Many questions will arise about genealogy for Griswold family members. Our association has traditionally referenced the descent of four original emigrants to America named Matthew (Killingworth), Michael (Wethersfield), Edward (Windsor) & Francis (Cambridge, MA) Griswold.
Questions often overlap so here are some basic things:
- Genealogy published by the Griswold Family Association is proprietary. There are many publications dating back to the early 1900s. The most recent research is available in books published after years of painstaking and thorough research by our association’s genealogist and past genealogists Robert & Esther French.
- If you are looking for information on a Griswold Ancestor, please consult The Griswold Family: The First Five Generations in America first (available at many libraries and with revisions on CD-ROM) by Robert & Esther Griswold French, which was published in 1990 and sought to provide as much accuracy and proof as possible for the first five generations in descent from the original emigrants (and replaced the earlier genealogy volumes published by GFA). We call this book “FFG”;
- The English Ancestry of these emigrants has also been researched by the GFA and is published in The Greswolde Family: 12 Generations in England;
- Traditionally, “Griswold” is the spelling used in America; Greswold(e) is more common in the UK;
- We are not related to Chevy Chase;
- We often refer to people as from the “Edward line”–that is, descended from Edward Griswold of Windsor CT, the emigrant who came in 1636;
- Many of us on Facebook are amateur researchers and can help with some questions–we will most likely refer you to the published works; GFA Members can get help from Coralee Griswold.
- Our genealogical publications have a high degree of accuracy and are generally accepted as proof for lineage societies unless the line has been proven to have an error. There is A LOT of inaccurate information on the Internet about Griswold Genealogy so beware!