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WHO WAS - Peter Grove
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By H. W. Strawbridge

WHO WAS -Peter Grove was born Dec. 25, 1791 in Center County, Pa. His parents were Peter andSarah Whitmore Grove. the father was born in Holland and came to America as a youngfellow. He served in the Revolutionary War and was a famous Indian Fighter. He wasdrowned in the Susquehanna River in June, 1802, near Lock Haven.

The son Peter was the sixth of ten children, five sons and five daughters. He was raised inCenter County and married Fannie Bruce in 1822. She was born by Wolf’s Creek inCenter County, a daughter of James Bruce who was of Scotch-Irish extraction and anearly settler in Center County.

In 1834 Peter and Fannie and their family moved from Center County to Venango Couple,arriving at the home of his brother-in-law and sister, James and Susan Haslet, located at athree-corners junction called “Haslet’s Corners.”

It was in Oakland Township and situated about midway between Cooperstown andDempseytown.

Mrs. Haslet had acted as pilot for the journey to Venango County with Peter’s family. She rode on horseback and assisted them in moving. The Haslet family had arrived inVenango County in November, 1822, about 12 years prior to Peter’s moving.

Peter’s family stayed at the Haslet home for one winter because he had no opportunity tobuild a cabin at that time. They moved in the spring of 1835 to the hill just west ofWallaceville where Peter had previously bought 200 acres of dense wilderness for $400from a man named Charles Witman of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County.

Here Peter built a log house which sat just northeast of the present house that J. O. Groveand Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Rhoades and family now live in.

Peter Grove was the great grandfather of J. O. Grove who is well versed in the familyhistory.

Peter also built a log barn located a few rods west of the house. It was 100 feet long,indeed a big barn in that day.

Around five years after moving there, Mrs. Grove decided that she would go back toCenter County for a visit. So she and a sister-in-law, Mrs. Polly Myers, each rode a horsethrough the lonely paths to Center County. Stayed awhile, then rode back to VenangoCounty. They slept in the woods at night. This indicates that Mrs. Grove must have beena brave and fearless woman.

Under his management Peter’s 200 acres of woodland rapidly developed into a productivefarm. His sons did the larger portion of the farming. Peter, himself, had learned theblacksmith trade in Center County and it was this trade that he mainly followed for somany years. His shop sat back in the field a short distance and across the spring run. Hemade his own tools for blacksmithing from iron which he purchased at Pittsburgh. Hescattered the charcoal ashes in his fields. For many years afterward these ashes could benoticed while plowing and tilling the fields. He kept a record book of his blacksmithbusiness but it burned up years later in a fire which destroyed the home of a grandson,William R. Grove.

Peter was township assessor in 1852.

Peter and Fannie were parents of these children: Mrs. Polly Snyder, James R. Grove,William J. Grove, Robert Grove, Mrs. Sarah Fetterman, Mrs. Emeline Bradley, MissAmanda Grove and little Jane Grove. The last named one died at the age of four and isburied in the long abandoned Methodist graveyard in Sunville.

During the winter of 1840 Peter’s widowed mother moved to Plum Township into thehome of another son, Jacob Grove. She died in 1844 at the home of Peter. She wasabout 82 years old. She, too, is buried in the old Methodist graveyard in Sunville. Mostof the graves in this little cemetery, including hers and little Jane’s are unmarked and theexact locations not now known.

The death of William J. Grove, one of Peter’s sons, in 1859, happened quite unexpectedly. William, aged 30, had been helping to clear land and to roll and handle logs which wasquite heavy work. Came this particular evening and he took suddenly sick withobstruction in the intestines. He was in considerable pain all that night, the next day andnight. A doctor from Cooperstown announced there were no hopes with the exception ofone slim chance ---the administering of croton oil. He said that it would either kill or cureWilliam, but he wouldn’t give it to him without the family’s permission. Since thisappeared to be the only possible hope for life, permission was granted. After taking the oilWilliam was dead in twenty minutes. William left a widow and two children. Thechildren, Marion Grove and Miss Franc Grove, were taken into Peter’s home where theywere raised.

William’s house was located down in the hollow by the brook. After his death his brother,James R. Grove, lived there a few years. James moved it upon the hill. It is now the bigpart, or east half, of the J. O. Grove house.

Peter also raised R. P. Seely for a few years. Young Seely came there to live when he was16 about stayed there until 1861 when he enlisted in the Civil War. While in the war hebought and paid for 50 acres of land from Peter.

The Peter Grove family lived in the log house for many years. It was probably prior to theCivil War that Peter built a new stud-framed house just across the road from the log one. The new one was built mostly of cucumber and pine lumber. It was in this house thatPeter lived the rest of his life.

Around 1873 he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered . He wasn’t ableto do much but was able to attend occasional public functions for a few years.

On July 3, 1877, he attended and presided over the huge Haslet and Grove reunion held atthe Haslet homestead in Oakland Township. Excellent music was furnished by theDempseytown Cornet Band and the Sunville Drum Corps. After the rendition of “OldHundred” by the throng, the throne of grace was addressed by Rev. A. W. Teats, pastor ofthe old Oakland Evangelical Church. Then John Haslet came forward and deliveredseveral remarks upon the early history of the families represented. His speech wasfollowed by a few numbers from the band, then Rev. Robert Beaty of Cooperstown spokeupon the characteristics of the family. It proved to be a very pleasing and inspiring day.

During Peter’s very last years he was an invalid and his daughter, Miss Amanda Grove,took care of him. He died on Nov. 2, 1887, lacking less than two months of reaching his96th birthday.

His widow died the next year. She had been a longtime member of the SunvillePresbyterian Church. The couple is buried in the Grove family row which extends entirelyacross the cemetery in Wallaceville.

The Peter Grove house fell in many years ago, and now only brush and two evergreenyard trees mark the site.

Transcribed by Dr. Harry Sharp
NY & FL
patroon@ibm.net

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription ofinformation from both early and late (current contributors) work.