became part of the United States. In 1848, Griffin took possession of the Oregon Mission Press and began printing The Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist. In 1851, Griffin invested in the Portland & Valley Plank Road Company, which began building a plank road from Portland to the Tualatin Valley. Family In 1839, Griffin was married in Saint Louis, Missouri, to Desiré C. Smith, who would die in 1884. He then married Lina Harvey Kenyon in Three Oaks, Michigan. Griffin's sister-in-law Rachel Jane Smith married fellow missionary Henry H. Spalding as Spalding's second wife. John Smith Griffin died on February 5, 1899, and is buried at Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery in Hillsboro, Oregon. References 1807 births 1899 deaths People from Castleton, Vermont American Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in the United States Champoeg Meetings People from Hillsboro, Oregon Oregon pioneers Burials at Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery