Samuel Griffith implicated in failed dam

Samuel Griffith was born on Jan. 23, 1793, in New York State, where his Welsh ancestor had settled nearly 20 years before.
He traveled to Pennsylvania, locating near Laurel Hill, and married Mary Ann Beckley on Jan. 1, 1811.  Their 10 children were born in Pennsylvania.
The family moved to Ohio, living there a short time before heading westward to Illinois. With their belongings loaded into a four-horse wagon, they traveled the National Road to a spot four miles west of St. Elmo, and it is there that they settled. It was remembered that at Terre Haute, Ind., they were halted in their crossing for three weeks by high water.              
One of the stories told in the Griffith family is that either during the move to Ohio or during the move to Fayette County, Samuel had placed gold coins in a butter churn in the back of the wagon.  The movement of the wagon caused the coins to wear a hole in the bottom of the churn and they lost several of the coins before discovering the hole.
Samuel was a builder. He built the Juniata Forge, which he ran for a number of years. According to family legend, another project was the Johnstown Dam on the South Fork Creek of the Little Conemaugh River in Cambria County, Pa.
In 1836, the Pennsylvania legislature approved monies to build a reservoir on the western slopes of the Allegheny as part of the Pennsylvania Canal System. Work on the 850-foot earthen dam began in 1838.
William E. Morris, a young state engineer, designed the dam, and James N. Moorhead of Pittsburg and Hezekiah Packer of Williamsport were the head contractors on the project.
The dam was 14 years in construction, and was filled in 1852. It stood nearly 14 miles above the city of Johnstown at an altitude of 1,500 feet.
On May 31, 1889, following heavy rains, the dam broke and 2,000 people living in the valley below perished.
Floods had become a part of life for the people of Johnstown. The great flood of May 31, 1889, was by no means the first – but it was the worst. Ninety-nine entire families were wiped out, and 98 children lost both parents. Survivors said the wave was 35 to 40 feet high.
Following the tragedy, the finger pointing began, with the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club taking most of the heat. Chartered in 1876, the club counted among its members Andrew Carnegie. It was a rich-man’s retreat, and although they poured money into cottages and a private railway to the club, they did not maintain the dam properly.
After the dam burst and the ensuing lawsuit was filed, it was determined that the contractor who had upgraded the dam was at fault.
An article published in the magazine, Engineering News, said the original dam had been “thoroughly well built,” but had not been constructed with a solid masonry core. The editor wrote, “At no time during the process of rebuilding the dam was any engineer whatever, young or old, good or bad, known or unknown, engaged or consulted as to the work…”
Samuel may very well have been engaged in construction of this dam. His eighth child, Cyrus, was born in Johnstown on Oct. 15, 1824, so we have proof that the Griffith family lived here.
The site work on the dam began in 1836, and very possibly he was engaged in the earlier phases of the dam’s construction.
By July of 1838, Samuel is found buying land in Fayette County. He built a log home, and it is said by family members that he operated his home as an inn along the National Road until his death in November 1845.
In my research into family genealogy, it has often been proven that stories and tradition carried down through the generations have at their center a kernel of truth. So it is with the stories that traveled to Fayette County with the family of Samuel Griffith.