beginning on page 67, part way down:
57 - Thomas Grover Jr, (5), b. about 1760, nr Grafton, Mass.; died Feb 1807, Whitehall, Washingotn Co., N. Y.;
Married (1) abt 1785, near Conway, Mass., Ruth Bacon, (born 9 Feb 1762, Sutton, Mass.; daughter of William and Mary (Dalrymple) Bacon, of Sutton and Conway, Mass.). She died 1795-96, and he then
Married (2), 1799, at Fort Ann, N.Y., Polly Spaulding, (b. 22 Feb. 1779, Andover, Mass.; died 5 April 1859, Weedsport. N. Y.; daughter of Silas and Hannah (Brown) Spaulding). His widow, Polly (Spaulding) Grover, married (2) 1810, David Young, who died abt 1827; she then married (3) 20 May 1830, Elihu Everts, at Granville. N.Y.
This Thomas Grover, born abt 1760 Grafton, may possibly have been the "Thomas Grover", private, in Captain Joseph Slarrow's Co., Col. Leonard's Reg't., who served from Feb 24 to April 10, 1777, on Expedition to Ticonderoga" in the Revolutionary War. His age would have been about right, and this Reg't. was from Worchester and Hampshire Counties, Mass.
Children of first marriage [to Ruth Bacon]
79 - Nathan (6), b 7 Jan 1788, Conway, Mass. (no further rec.)
80 - Joel, (6) b. 8 Jan 1790, Conway; M - about 1813, Lorinda Newhall. (This is the first record of the name Joel in the Grover family; believe he was named after his uncle Joel Bacon, the mother's brother).
81 - Joab (6) b. 12 Dec 1791, Conway; M - 22 March 1812, at Ashfield, Elizabeth Phipps.
82 - Enoch, b. abt 1793, Conway; d - 2 Apr 1828, Conway.
83 - Lydia, (or Lillian), b. 15 Jan 1794, Conway. M - 2 Feb 1812, Conway, Daniel Ward, of Ashfield.
Upon the death of his first wife, Ruth, abt 1795-96, Thomas evidently left the children for a short time with her parents, then living in Conway, and he headed northwest, possibly to again see his parents, who were evidently then living in or near Whitehall, N. Y. He then met, and married (2) Polly Spalding, as noted above. It is apparent he then returned to Conway for his children, and took them to Whitehall; the Second U.S. Census, 1800, for Whitehall, shows two Thomas Grover families then living in Whitehall, evidently Thomas Grover Sr, and Thomas Jr, the later with his second wife, Polly, and the five children of his first marriage. After his death in 1807, and Polly's remarriage to David Young, in 1810, most of the above children returned to Conway to be with their grandmother, who lived in Conway until her death in Dec. 1817, at age of 88 years.
Children of second marriage [Polly Spalding]
84 - Hannah, (6) b. abt 1800-1801, Fort Ann, N. Y.
85 - Percia, (6) b. Oct 1802, Fort Ann, N.Y.; d - 22 Mar 1895; M - John A Kein.
86 - Elsina, (6) b. 14 Jan 1804, Fort Ann; d. - 1840; M - abt 1826, Thomas Jefferson.
87 - Leonard, (6) b. abt 1805-06, Whitehall, N. Y.; "killed by a log, at abt 8 yrs of age".
88 - Thomas (6), b. (posthumously) 22 July 1807, Whitehall, N.Y.; died 19 Feb 1886, Farmington, Davis County, Utah; M - (1) 1828, at Whitehall, Caroline Whiting, (d 17 Oct 1840, Nauvoo, Ill.) M - (2) 20 Feb 1841, at Nauvoo, Caroline Eliza (Nickerson) (Hubbard), widow of Marshall Hubbard; M (3) 17 Dec 1844, Nauvoo, Hannah Tupper: (4) 1846, Nauvoo, Loduska (or Laduska) Tupper; (5) 1856, at Salt Lake City, Utah, Elizabeth Walker; and, (6) 1857, Salt Lake City, Emma Walker
As stated earlier, two probate records on file for Hampshire Co., Mass., show where Thomas Grover Sr. sold or transferred land and property in Montague to his son Thomas Grover Jr., the first in July 1783, and secondly in January 1786, about the time Thomas Jr. married (1) Ruth Bacon. No record is found of the later sale of these properties by Thomas Jr, after moving to Conway. Evidently not recorded.
Whitehall records, recently found in large scrapbooks in the New York State Library at Albany, show 'Thomas Grover' as a 'Pathmaster" in list of Town Officers at Whitehall, in April 1796. A list of 'Pathmasters', dated April 1799 includes 'Thomas Grover Jr.', and he is also listed as "Overseer of Highways", in April 1806, a year before he died. Local investigation in Whitehall revealed that the land and property of Thomas and Polly Grover was at the north end of town, immediately adjoining the south end of Lake Champlain' their property was on the west bank of Wood's Creek, which was later dredged, and became the Barge Canal, connecting Lake Champlain with the Hudson River, at Hudson Falls, the county seat. It was here that young Thomas, born July 1807, began his work as a cabin boy at about 12 years of age, later becoming Captain of a combined freight and passenger boat on the Canal System, connecting Whitehall and Lake Champlain with the Hudson, Albany, and the Erie Canal which went west to Buffalo.
Also found in these large scrap books at Albany, or news-clippings concerning Whitehall, from papers published in nearby towns so long ago, was a receipt, written in longhand, and signed by "Poly Grover", dated at Whitehall, June 1, 1819: - "Received of Justin Smith, one of the Overseers of the Poor, Eight Dollars and Fifty Cents, towards the support of Mrs. Brainard's children", and signed: "Poly Grover". Mrs. Brainard's children are named elsewhere as being Isaac, and Rosana. Evidently Polly found it necessary or convenient to care for children of the poor or motherless, in addition to her own family.
Polly Spalding's father, Silas, was a distinguished veteran of the Revolution, as shown hereafter in the Spalding family data, being the subject of a very special letter of commendation, together with four other enlisted men, from his superior office to the Hon. Council of Massachusetts Bay, at Boston and Cambridge, 1776-77, from Bennington, Vt., after the two battles there.
