John E. Groves is the great-great-grandfather of my father, Harold W. Groves His sons were George Groves and Samuel Groves, grandfathers of William Groves whose children married their first cousins.
Prince William County, Virginia, 1787, was the birthplace of John E. Groves. The record of his death in Grant County lists his parents as Samuel and Mary Groves. His father appears to have been a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War under Captain James Smith but he never lived to file for his pension. His wife, Mary is listed as a widow in 1799 in Chappawamsic Neck, Virginia.
In the early 1800s, John Groves relocated to Clark County, Kentucky. He was not found on the census for that county but married Priscilla Shipp there on February 28, 1816. Several other Groves appear in Clark County around the same time and are presumed to be his brothers. Daniel Groves married Nancy Shipp in Clark County in 1815. They are thought to be the daughters of Elijah who was listed on their marriage bond and in the Clark County census for 1800.
John Groves is first found on the Grant County Tax List in 1820 as John C. Grooves and in 1821 as John Graves. He is not listed again until 1829. He was originally reported in the 1820 Grant County Census as John Graves on page 146 of the census. However, James R. Glacking reported this as an error on page 19 in ” History of Grant County”. John Groves owned 50 acres on Crooked Creek, purchased from Jacob Myers in August of 1830 for $100.
John and Priscilla had eight children. Their first child was a girl, Julian, born in 1818. There second child was Samuel Groves, born in 1818 and George Groves born in 1819. James was not born until 1828. Henry was born in 1832. The last children were Elizabeth, born in 1834, Addison, born in 1835 and the baby John H. Groves, born 1836. John and Priscilla are listed in the Grant Co Census for these years.
Not much is known about the life of John E. Groves. His oldest daughter married William Anness on February 10, 1838. John Anness, who appears to be the father of William, makes an oath. William Anness states that he believes Julian Groves is 21 years of age “because her brother Samuel who is younger than her, has been at least 2 years on the muster rolls and was enrolled one year before his father had him taken off. Also, that he has known her by sight since 1819 and that she appeared to be 4 or 5 years old. Bond Book of Grant County 1832-1838. She was actually 20 years old. There is no mention of her father being present.
William and Julian had seven children. The first child, John W. Anness b. 1839 who married his first cousin, Laura Ann Groves, the daughter of James Groves, 3rd son of John and Priscilla. Laura and John Anness had seven known children; (1) James William Anness who married Julia Roland, They had nine children; Robert, Kate, Lenie, Bessie, Edgar, Newton, Kenneth, Emily and Charles Anness. Robert married Zela Turner, Kate Anness, the great granddaughter of James Groves marries the grandson of George and Mahala Groves, Enoch Bryant, son Julia Ann Groves. Lenie Anness married Charles Eckler, Bessie marries Noah Milner, Newton marries Elmo Courtney, Kenneth marries Ruby Bigg, Emily marries Iris Bigg, and Charles marries Loretta Goodman. (2) Charles William Anness married his aunt, Elizabeth Groves. She was the daughter of George and Mahala Groves; They also had nine children: Lula, Lillie, Elmer, William, Robert, Charles, Goldie, Myrtle and Iva. (3) Annie married Charlie Dunn. (4) Henry Clay Anness whose spouse is unknown. (5) Susan who married Jepetha Groves, the youngest son of George and Mahala They had least one son, Carl Groves. (6) George who married Willie Dungan. They had four children Opal, Richard, Daisy and Mary Anness. Opal married Joseph Groves grandson of George Groves and Mahala Wolfe, her second cousin. Daisy married Herman Laytart and Richard married Inez Tilton. (7) Ben Thomas Anness married Lula Dunn. They had four children; Claude, Pauline, Gertrude and Thelma. Other children of William and Julian Anness, were Henry, born 1841, Charles 1843, and George 1845 and Missouri 1849. Priscilla was born in 1857 and married Pete New They had a least one daughter.
George Groves, John’s second son married Rebecca McLain on November 9, 1843. Rebecca was the daughter of Jonathan and Susannah McLain who were both deceased at the time of her marriage. Rebecca and her siblings, Margaret and James were the legal wards of Lewis Kendall, and later Samuel Dunn husband of Susannah’s sister Jane and Samuel McLain brother of Susannah McLain.
Rebecca and George had two known children who were listed with in the 1850 Harrison County census, William Noah Groves and Priscilla Groves.
William, who went by the name of Noah, was born November 16, 1846, married Lucy Jane Nelson in March of 1874. Lucy was daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte Nelson and Mary Ann Burrows. They had three children Walter Frank Groves, Hettie Groves, and Luther Calvin Groves.
Walter Frank Groves born in 1874, who was known as Frank Groves, married Lena Hampton in 1893 who was the daughter G. W. Hampton of Harrison County. Their children were Ralph and Erm Groves. Erm married Fredda Davis in March 1914, in September of that same year she committed suicide. The daughter of Justin Davis was only 16 years old. The wife of Ralph Groves is unknown. Frank was divorced and remarried a second time to Agatha Brown possibly from Pennsylvania where he had relocated.
His sister, Hettie Groves died in 1896, before her twentieth birthday.
Luther Calvin Groves born in 1879, the 2nd son of William Noah Groves and Lucy Nelson, married Bertha Antrobus. They had three children Ellis, Lottie and Imogene. Ellis Nelson Groves married Martha Reider and died in 1979. Imogene Groves married Estell Prather and has 3 children.
William Noah Groves, son of George Groves and husband of Lucy Nelson, died in 1880 at the age of 34 years old. Lucy remarries Henry Spears and the three of them as well as George Groves, William’ father and Lucy’s family, are buried in the Nelson Family Cemetery in Grant County.
) The second child of George Groves and Rebecca McClain was Priscilla Groves, named for her grandmother. She was born in 1849. Her mother, Rebecca, died between 1852 and 1860 and she is found in the home of Benjamine Robertson in the 1860 census. She is 11 years old. In May of 1873 she married John Dunn of Grant Co. son of Abraham Dunn and the twin brother of James Dunn. They had 5 daughters: Lucy Jane, Bertha, Catherine Bell, Bessie Eva, Nancy Ann and one son, Harry Dunn.
Lucy married James Windings and had 6 children. Bertha married William Hicks and had 12 children. Catherine married Albert Doane and had 9 children. Bessie married Hayden Martin and had 3 children. Nancy married Charles Hamilton and had 2 children Harry married Lula Martin and had two children.
The only other known child of George Groves and Rebecca McClain is Perlina Groves. On some documents, she is referred to as Paulina. She was born in 1852 after the 1850 census. By the time the 1860 census was taken, her mother had died and her father had remarried Mahala Wolfe. She is not living with her father and his new wife in 1860, nor are any of her siblings. Her parentage was established because of her marriage bond in Grant County in 1874. George Groves gives permission for marriage of his daughter Perlina. I do not know if there were other children born to Rebecca and George or who raised Perlina and William. Perlina is referred to on her marriage bond as Perlina Groves. She marries her first cousin, Daniel Tucker Groves, son of Samuel Groves, 1st son of John E. Groves. In the 1880 Grant County Census she is listed with her husband D.T. Groves and three children; Robert Lee 1876, William 1878 marries Vandela Miller from Wayne County, Kentucky. She is the daughter of John Miller and Nancy Ida Hart. They have one son, Harold Groves. Annie 1880. Julius Caesar Groves born in 1889 relocates to Illinois and marries Martha Edmonds from that state. They have 4 children Edna, Robert, Roy and Cora.
In 1900, Daniel relocates to Springfield Illinois. On the Sangamon County census, he is listed as a widow. No record of Perlina’s death has been found. His son William also relocates. No mention of Robert Lee or Annie is made. Family rumor states that Julius’ mother dies when he is a baby and he is raised by a family by the name of Spears or Shear. Daniel Groves is shot in a hunting accident in 1913. Robert Lee and Annie are not listed as survivors. The fate of Perlina and her two children is an unresolved mystery.
Samuel Groves the 1st son of John and Priscilla Groves and father of Daniel Groves, was born in 1819. He returns to Clark and Estill County, home of his mothers family. He married Mildred Jane Tuggle in 1844 in Clark County. Mildred is the daughter of John Tuggle and Nancy Adams from Estill County. In 1848 Mildred and Samuel sold land in Clark County. They are listed on the 1850 Grant County census with two of their children. Their first son was John Groves b. in 1846, the 2nd son James Groves was born in 1847. Samuel is named executor to his dads estate in 1852 when John E. Groves dies of scarlatina the same year their 3rd son Daniel Tucker Groves, husband of Perlina Groves, was born. Daniel states on his marriage bond to Perlina that he was born in Estill County. Samuel Groves and his family are not listed in Grant County in 1860 or 1870. In 1880 he has returned to Grant County and has 6 additional children; Andrew, George, Henry, Martha, Mary and Thomas Groves.
The 1st son of Samuel Groves, John Groves married Sarah as listed in the 1880 Estill County census. He is with his wife and three children and his brother Andrew Groves. Little is known about Andrew Groves other than he relocates to Arkansas according to his brother and his mother’s obituary several years later. George Groves marries Kate and have two girls: Myrtle and Naomi. Naomi married a Holden and is the informant on her father’s death certificate. George Groves, who was a railroad conductor, died in Florence KY in 1960 at the age of 96 yrs. He was a widow. Henry Groves possibly remained a bachelor living in Boone County and died in Florence, Kentucky in 1943. Martha Groves marries Frank Hennigan in 1895 in Grant County. She had one unnamed daughter in 1900 and a 2nd daughter in January of 1901. She apparently dies in childbirth of Brights disease, and her child dies 6 months later in 1901. Her obituary indicates she leaves three children. Mary Groves marries William Simpson Thomas in Grant County in 1888. They relocate to Clark County, home of her mother, and have four children: Catherine, Lettie, Gertrude and Charles. Several of her descendants are still in the Clark county area. Thomas Groves marries Maude or Mary Childers and has two children: Zedman Groves and an unnamed daughter. They are listed in the 1900 Kentucky census. Edward Groves who was not listed in the 1880 census but in his brother’s obituary in 1913. He married Edith Cavanaugh.
After the death of Rebecca McClain, George Groves, the 3rd son of John and Priscilla Groves marries Mahala Wolfe in June of 1860. She is the daughter of Benjamine Wolfe and Margaret Brissons of Harrison County. Her parents died when she was young. Her grandparents, John Wolfe and Rebecca Robinson of Harrison County raised Mahala and several siblings. George Groves is a Civil War Veteran, serving on the Unions 7th Calvary, Company D. He applied for a pension in 1887 for a disability due to a hernia acquired during the Civil War. He died in September of 1890 after marrying a young girl by the name of Nancy Smalley in June of that year. Mahala Wolfe applied for a widow’s pension in 1894, stating that George and she had been separated for 12 years but never divorced. Nancy Smalley, 26 years old, also applied for a widow’s pension, stating that his previous wife had died.
George and Mahala had eight children. Lewis born in 1861 married Mary Plunkett in 1894 and had 5 children. John Q. Groves born in 1862 and was married three times. His wives were Lizzie Wolfe who died in 1890, Nora Adams with whom he had at least one child, Hattie Groves who married Bill Hutchinson. In 1894 he married Minnie Jones. They had 12 children. Charles Groves married Elizabeth Ellis and had two children. Other children were Wade Groves, Martha Ellen Groves who married Thomas Gunsauli and had 5 children. Julia Ann Groves married Jesse Bryant and had 10 children. Mary Elizabeth Groves married Charles Anness, grandson of Julian Groves Anness. They have nine children. Jepetha marries Susan Jane Anness, sister of Charles and also a grandchild of Julian Groves.
Minnie Jones, wife of John Q. Groves, is the daughter of Leonard Jones and Jane Crawford and the granddaughter of Henry Harrison Jones. Several of their descendants have remained in the Grant, Boone, Harrison and Kenton County area. Their children were Eva Groves who married Peter Straub, Mary Mettie Groves who married Benjamine Morgan in 1914, John W. Groves, Minnie Jane Groves who married John Baker, Mahala Groves who married Henry Pigg, Joseph T. Groves who married Opal Anness great granddaughter of Julian Groves Anness. Grover Groves who married Carrie Schuler, Jacob Groves, Christine Groves, Coley Groves who married Marie Mays, Lewis Groves, and Jepetha Groves.
The 4th son of John and Priscilla Groves is James Groves. He married Sarah Elizabeth Indacut in Grant County in 1850. She is listed as a widow and this maybe her married name. They are listed with a 3-year-old son, James Groves, in the same year, which indicates this maybe also be a 2nd marriage for James Groves. He served in Civil War as a private in Co, F 20th KY Infantry. He enlisted Nov 16, 1861, and was discharged January 17, 1865. He served on the Union Side. James and Sarah are listed in 1870 census with 4 children, 3 of them were born before 1850 when they were married. James G. Groves b.1846, Roxie Groves b. 1848, John Groves b.1849 and Betty Groves b.1852. They later had Laura Ann Groves, born in 1854. She married John William Anness her first cousin, son of Julian Groves Anness. From 1858 to 1860, Joe, Clara, and Minie Groves were born. Sarah dies August 3, 1897, and James is listed alone in the 1900 census. He is at the home of his daughter, Laura Ann and her husband John Anness in the 1910 Harrison County census. Spouses of his other children are unknown. He dies March 13, 1913, and is buried at Raven Creek Cemetery in Harrison County next to his wife.
The 5th son of John and Priscilla Groves is Henry Groves. He is mentioned in his father will in 1852 and in his mother’s will in 1862. He is not found in future census and no marriage record is ever found for him.
Elizabeth Groves is the 2nd daughter of John and Priscilla Groves. She was born in 1834 and listed in her fathers will in 1852 and in her mother’s will in 1862. She is referred to as Elizabeth Younger. No marriage record or census data has been found for her under that name. She is believed to be wife of Morgan Young listed in the Grant County census in the 1860 There is a Morgan Young with wife Elizabeth which is similar to her age. A Prissy Groves who is 65 years old is living with the family. There is no stated relationship. (This is not Elizabeth’s mother who is living with her son, James Groves)
Addison Groves is the 6th son and John and Priscilla Groves; he was born in 1835. He is mentioned in John and Priscilla’s wills. In 1852, Addison and younger brother John H. Groves selected Wm. H. Morgan as their guardian. William Morgan is the son of Jeremiah Morgan. No other reference to Addison Groves has been found.
The youngest son of John and Priscilla Groves is John H. Groves born in 1834. In 1854 after his older brother, Addison, became of age, he selected Jeremiah Morgan as his guardian. Though there is no known connection between the Morgan and Groves family, Henry Clay Morgan, son of Wm. Morgan married Nancy Jane Anness daughter of William Anness of Cordova. This appears to be the husband of Julian Groves. Jeremiah Morgan was witness to the will of Priscilla Groves in 1862.
John H. Groves married Louisa Jane Switzer in October 1854 also known as Eliza Jane. She is the daughter of Cynthia Switzer who later married Michael New. John and Eliza Groves had eleven children. Mary E. Groves and Roxie Groves who died at birth. Missouri Ann Groves who married James Brooks, William Henry Groves who married Alice Faulkner. Other children were John A. Groves, Sarah E. Groves, Eliza Groves who married Benjamine Rulon, Perry Groves who married Francis Cunningham, and Lucy Groves who married George Magee. Ulyseus Groves whose spouse is unknown and Mollie Groves who also died at birth. John H. Groves died in Grant County June 14, 1898. John Groves is buried in the Groves Family Graveyard on the Wilbur McGill farm. His three children that died at birth are buried with him. His widow, Eliza Jane Switzer remarries G. W. Million in 1903.