Thomas Griffin was a native of Spartanburg District, South Carolina. At the time of the 1860 Census his age was listed as 40, and he was living in the Moultrie area of Spartanburg District with his wife, Rebecca, and their six children. No occupation was listed and he owned no real estate, so it is likely that he was a tenant on one of the large farms in the neighborhood. He writes that he belongs to the 34th NC Inf. and may be the James Thomas Griffin who enlisted at Rutherford County in October 1861 (Rutherford County, NC was across the state line from Spartanburg District, SC). If so, he was wounded at Gettysburg, captured on May 24, 1864, and died at Point Lookout on February 5, 1865.