Ferdinand Richardt - Independence Hall in Philadelphia - Google Art Project

Martin Ignatius Joseph Griffin (1842–1911) was an American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

journalist and historian, instrumental to the founding of the American Catholic Historical Society. He contributed widely to scholarly journals and was the author of several books and monographs on the history of Catholicism in the United States.

Life

Griffin was born at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on October 23, 1842. From an early age, Griffin became known as a regular contributor and editor with various Catholic publications. In 1872 he was made secretary of the Irish Catholic Benevolent Union, and both founded and edited its journal from 1873 to 1894. This publication began as the ''I.C.B.U. Journal'' but was eventually called simply ''Griffin's Journal''. Articles on American Catholic history were a regular feature in his journal. This historical interest led to the founding of the American Catholic Historical Society on July 22, 1884. Griffin remained librarian of that society until his death. In January 1887, he acquired the journal of newly-defunct Ohio Valley Catholic Historical Society and continued its publication under the name ''American Catholic Historical Researches''. This he also continued to edit until his death. He died in Philadelphia on November 10, 1911.

Legacy

Three years after his death, Griffin was praised as "an indefatigable delver into the byways of the past" by the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' because of the extent and quality of his research into the Catholic history of the United States. Among his publications are two major books, a ''History of Commodore John Barry'' (Philadelphia, 1903) and ''Catholics and the American Revolution'' (3 vols., Philadelphia, 1907–1911). Griffin also published

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s on the history of Old St. Joseph's and several other Philadelphia churches (1881–1882), on Bishop

Michael Francis Egan Michael Francis Egan (September 29, 1761 – July 22, 1814) was an Irish, later American, prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Ireland in 1761, and joined the Franciscan Order at a young age. He served as a priest in Rome, Ire ...

, O.S.F. (1885),

Thomas Fitzsimons Thomas Fitzsimons (October 1741August 26, 1811) was an Irish-born American Founding Father, merchant, banker, and politician. A resident of Philadelphia, Fitzsimons represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress, was a delegate to Consti ...

(1887), and on the trial of

John Ury John Ury (died 29 August 1741) was a Non-juring Anglican priest who was falsely accused of being a Catholic priest, a Spanish spy, and the mastermind of the New York Slave Insurrection of 1741. His ability to read Latin was cited as proof of this. ...

(1899).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Martin Ignatius Joseph 1842 births 1911 deaths American people of Irish descent Writers from Philadelphia Journalists from Pennsylvania Catholics from Pennsylvania American Roman Catholic religious writers American historians of religion 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American historians Historians from Pennsylvania American male non-fiction writers