Artifact collector was history buff

Longtime Augustan Barry Griffin will be remembered as a "big lover of history," his daughter said.

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"You'd name a general, and he could tell you exactly which battles he fought in," Krystal Griffin said of her father.

Mr. Griffin died Monday at age 55.

Those who loved him said they would miss this wonderful man with a big heart.

Mr. Griffin was a native of Fort Bragg, N.C., who lived in Augusta for the past 40 years. During that time, he was a dedicated collector of Civil War and American Indian artifacts.

His daughter said that for a number of years, Mr. Griffin co-owned an antique shop in Augusta called About Time. Over the years, he also donated many relics to the Augusta Museum of History and local estate sales.

"He was always reading as much as possible ... and he had a great collection of artifacts," Ms. Griffin said.

The family frequently visited the Savannah River to search for metal, she said, or walked up to mounds of dirt so her father could identify the history of the mound.

Augustan George Waters said he met Mr. Griffin through their mutual interest in artifact collecting and the two became close buddies.

"In the beginning, I fed off of his knowledge and he grew off my enthusiasm," Mr. Waters said. "At first, it was the love of collecting that was our bond, but that grew into much more; we became friends. We could talk about our hobby, but we could also share our innermost thoughts."

He added that Mr. Griffin was the type of friend that could never be replaced, and his death is extremely sad.

Mr. Griffin is survived by his father, mother, two daughters, two sons and four grandchildren.

His funeral will be today at 4 p.m. in the Thomas Poteet & Son Chapel.

Reach Dena Levitz at (706) 823-3339 or dena.levitz@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Wednesday, December 10, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle