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John Griggs was born in 1436 in Somerton, Suffolk, England--about 100 miles northeast of London. According to "Muskett's Suffolk Memorial Families," he is the earliest person known to have used the name Griggs, and we have been able to develop a direct link to him through our Griggs Family Tree.

Three fourth-generation descendants of John Griggs--namely, Thomas, George and Stephen--emigrated to the U.S. in 1639, less than 20 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The five siblings of the three sons are believed to have remained in England. Our branch of the Griggs Family Tree descended from Thomas.

Major family names that married into our branch of the Griggs family since the 1800's include Root, Dewey, Griswold, Richardson, Smith, Watrous and Vandervort. The people who have "(*)" after their name are the direct descendants of John Griggs who were ancestors of the Griggs Family of Monroe County.

The Griggs Coat of Arms contains the motto "Casu Non Mutatus" which is interpreted to mean "I will not be stayed from my cause" or "My cause will not be changed." "Casu" is "reason behind or cause," "Mutatus" is "change or alteration" and "Non" is "not."