Submitted by Descendants: Jason Lewis, Keri Lee, and Lee McCormick CORNMAN; Carolyn Marie, Jean McCormick, Kevin Conner, and Susan Leslie IMES; Brian James, Dean Griffin, Ethel Griffin, and Scott Wallace MCCORMICK; William Henry WILLIAMS, Jr.
Sarah Speight was born in circa 1790 in either South Carolina or Georgia. The family was living in Georgia by 1795, probably Montgomery County. In circa 1804, while still a young teenaged girl she married William McGriff also of Montgomery County, Georgia.
In about 1824 William and Sarah and their children moved to Gadsden County, Florida. William purchased land for farming and in 1827 he was awarded Federal Land Certificates, also in Gadsden County. William acquired a large acreage of land and also owned a number of slaves. The estate included a cotton gin and a grits mill. William was active in the community and Sarah managed the home and children. She was the mother of thirteen children, the three youngest born in Florida.
William died in 1839 with three of the children still minors. Sarah was appointed as the executrix of the estate ad continued the farming operation. For 12 years the estate prospered under her management and increased in value. Sarah did not remarry and died in 1862.
Sarah Speight was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2006