Fred De Krafft Griffin Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1410-1411 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	FRED DE KRAFFT GRIFFIN, the able editor and publisher of the 
Walworth County Record, at Selby, has the distinction of being a native 
of the national capital, having been born in the city of Washington, D. 
C., on the 16th of January, 1862, and being a son of Robert C. and S. 
Adelaide Griffin, both of whom were likewise born and reared in that 
city. The lineage on the paternal side is traced back to Lawrence 
Griffin, who settled near Leonardtown, Maryland, in 1742, having 
emigrated from England, his native land. Baron J. C. P. de Krafft, the 
maternal great-grandfather of the subject, assisted L'Enfant in laying 
out the city of Washington, and his son, Lieutenant de Krafft, was with 
Decatur at Tripoli, as a member of the United States navy. The Baron's 
grandson, Rear Admiral de Krafft, of the United States navy, died within 
recent years, having well upheld the prestige of the honored name which 
he bore. 

	The subject was reared in his native city, in whose public schools 
he received his early educational discipline, having been graduated in 
the high school as a member of the class of 1878. He initiated his 
association with the "art preservative of all arts" on the 1st of 
January, 1881, when he secured a position in the office of the Evening 
Critic, of Washington, while from 1884 to 1887 he was employed in the 
treasury branch of the government printing office. In July of the latter 
year he came to the present state of South Dakota and located in Bangor, 
Walworth county, and on the 18th of the following September he became 
the editor and publisher of the Central Dakotan, the name of which was 
changed to the Walworth County Record in 1890, since which time he has 
continued the publication under that title, while the office and general 
headquarters of the paper were removed from Bangor to Selby in 1900. In 
his political proclivities Mr. Griffin is a stalwart supporter of the 
Republican party, and personally and through the columns of his paper he 
has done much to further its success in the state, being one of the 
party leaders in his section and having served for several terms as 
chairman of the Walworth county central committee, while for six terms 
he was a member of the Republican state central committee. Fraternally 
he is identified with the Masonic order, the Modern Woodmen of America 
and the Knights of the Maccabees, and both he and his wife are 
communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. 

	On the 10th of February, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. 
Griffin to Miss Emma B. McNelly, who likewise was born and reared in 
Washington, D. C., being a daughter of Arthur and Mary McNelly. Mr. and 
Mrs. Griffin have seven children, the first two having been born in the 
capital city and the others in Walworth county, South Dakota, their 
names, in order of birth, being as follows: Charles, Evelyn, Fred, 
Arthur, Elton, Clifford and Edwin.