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THE ANCESTRY AND GENEALOGY OF THOMAS GROVER Born- July 1807, Whitehall, N. Y. Died- Feb. 1886, Farmington, Utah. UT AH PIONEER - 1847. Compiled by JOEL P. GROVER Los Angeles, California 1959 This little volume is lovingly dedicated to my dear Father and Mother, and to their noble ancestors, all of humble birth and cir­ cumstances, to whom we owe our rich herit­ age. May we always prove ourselves worthy of the name and heritage we bear. "This is the book of the genera­ tions of Adam, who was a son of God", (Gen. 5:1);- "And Jesus was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli, . which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God", - (Luke 3:23-38}. "And faith, and righteousness, was taught unto the children of men". It has been truly said that respect, love, and honor for our parents and ancestors, and the rights and principles they fought and suffered for, are the cornerstones upon which our great nation has been built. Their trials and tribulations in carving their homes and farms from a great wilderness, raising their families under the severe handicaps of sparse­ ly settled frontier life, yet always pushing on to­ wards new frontiers and a better life for their families and loved ones, despite these many obstac­ les, shall deserve our undying admiration, respect, and love, The information contained herein, gathered to­ gether from all available sources found, since about 1942, is compiled here for the benefit of all members of our family and interested relatives, in answer to my own questions many years ago to my dear Mother: iii "From where did our ancestors come, who were they, and what was their early history here in America?, etc. " The writer-compiler hereof desires to gratefully acknowledge the invaluable help and assistance in this work, and to thank the many authors and publishers of the fine genealogical books and histories referred to herein, listed in the Bibliography of Reference Materials at the close of this book, or elsewhere referred to, for pertinent data used in tracing and proving these many lineages, with their histories and all the very interesting information noted. iv PREFACE Research over the past several years, gathering together all this data and information, again emphasized the fact that so much of this work is repetitious, and duplicating at a consider­ able expense and loss of time, what has already been done many times before by others, in hunt- ing for the many sources of pertinent data. This pointed out the need for a small book, to be best utilized at a central point, or by others interested, showing what has been found to date, where the basic information may be found or located, and giving a general bibliography of pertinent genealogi­ cal and/or historical works already published, in which might be found more details and history of these many families. Upon its completion, a copy of this book will be placed with the Genealogical Society at Salt Lake City, for reference use there by those concerned, or those doing genealogical work touching on the Grover lines. A copy will also be placed with the officers of the Thomas Gro­ ver Family _Association of Utah-Idaho, for their use, guidance, and information, It is hoped this will perhaps inspire someone within the family, or the Association as a whole, towards compiling and completing a much larger works, of wider scope, covering all the descendants of Thomas Grover, as this works covers only those surnamed Grover, where records were available. The principal aim and intent of the enclosed data and information is:- to gather together, with proofs and the many references, all available materials on our early Grovers, and connecting families, especially prior to 1800. Much has al­ ready been written by Andrew Jensen, Esshom, V Preface and others, regarding our Thomas Grover, born 1807, Utah Pioneer of 1847. Most of the fami­ lies descended from him have group sheets and information concerning his many descendants, but have little information or data as to his ancestors, and the many connecting early fami­ lies, back to around the beginning of our New England history, in 1620-1650. For the infor­ mation of any who do not have Thomas Grover's history, by Andrew Jenson or others, and lists of his several families and many descendants, this data is given herein, in condensed form, due to space limitations. Much of the information herein, prior to 1790, is the result of local research in New England, and especially in Massachusetts, by a professional genealogist hired part time by the writer-compiler; this research has uncovered considerable interesting early historical data and information regarding our Capt" Thomas Grover, an officer in the American Revolutionary War, and his parents and grandparents also. As far as possible, the genealogical data and informa­ tion herein has been taken from basic records: Vital Registers (births, marriages, deaths); Church records; Wills, Deeds, Probate Records, etc" This, taken tog'ether with data shown in the many other published works such as family geneal­ ogies, listed by references, forms the complete picture herein. The writer is also deeply indebted to the Thomas Grover Family Association of Utah-Idaho, for use of their many records shown herein, of the many descendants of our Thomas Grover who came west to Utah in 1847. It is regretted that some of these records are rather incomplete. Special appreciation is also acknowledged to Mrs. Merle Grover (Wilding) Fullmer, of Idaho Falls, vi Preface Idaho, for all her extensive work over the past several years, gathering and trying to keep these records current and correct at all times, while also serving as family genealogist. Also to the late Hannah Grover Hegsted, who devoted her time for many years to gathering a great deal of infor­ mation on everything she could then find regarding this family genealogy, and preparing hundreds of records, and doing much of the ordinance work in behalf of her ancestors. Each Grover herein is listed by number, each male of this surname being shown twice where information has been available, - first as a child in his father's family, and secondly as the father in his own family group. Due to space limitations, no attempt has been made to follow out the many descendants of Thomas Grover the Pioneer, of those surnamed other than Grover, - children and grand­ children of the many daughters and granddaughters in the several families. This would involve a, very great amount of additional research work and time, and result in a book perhaps of 800-900 pages, thereby being prohibitive to many families. All collateral and connecting families, in the second part of this works, are listed, - first, al­ phabetically by family surname, and, secondly, in chronological order by birthdates, much the same as your family group sheets are carried in your Books of Remembrance. This system, or means of identification, is perhaps the most simple and least confusing, while providing a ready means of ascertaining lineage, ancestry, and family groupings, of any of these many Grover descendants and relatives. The printing, binding, and distribution of this book has been assured through the interest and backing of Arthur N. Grover, of Salt Lake vii Preface City, who has made this possible. We are in­ deed grateful to him for his help and interest in this work. ERRORS A.ltD DISCREPANCIES- The following errors and dtscrep­ anctes haue been noted tn thts book stnce betng sent to press, Kay 1960: POLL&T,(page 248): John Polley Sr,born 1618,England., lf-(l)Suaan(or Susanna Bacon (d.- JO Apr.1664); K-(2) lary Jues,(d.-30 Aug.1566,smo.llpox) lf•(3) Hannah(or Bethtah)Cowdray, (d..-.lune 1684); lf-(4-) JunQ 16841 Jane Walter(or Walker)T(she d(ed 2+ Oct. 1'?01.). our 6ethtah Polley was thus a daughter of th•Jtrst marrtagQ: John Polley Sr,a Suaanna .lacon. John Jr,(chr. 18 #ay 15?3),N- 1 Jan.1705, Sarah ,.;l l l (am.s. SN17'Jl 1 (page 2?4): lfary Sm.Cth,born 18 Apr. 1672, d(d not m.arry,1719, Joseph Greely. -r,le m.arrted, 31 Dee.1?19, Nary Smtth,(page 27•), b. 18 /fay 1?04, at Hauerhtll). SWA#, VK!9tl 285): Ruth Swan marrted­ (1) John CrossJ and /f-~2J John Martshorr~-L-19 Sept. 16 ~ viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface . V Introduction--Derivation of Surnames 1 Introduction- -Early American Colonies and Emigration from England . , . 3 Introduction--General . 11 Introduction--Early Grovers, to 1700. 13 Our Grover Line- -Basic Facts Upon Which This Work is Based . 25 Our Grover Line--Stoneham, Mass., 1725. 26 Our Grover Line- -Pedigree Chart, 8-gen. {abt. 1620-1886). 32 Our Grover Line--American Ancestry . 33 Benjamin Grover, (1703-1754). 39 Capt. Thomas Grover, ( 17 38-1803) 45 Photo. Copy of Thomas Grover's Letter, 17 87 57 Thomas Grover Jr., (1760-1807) 67 Thomas Grover, Utah Pioneer . 71 Descendants of Thomas Grover, Utah Pioneer . 81 Pedigree charts: Elizabeth Walker .. following 81 Emma Walker . following 81 Resume of Mass., Wills, Deeds, Probate Rec' s .. 129 Report of Findings, at Whitehall, N. Y. , 1959 . 142 Collateral Family Data and History .. 151 Revolutionary War Service Records .. 309 Bibliography of Pertinent References. .313 Two Long Lines, from Adam and Noah 318 Index ...... , .. 336 ix INTRODUCTION D:f:RIVATION OF SURNAME - GROVER The derivation of our many, many surnames is a very interesting study in itself. For a long period of very early history a single name was suf­ ficient and adequate, each having a particular mean­ ing: Abraham, - (father of a large group); David - (beloved); Ruth - (beauty); Mathew - (gift of God); John - (the Lord's grace), etc.

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