McDonough ILGenWeb

GRIFFITH, Lewis, familiar to many people of Macomb as the proprietor of a flourishing household goods establishment, was born in Marshall County, Ill., November 12, 1857. His father and mother, Amos L. and Sarah D. (Tomlinson) Griffith, were natives of Jefferson County, Ohio. On the paternal side, his grandparents, Charles W. and Hannah (Lewis) Griffith, were born in Bucks County, Pa., and in the State of Ohio, respectively. Isaac and Mary (Dewees) Tomlinson, his maternal grandparents, were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Philadelphia. The paternal greatgrandfather, Evan Griffith, was born in Bucks County, Pa.

Lewis Griffith was the eldest of the four children born to his parents, with whom he went to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, when he was nine years old. He there lived on a farm, meanwhile attending the public schools and Howe's Academy, at Mt. Pleasant. When his studies were over, he started in the stove repair business, which he followed in alternation with traveling until 1890. Then he moved to Rossville, Ill., and later to St. Mary, after which he went to Colchester and there opened a racket store, which he sold out in a short time. Coming to Macomb, October 20, 1903, he there started a general house-furnishing store, stocked with new and second-hand goods, the only one of its exact kind in Macomb. He supplies every article needed in the fitting up of a home.

On July 6, 1898, Mr. Griffith was united in marriage with Emma Harrison, who was born in McDonough County, and received mental instruction in the public schools of her neighborhood. They have one child, Luther Duane, who was born April 23, 1899. In political matters, Mr. Griffith adheres to the principles of the Republican party, and in religious faith, is associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. A keen energetic business man, he is building up a remunerative patronage.

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Source: The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of McDonough County, compiled by Dr. Newton Bateman, and Paul Shelby, 1907, volume 2, page 889, extracted 04 Jan 2019 by Norma Hass.