
his relatives, but continued in school until 1861 when on
October 25, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted in Company
M, Second New York Artillery. He enlisted for "three
years or during the war," and in November, 1863,
re-enlisted as a veteran and served continuously until
October 15, 1865. His regiment saw severe service in the
Army of the Potomac, being attached to the First Brigade
of the First Division, Second Corps (Hancock's), the
famous Irish Brigade forming a portion of this. General
Miles commanded the division.
The regiment ranks eighth as to the number of its losses
in the war. Of the original Company M who went out with
the regiment, only five returned at the close of the war,
Mr. Griffith being one of the five. Entering the service
as a private he returned with a commission as Second
Lieutenant. Being taken prisoner near Manassas Junction
at the time of its capture by Gen. Stonewall Jackson's
corps, he with other enlisted men was paroled on the
second Bull Run battlefield, and after three months at
the parole camp at Annapolis, Md., was exchanged and
returned to his regiment. He served in the battles from
Spottsylvania to Petersburg, where on the night of June
16, 1864, he was wounded and was sent north for care and
treatment. In November of that year he again returned to
his company and served through the last campaigns against
General Lee's army. At Burksville Junction, after Lee's
surrender, he commanded the guard having in charge the
artillery surrendered by General Lee.
On being mustered out October 15, 1865, Lieutenant
Griffith lacked two days of being twenty years old. He
soon after entered the office of the Utica Morning Herald
to complete his trade as a printer, and after working on
the Herald and Observer, in April, 1870, came to
Iowa, remaining for a time at what was then called
Buffalo Grove, near Aurora, Buchanan County. Here he was
united in marriage December 14, 1870, with Mary A.
Carpenter, a native of Trenton Falls, N.Y., and a sister
of a former comrade and tent mate in the army who had
laid down his life for his country.
After working at his trade at Dubuque and Chicago Mr.
Griffith in 1872 returned to Dubuque and accepted a
position on the Daily Herald, remaining there
until August 1, 1880, when, having purchased an interest
in the Register at Elkader, he moved to that place and in
company with G.A. Fairfield assumed the control of that
newspaper. Under their management the Register
has been made one of the leading Democratic weekly
newspapers of the state, having a circulation above the
average and occupying a building erected especially for
its use. January 1, 1893, Mr. Fairfield retired from the
partnership in the Register office and was succeeded by
Harry L. Griffith, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. D.G.
Griffith, who was born at Buffalo Grove, Iowa, October
22, 1872. The junior member of the firm has received a
liberal education in the schools of Elkader, the
University of Wisconsin and Drexel Institute of
Philadelphia, and although nominally a partner in the
Register, is actually following his profession as an
electrical engineer. David G. Griffith was Postmaster at
Elkader under President Cleveland's first administration,
making a popular and obliging official.
~source: Portrait
and Biographical Record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton
Counties;Chicago: Chapman Pub. Co., 1894; page 407-408
-transcribed by Sharyl Ferrall
|
