Pennsylvania native Henry Griffith, the son of Joshua and Jemimah (Hazelton) Griffith, moved to Johnson's Bayou near Opelousas, Louisiana, about 1819-20, where he met and married Amelia "Milly" Barrow in 1824. Amelia, the daughter of Reuben and Mary Jane (Johnson) Barrow, and Henry moved to this area two years later while it was still under Mexican rule. In 1830, they received a land grant in the Atascosito District, where they reared their family, farmed, and raised cattle and horses. In 1835, Henry Griffith sold 1,047 acres to William Duncan, including the big hill on the property, also known as Barber's Hill, which the deed said would thereafter be called "Mont Bellview." More than 50 years later, the area had become settled enough for a post office named Mont Belvieu. In 1865, reconstruction-era Governor A.J. Hamilton appointed Henry Griffith sheriff, and he served until 1868, one year before his death. Amelia's death date is unknown, and neither of their gravestones survives. Oral histories place their burials near this site, where the original Griffith House once stood, and at least two other family members are also known to be buried there. As citizens of Texas under the flags of Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States, and the United States, Henry and Amelia Griffith witnessed important events and activities in Texas history, and their early landholding helped give rise to the community of Mont Belvieu.