Geraldine Adelaide (Addie) Griffin

Geraldine Adelaide (Addie) Griffin

This posting began when I found this little tidbit in a book:

That information regarding Adelaide Griffin from above led me to begin a search of Ferdinand Martin Joplin (2 Feb 1847, Bedford, VA.- 7 Mar 1921, Louisiana). 

When Ferdinand Martin Joplin was born on February 2, 1847, in Bedford, Virginia, his father, James, was 39 and his mother, Emily, was 30. He was married three times and had five sons and three daughters. He died on March 27, 1921, in Louisiana at the age of 74, and was buried in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Ferdinand married his first wife, Geraldine  Adelaide (Addie) Griffin, daughter of Francis Warren & Mary O. Griffin, on 30 Oct 1871, in Ohio County, KY, and they had five children: Frank William (1872-1956), Wayne Otho (1874-1924), Pearl (1876-unk), Paul Wilcox (1878-1923), and Mary Lou (1882-1952).  Addie was born 16 Oct 1843 in Ohio County and died 19 Feb 1890 at age 46 in Elizabethtown.  Addie is buried in the Elizabethtown City Cemetery.

Elizabethtown City Cemetery

Related information:  There was a Joplin Hotel in Elizabethtown which was located on Hwy 31-W (Dixie Highway) but I have not been able to find any connection to Ferdinand’s family.  Apparently Ferdinand was a civil engineer and was involved with building the Elizabethtown & Paducah Railroad. He later owned a lumber and hardware business and was described as a prosperous and enterprising businessman in Elizabethtown. At some point he moved to Louisiana. He had served in the Civil War with the Confederate Army. Ferdinand’s father, James W. Joplin, also lived in Elizabethtown.

From the Hartford Herald, Aug 1891: