William Lewis Griffin was born on April 3, 1797, in Rutherford County, North Carolina. He married Elizabeth Sutton on February 22, 1821, and they had at least seven children: Mary Anna, born around 1823; Lavina, born around 1825; Matilda, born around 1828; Nancy, born around 1830; Martha, born around 1832; Lorraine Walker, born on August 24, 1834; and James, born around 1838. They lived in Floyds Creek, North Carolina, and Griffin worked as a house carpenter. By 1850, he owned $100 of real estate. His wife died on May 23, 1855. By 1870, he was working as a farmer in Cool Spring, North Carolina, and he owned $300 of real estate and $250 of personal property. He died sometime after 1880.