Elder T. E. GRIFFITH

     Tisdale Emmett Griffith was born July 7, 1882, in the state of Texas, the son of John B. and Mary Griffith.   When he was two years old the family moved to Oregon and settled in Poe Valley, southeast of Klamath Falls.   John Griffith, who had originally come from Georgia, was a Baptist preacher, and shortly after arriving in Oregon, in October 12, 1884, he organized Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Poe Valley, which later became the First Baptist Church of Klamath Falls.

     Like most of the pioneer preachers, Elder John Griffith had to support his family by some other work, so they lived on a ranch to make a living, while he preached at church on Sundays.   Now and then he would also be away to preach a protracted meeting of two or three weeks.   He gladly gave them of his time and labor to preach the gospel for little or no pay.

     On the Griffith ranch in Poe Valley young Tis Griffith grew to manhood, and in church there he was saved and later began to preach the gospel.   In 1910, on May the first, Tis Griffith was married to Miss Mamie Robertson, who had come to Oregon the year before with her parents, Ed and Emily Robertson, from the state of Missouri.   On February 11, 1911, Brother and Sister Griffith were blessed with a fine boy, whom they named Vern.

     In 1912 Brother Griffith began pastoring a Baptist Church at Bonanza, Oregon, that met in a Methodist church house.   By horse and buggy he traveled over the hills to Bonanza on Saturdays and back home on Mondays, pastoring there for a number of years.

     In 1921 Brother and Sister Griffith moved to New Pine Creek, Oregon, where he had been called to pastor.   Here they remained for two years, then Brother Griffith accepted the work of associational missionary, moved his family to Springfield, Oregon, and went out on the field, holding meetings wherever there was an opportunity.

     I first remember the Griffiths from the meeting of the Middle Oregon Baptist Association at Union Baptist Church, Sheridan, Oregon, in 1923.   There I got acquainted with their two boys, and we played together under the oak trees, where our families were camped out.   Something over a year later Brother Griffith came over to Idaho where my father was in mission work, and there he held some meetings.   I especially remember the meetings at Moro School house, east of Kuna, Idaho.   A number were saved, and the meetings were well attended by the farming families round about.   Among those saved at this meeting was my brother, Harold Blalock, while I stubbornly refused to surrender to God's call.

     During this period, while visiting at Klamath Falls, the Griffiths suffered the tragic loss of their eldest son, Dale, by drowning.   Dale had just a few days before this surrendered his life to God to preach the gospel, but God had a greater service for him somewhere, so He took him.

     In September, 1926, Brother Griffith moved to Prineville, Oregon, and there began a mission work that resulted in the Missionary Baptist Church being organized there on February 20, 1927.   He continued to pastor this church until about 1931, when he left and went to Lake City, California; there to pastor that church and the one at New Pine Creek, Oregon, half-time each.   About 1937 he was called to pastor at Fossil, Oregon, where he remained a couple of years, then they returned to their old home near Klamath Falls.

     In 1941 Brother Griffith was called to pastor the Landmark Missionary Baptist Church of Roseville, California, and he continued as pastor of this church up until about 1947.   Then Brother and Sister Griffith retired to their own little house in Roseville, though he continued to preach and hold meetings as the opportunity offered.

     In the late fall of 1948, when this writer was pastoring a new church in Klamath Falls, we had Brother Griffith to come hold a meeting for us.   We owned a large lot out on Shasta Way, and there we set up a good sized tent.   The weather turned cold and some snow fell making the tent hard to warm, but Brother Griffith was not discouraged, and he preached us some wonderful messages.   We shall ever remember his sacrificial work there.

     July the 9th, 1955, two days after his 73rd birthday, Brother Tis Griffith went to be with the Lord.   He was greatly loved and greatly missed by a multitude of friends throughout the western states.

     Sister Griffith continued living on in their little house in Roseville until 1975, when she moved to Beaverton, Oregon, to be close to her son, Vern Griffith, of that city.

~by John R. Blalock

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