Person in this family

Catherine Griffis

about 1858 – 11 October 1917

Catherine Griffis was born about 1858 in **England** — one of very few people in this archive born there — and married Timothy Lynch. Three children are recorded. She died on 11 October 1917. Two New Jersey records of that month may be hers and are attached as candidates rather than as proof: a death indexed at **Bayonne** in October 1917, which is the right town for this family, and a burial at **Mount Olivet Cemetery, Newark** on 14 October 1917 of a Catherine Lynch aged 58 — an age implying 1859, and an interval of three days after 11 October that is exactly right for a funeral. Neither record names a husband or a parent, and Catherine Lynch is among the commonest names in New Jersey, so neither is treated as settled.

Probable

Catherine Griffis was recorded with Timothy Lynch as the mother of daughters baptized in Bayonne from 1884 to 1891.

Born at England

Recorded as: Catherine Griffin, Catherine Griffiths

Birth: From our family tree - no record found yet
Death: From our family tree - no record found yet

How is this person related?

Show the relationship to

Andrew John Leahey’s great-great-grandparent

Worked out from the recorded parents and marriages. No sex is recorded for anyone in this archive, so the wording stays neutral.

How this person is related to Andrew:
Catherine Griffis is your 2× great-grandparent.

Life

Catherine Griffis was recorded with Timothy Lynch as the mother of Mary, Margaret, and Catherine Lynch; our family tree identifies the pair as spouses. Mary's 1884 baptism names her parents as "Timothy" and "Catherine Griffis." The later entries for Margaret and Catherine use "Cath. Griffin," showing a second contemporary spelling of her surname.

Mary was born on 18 September 1884 and baptized ten days later. Margaret's entry records birth on 7 March 1887 and baptism on 13 March; Catherine's records birth on 9 December 1890 and baptism on 18 January 1891. These records establish Catherine's family but say nothing about her own age or birthplace.

A 1917 funeral entry for a Catherine Lynch describes an English-born widow, aged 58, whose parents were John Griffith and Anna Shannon. That woman could be relevant, but this archive does not prove that she was Timothy Lynch's wife. Catherine's own birth, marriage, and death therefore remain unsettled.

How we know this: Three baptismal records document Catherine as a mother, but her own identity and vital events are not yet proved. [1][2]

Family

Spouse

Timothy Lynch

Children

See this family in the family tree

Where they lived

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Places listed on this page

England
Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
Mount Olivet Cemetery, Bayonne Cemetery or burial place
New Jersey
Mount Olivet Cemetery, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey Cemetery or burial place

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The pins show approximate places. The line only joins them in time order; it does not prove the route travelled. 2 of the places listed above are recorded only as a county or country, so they are not pinned. Cemetery and burial places have red pins.

Original records

St. Mary Star of the Sea baptism register, Mary Lynch, 1884
This is an entry in a church book, often naming a child, parents, and godparents. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Catherine Griffis.
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Original source (hudsoncountynjgenealogy.org)
Machine-read text (may contain errors) · Good machine reading
**Automated reading aid only.** The human-verified quotations elsewhere in the archive remain authoritative.
No. 13 Name of Date and Date of Father’s Sponsors Priest Marriage, Person Place of Baptism Name etc. Baptized Birth Mother’s Maiden Name 170 Thos. Jos. Sept 12 – Sept 21 – John William A.M. McNeill 1884 1884 Rose Anna O’Brien Egan Brady Mary Griffin 171 Loretta Sept 13 – Sept 21 – Matthew Patk. Duffy “ Ryan 1884 1884 Mary Cath. Kearns Finnerty 172 Helen Sept 6 – Sept 21 – Richard James “ Married Cecelia 1884 1884 Catherine Corkery to Francis Murray Ames Delia Kilkenny Murray June 10 – 1908 at St. Mary’s A.M. Egan 173 Helen Sept 18 – Sept 21 – Martin William “ Married to Gearey 1884 1884 Mary Cook Felix M. Finnelly Helen Gosoler Finnelly July 27 – 1910 at St. Mary’s A.M. Egan 174 Miriam Sept 20 – Sept 21 – Arthur C. Joseph “ Agnes 1884 1884 Martha Given Mallon McQuillan Mary Mundle 175 George Jan 17 – Sept 22 – George John “ Henry Coon 1884 1884 Anna Hughes Tierney 176 Mary Cath. Sept 25 – Sept 26 – James Wm. “ McGiehan 1884 1884 Margt. Gallagher McArigle Helen McGuire 177 Agnes Sept 15 – Sept 28 – Robert James “ Lewis 1884 1884 Mary Curley Collins Mary Bannon 178 Helen Sept 27 – Sept 28 – John John Kinah “ Nugent 1884 1884 Helen Mary Halloran Butler 179 Mary Lynch Sept 18 - Sept 28 - Timothy Joseph “ 1884 1884 Catherine Hickey Griffis Cath. Welsh

What the records say

2 records transcribed.

Record exhibit

Catherine Lynch, New Jersey Death Index, October 1917, Bayonne

An index is a list that points to where the full record can be found.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

New Jersey, Death Index, 1901-1903; 1916-1929: Catherine Lynch, death October 1917, Bayonne, Hudson, New Jersey.

Record exhibit

Catherine Lynch burial, Mount Olivet Cemetery, Newark, 14 October 1917

This old record gives information about the person or family named here.

Partly proved

Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.

New Jersey, Newark, Mount Olivet Cemetery Records: Catherine Lynch, age 58, born about 1859, buried 14 October 1917.

Historical context

These background articles explain the places, work, and events in this entry.

Bayonne and the Industrial Waterfront, 1870–1920

The Bayonne in these family records was a new city built around water, rails and heavy industry. Bayonne Township was formed only in 1861, uniting older settlements on Bergen Neck; it became a city in 1869. The…

What we still don't know

Her birth date and birthplace
Her parents
Her marriage date and place
Whether the Catherine Lynch recorded in 1917 was this woman
Her death date and burial place
Whether this ID is fully identical to the Catherine Griffis entry
Her birth date, birthplace, and parents
Whether the 1917 Catherine Lynch funeral entry belongs to her
[CANDIDATE, NOT PROVED] The two 1917 records above fit on month, town, age and funeral interval, and **neither names Timothy Lynch or the surname Griffis**. A single Catherine Lynch dying in Bayonne in October 1917 is not remarkable; the name is very common. What would settle it: the New Jersey death certificate, which names the husband and usually the parents, or a Mount Olivet plot record showing a Lynch family grave.
**Where in England she was born**, and her parents. Griffis is a Welsh-border and West Country name, and an English birth about 1858 with an Irish-Catholic marriage in New Jersey is an unusual combination worth pursuing — an English census of 1861 or 1871 could hold her.