Benjamin Pitt Griffin
By Catherine Minshull
Member of the Grand Jury that Heard the Trial of Tshuanahusset
Born in England in 1809, Benjamin Pitt Griffin's appetite for adventure soon led him around the world.1 He first left England for Australia, where he worked for the Commercial Bank. In 1849 he left Australia due to the discovery of gold in San Francisco.2 However, it was not gold itself which would cause Griffin to prosper, but the excitement and prosperity surrounding the gold rush. Soon after his arrival in America, Griffin opened the Boomerang Inn. The business was successful but Griffin was still restless. Like many loyalists, Griffin longed to live under the Union Jack, and he moved to British Columbia in 1858.3 A Boomerang Inn was soon opened in Court Alley on Langley Street. The location of the Boomerang Inn remained the same for twenty years until it moved to the corner of Government and Courtney Street.4 The Boomerang Inn was one of the most popular places in town. Griffin used a number of gimmicks, including creative advertising to entice his customers. One such advertisement published on April 27, 1863 reads, "Not true-that Ben Griffin was shot in the fight with the Samalchas of Cowichan. He still lives at the Boomerang".5 The Boomerang Inn offered free lunches of thick ham sandwiches to accompany the purchase of a beer.6 On one occasion Griffin held book raffles.7 He also offered good advice, an honest nature, and a good sense of humour. He was well informed and his friends often tried to convince him to run for office. Despite their provocations, Griffin remained as manager of the Boomerang Inn until his death. This career was only interrupted by a short period of government employment in 1872 when he served as a Clerk of the Bench in Yale.8
Griffin was married to Adelaide Gordon. In July of 1861 Griffin's pleasant, pretty wife died at the age of 31.9 Adelaide left her husband with one daughter, Grace Adelaide. Griffin raised his daughter at the Boomerang, and in their living quarters above the saloon, until she was of age to go to school in San Francisco.10 While in San Francisco, Grace met George Grant; they were married on February 20th, 1872.11
Griffin left England before the invention of the railway. He left Australia and then California before railway tracks reached either place. He often jovially proclaimed that he would never see a railway.12 Confirming his prediction, Griffin died in August of 1881 at the age of 72, before the railway reached British Columbia.13 His funeral service was held at the Reformed Episcopal Church, although he was not found to have had any other participation in the church community.14 Griffin is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery.
Notes:
1. The British Daily Colonist , August 9, 1881.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., February 3, 1878.
5. Ibid., April 27, 1863.
6. British Columbia Archives, Vertical Files, Mflm 65, #2354, Nesbitt, Jim. "Old Homes and Families," The Daily Colonist , April 1, 1951.
7. The British Daily Colonist , October, 1867.
8. Ibid., August 9, 1881.
9. Ibid., July, 1861.
10. Ibid., February 3, 1878.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. British Columbia Archives, Vital Statistics-Death Index, Mflm B13077, Death Records of B.P. Griffin.