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I DEATH OF MR 1. T. GRIFFITH._)

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I DEATH OF MR 1. T. GRIFFITH. ) Amongst those who have departed this life since our last issue will be found the name of oar venerable townsman, Mr T. T. Griffith, who died at his residence in Chester-stree- abont two o'clock on Thursday morning, in his eighty-first year. The name of Dr. Griffith was a household word to the Inhab,t tants of Wrexham, and no man ever descended to the grave in this locality 80 universally beloved by all classes of the com- munity. By the aristocracy of the town and neighbourhood he was held in the highest esteem, and his numerous works ef charity and acts of benevolence had rendered his name almost an object of adoration to the poorer portion of the population. There are many still living who remember the fine manly form of his father, a member of the same profession, who died about fifty years ago, at the ripe old age of 94. The family hail from a small estate, situate on the south east side of Wynnstay Park, called Penynant, which remains in their possession to this day. The deceased, and a number of his brothers and sisters were born on the premi- ses where Mr Allmand now carries on busi- ness as a grocer, which appears to have been a favonrite spot with the medical profession, the late Dr Lewis having resided there for a namber of years, and it was there where our respected townsman, Dr Williams, com- menced his successful career as a surgeon. Mr T. T. Griffith received the rudiments of his education in a school in Chester.street, which stood on a portion of the site of the new Independent Chapel, and was then taught by a Mr Parry,the only ether pupil who survives being Mr Meredith Jones, of Charles-street, now onr oldest Wrexham tradesman. He served his apprenticeship with his father, at the expiration of which he went to London, where he pursued his studies with very great success, and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons (Honorary), of Guy's Inn, St. Thomas's, and St. Bar- tholomew's Hospitals. He was also a mem- ber of the Council of the Obstetric Society. London, and he obtained Sir Astley Cooper's first prize for anatomy and surgery. In 1816 he left London for L'eds, where he studied under Dr. Hay, a very eminent surgeon, of that day, and from there he proceeded to Paris, where he completed his studies nnder Du Puytryn, a physician of great repute. Upon leaving Paris he joined his father, and the practice was carried ou jointly for five or six years. In 1826 he married Mary, a grand-daughter of Robertson, the Scotch his- torian, and a relative of the late Archbishop of Canterbury (Sumner). His subsequent career as a medical man is too well known to need any detailed description at our hands. He has numbered amongst his patients all the elite of the neighbourhood, and when her Majesty visited Wynnstay, as Princess Vic- toria, in company with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, he was called upon to at- tend her, the messenger who came for him performing the journey frem Wynnstay to Wrexham in fifteen minutes. For a great number of years Mr Griffith did all his travelling in making his professional visits on horseback, a custom which now appears to have gone out of fashion with our medical men. He was an excellent horseman, and once in his early days his skill in this re- spect was put to a severe teit. He had been paying a professional visit to Acton, and in returning his horse ran away in the park. Seeing that it was useless to attempt to stop the animal, the Doctor threw himself off without sustaining any inj ury, soon after which the horse went full tilt against the entrance gate of the park, and dropped down dead on the spot. In the year 1857, I Mr Griffith was plaintiff in a county court case, when he had to undergo a severe cross- examination by the now celebrated Dr Kenealy. He had attended a gentleman who died at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel, whose friends refused to pay the bill on the ground that the deceased had been wrongly treated. Mr James, our Town Clerk, was the legal adviser of Mr Griffith in the case, and he employed the late Mr Wyatt as advo- cate, who proved an excellent match for Kenealy and won the case. In November, 1862, Mr Griffith gave up the dispensing portion of the practice in favour of Mr J. F. Edisbury. In his intercourse with his brethren in the profession, Mr Griffith was ever most affable and kind, indeed many of his fellow practitioners ewe much to his generous aid. He might be said to have been the father of the profession in North Wales, and was for many years President of the North Wales Branch of the British Medical Association, the members of which presented him with his portrait a few years ago. But apart from the position which Mr Griffith made for himself as a professional man, he was held in the highest esteem as a man and a citizen. From his youth up- wards he appears to have been a most ex- emplary character. He knew what to eat, drink, and avoid," and he practiced what he knew. His industry was unbounded, and it was this which enabled him to devote so much time to the interests of the public in the midst of a multitude of professional engage- ments. He was the founder of the Ragged Schools, now called the Free Schools, and up to the time of his death he remained the treasurer, and, we believe, the largest sub- scriber. He was also treasurer to the Wrex- ham Branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and at all the annual meetings of this institution he was one of the most regu- lar attenders, as well as one of the most elo- quent speakers. But the greatest public work of his life was the establishment of the Infirmary, which bad its birth place in a small premises in Yorke-street, and when it was found necessary to find a new habitation, Mr Griffith became a large contributor to the handsome building in which the institution is located at present. A short time ago bin many valuable services to this institution met with a pleasing recognition by the deceased being present with his portrait painted in oil, the ceremony of presentation being performed by Sir W. W. Wynn, Bait. In poUtics Mr Griffith was a strong Con- servative, but he was not a political doctor. In religion he was a chnrcbmaii, and a deep tore of religions feeling pervaded every action of his life. The pressure of his professional duties prevented him taking a more promin- ent part in town affairs than ha diJ, he (was never wanting when his assisfaoce WHS asked. In the agitation for the Hdopti?u of the Health of Towns Act in 1851, he took | part with !he party then calILd "tlw seven- | teen," aud he was also a strong advocate for 8 applying for a charter of incorporation, and | when it was obtained all parties looked for- I ward to him to become the first Mayor of ■ Wrexham. He, however, notwithstanding many pressing overtures, refused to become a member of the Council, and by way of compensation for the disappoir tment he made the Corporation a present of £200. Mr Griffith retained the fall possession of his faculties almost to the last moment of his life. When going up to his bed-chamber for the last time, which he did only a few days before his death, it might be said of him as was said of Moses when ascending Mount Pisgah, "His eye was not dim. Still he was fully conscious that his end was at hand, and he met it w;th a serene rei<>ua- tion. He was seen a few hours before bi death by his long-tried and devoted friend the Rev. Canon Cunliffj, and their parting is said to have been touching in the f x'reme. both shaking hands with a full consciousness that it was their last farewell. It is rather a singular fact that Mr Griffith died on the evening of the day that the church portion of the new ceme- tery was consecrated, and there is a strong desire on the part of the public that his re mains should be interred there. Anything more fitting could hardly be conceived o" than that our honoured townsman should be the first to be interred in this delectable spot. Peace be with his ashes wherever tbey m, y lie. As soon as his death became known th. Corporation banner was hoisted on Uu. Guildhall halt mast high, and such is tlJ. general feeling of regret caused bv his death that it has been resolved that the funerh I shall be a public one, and it will take place on Tuesday next. The Mayor, bv a notie in another column, invites all who wish to pay respect to Mr Griffith's memory to a- semble in the Public Hail at eleven o'clock on that day.

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