Hannah Isabella Griffin

Hannah Isabella Griffin (Isabella) was born on March 2, 1870, in Kingston Seymour, Somerset, England. At the time of her birth her father, Samuel Bird Griffin (1834-1890), was 36, and her mother, Jane (née Wallis) (1835-1909), was 35. She had ten brothers and one sister.

Isabella never married. After the death of her mother in 1909, we find Isabella in 1911 on the census as a “Grocer Postmistress” and employer. Brother Austin is living with her, a Grocer Provision Merchant. Living with them are Edith Richdale, domestic help, and Wilford Pope, a Grocer’s assistant. Their address is listed as “Post Office Kingston Seymour.” (I was lucky to find a postcard with the Griffin post office – featured above. It is currently known as “The Village Hall”, on Ham Lane in Kingston Seymour.)

A January 7, 1921 article in the Wells Journal suggests that the post office at Kingston Seymour was broken into. The postmaster is “Mr. Griffin,” which may mean that Austin Griffin took over from his sister at some point after he was married.

In 1939 Isabella has a room at 8 Victoria Quadrant in Weston-super-Mare and she’s engaged in “light temporary work.”

Isabella died on February 7, 1963. Her probate record suggests that she was living at 14 Neva Road in Weston-super-Mare and her estate was left to her nephews Charles Donald Griffin and Austin Leslie Griffin.

Main image: Griffin Post Office, Kingston Seymour