Joseph Griffis, Brought Up By Kiowa Indians, Dies at 104
VERGENNES, VT. - Joseph "Chief Tahan" Kinchen Griffis Sr, age 104, Oldest Resident of Vergennes, passed away on May 9th 1954 at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
He was born on February 28th 1850 in Palo Pinto, TX., he was the son of William B. and Algia M. (West) Griffis.
He was brought up by Kiowa Indians, who killed his mother in a raid, then kidnapped him. They christened him "Tahan" which means Texas Man or Fighting Man.
An Indian raider, outlaw, frontier scout, minister, tramp, lecturer, and writer, he had been a patient in the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
When he was 17, he took up the ways of a white man, serving as a Chief Scout for the U.S. Army unit at Fort Gibson, TX. At 30 he took the name of Griffis and began learning the English alphabet.
Then began the new way of life which saw him embrace the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian Science doctrines in that order and also establish the First Presbyterian Church in the Oklahoma Territory.
Two years ago he was voted "Father of the Year" by his son's outfit in Korea.
He married Mildred Helen Taber on June 17th 1924 in Vergennes, Vermont. She predeceased him in March of 1973.
He came to Vergennes, Vt. 30 years ago and later married the former Assistant Postmaster Mildred Taber, after meeting her on a Chautauqua trip.
He chronicled the account of his life in a book now in the Vergennes, Vt. Bixby Library called "Tahan, or Up from Savagery".
His experience with Jesse James occurred when that famed western gunman was in the process of stealing Griffis' saddle. He claimed he "stuck a gun in his back" and sent him scurrying with the word "git".
He was a member of the Masonic Order and a 32nd degree Mason.
Arrangements by the Larrow Funeral Home in Vergennes, Vt.
Interment will be on May 10th 1954 at the Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes, Vt.
VERGENNES, VT. - Joseph "Chief Tahan" Kinchen Griffis Sr, age 104, Oldest Resident of Vergennes, passed away on May 9th 1954 at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
He was born on February 28th 1850 in Palo Pinto, TX., he was the son of William B. and Algia M. (West) Griffis.
He was brought up by Kiowa Indians, who killed his mother in a raid, then kidnapped him. They christened him "Tahan" which means Texas Man or Fighting Man.
An Indian raider, outlaw, frontier scout, minister, tramp, lecturer, and writer, he had been a patient in the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
When he was 17, he took up the ways of a white man, serving as a Chief Scout for the U.S. Army unit at Fort Gibson, TX. At 30 he took the name of Griffis and began learning the English alphabet.
Then began the new way of life which saw him embrace the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian Science doctrines in that order and also establish the First Presbyterian Church in the Oklahoma Territory.
Two years ago he was voted "Father of the Year" by his son's outfit in Korea.
He married Mildred Helen Taber on June 17th 1924 in Vergennes, Vermont. She predeceased him in March of 1973.
He came to Vergennes, Vt. 30 years ago and later married the former Assistant Postmaster Mildred Taber, after meeting her on a Chautauqua trip.
He chronicled the account of his life in a book now in the Vergennes, Vt. Bixby Library called "Tahan, or Up from Savagery".
His experience with Jesse James occurred when that famed western gunman was in the process of stealing Griffis' saddle. He claimed he "stuck a gun in his back" and sent him scurrying with the word "git".
He was a member of the Masonic Order and a 32nd degree Mason.
Arrangements by the Larrow Funeral Home in Vergennes, Vt.
Interment will be on May 10th 1954 at the Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes, Vt.
Joseph Griffis, Brought Up By Kiowa Indians, Dies at 104
VERGENNES, VT. - Joseph "Chief Tahan" Kinchen Griffis Sr, age 104, Oldest Resident of Vergennes, passed away on May 9th 1954 at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
He was born on February 28th 1850 in Palo Pinto, TX., he was the son of William B. and Algia M. (West) Griffis.
He was brought up by Kiowa Indians, who killed his mother in a raid, then kidnapped him. They christened him "Tahan" which means Texas Man or Fighting Man.
An Indian raider, outlaw, frontier scout, minister, tramp, lecturer, and writer, he had been a patient in the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
When he was 17, he took up the ways of a white man, serving as a Chief Scout for the U.S. Army unit at Fort Gibson, TX. At 30 he took the name of Griffis and began learning the English alphabet.
Then began the new way of life which saw him embrace the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian Science doctrines in that order and also establish the First Presbyterian Church in the Oklahoma Territory.
Two years ago he was voted "Father of the Year" by his son's outfit in Korea.
He married Mildred Helen Taber on June 17th 1924 in Vergennes, Vermont. She predeceased him in March of 1973.
He came to Vergennes, Vt. 30 years ago and later married the former Assistant Postmaster Mildred Taber, after meeting her on a Chautauqua trip.
He chronicled the account of his life in a book now in the Vergennes, Vt. Bixby Library called "Tahan, or Up from Savagery".
His experience with Jesse James occurred when that famed western gunman was in the process of stealing Griffis' saddle. He claimed he "stuck a gun in his back" and sent him scurrying with the word "git".
He was a member of the Masonic Order and a 32nd degree Mason.
Arrangements by the Larrow Funeral Home in Vergennes, Vt.
Interment will be on May 10th 1954 at the Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes, Vt.
VERGENNES, VT. - Joseph "Chief Tahan" Kinchen Griffis Sr, age 104, Oldest Resident of Vergennes, passed away on May 9th 1954 at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
He was born on February 28th 1850 in Palo Pinto, TX., he was the son of William B. and Algia M. (West) Griffis.
He was brought up by Kiowa Indians, who killed his mother in a raid, then kidnapped him. They christened him "Tahan" which means Texas Man or Fighting Man.
An Indian raider, outlaw, frontier scout, minister, tramp, lecturer, and writer, he had been a patient in the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vt.
When he was 17, he took up the ways of a white man, serving as a Chief Scout for the U.S. Army unit at Fort Gibson, TX. At 30 he took the name of Griffis and began learning the English alphabet.
Then began the new way of life which saw him embrace the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian Science doctrines in that order and also establish the First Presbyterian Church in the Oklahoma Territory.
Two years ago he was voted "Father of the Year" by his son's outfit in Korea.
He married Mildred Helen Taber on June 17th 1924 in Vergennes, Vermont. She predeceased him in March of 1973.
He came to Vergennes, Vt. 30 years ago and later married the former Assistant Postmaster Mildred Taber, after meeting her on a Chautauqua trip.
He chronicled the account of his life in a book now in the Vergennes, Vt. Bixby Library called "Tahan, or Up from Savagery".
His experience with Jesse James occurred when that famed western gunman was in the process of stealing Griffis' saddle. He claimed he "stuck a gun in his back" and sent him scurrying with the word "git".
He was a member of the Masonic Order and a 32nd degree Mason.
Arrangements by the Larrow Funeral Home in Vergennes, Vt.
Interment will be on May 10th 1954 at the Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes, Vt.
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