From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Lorena W. Griffin Harris was born Lorena Waters. Her first name has mistakenly been given as Loretta, and her birthplace has mistakenly been given as Paris, KY. According to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Lorena Waters was born in Chicago. She was the wife of William Griffin, Sr., who was from Paris, KY, and the couple had two sons. The family lived in Minnesota.

The oldest son, William Griffin died as a young man (1914-1935). Their second son, James S. "Jimmy" Griffin (1917-2002), became the first African American sergeant of the St. Paul, Minnesota, police force in 1955; captain in 1970; and after a discrimination lawsuit, deputy chief in 1972.

After the death of her husband in 1932, Lorena W. Griffin married Emerson Harris in 1937. The couple lived in Kalamazoo, MI and later moved to California. Lorena W. Griffin Waters never lived in Kentucky. She died in Los Angeles, CA.

For more see Jimmy Griffin, a son of Rondo: a memoir, by J. S. Griffin and K. J. C. McDonald; "Social and personal," St Paul Recorder, 01/08/1937, p.3; "Mother of Jimmy Griffin dies in Los Angeles," St. Paul Recorder, 05/24/1957, p.4.