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WHO WAS - JAMES R. GROVE
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By H. W. Strawbridge FEBRUARY 25, 1959

James Roland Grove was born Feb. 13, 1828 in the portion of Center County, Pa., whichis now included in Clinton County. He was one of several children of Peter and FannieBruce Grove who moved to Oakland Township, Venango County, in 1834. In the springof 1835 the family moved on the steep hill west of Wallaceville where they made theirpermanent home. It was here that James reached his majority. He had attended the oldFairview school, located little over two miles away.

As a young man, James apparently had the spirit of adventure because he traveled throughseveral states and cities of the West in 1855 and 56. Then he returned home and resumedhis labors on the farm.

He was married to Miss Rebecca Ann Foster on April 1, 1862 with Rev. S.S. Stuntz,pastor of the Wallaceville M. E. Church, officiating. The wedding service was held at herfamily home located not far from the Grove home. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. JamesFoster, and she was born May 11, 1828.

After his marriage James invested in the oil business in Oil City. It proved to be asuccessful investment for some time, the two wells which he and another Wallacevilleman, Squire William Gill, owned being among the strongest wells in that region. Theirwells were located where stood the former O’Dwyer Hotel, handy the river where theDempseytown road goes into Oil City.

After their wells were put in James and Squire Gill purchased many lengths of coppertubing, had this installed, then went to Pittsburgh and bought two boilers and engines -one for each well. After these were put up to the wells everything went along find -pumping in many easy dollars. Then one day a destructive flood surged down through theflats of Oil City and utterly washed away everything connected with their wells. Thecopper tubing was ripped to pieces and the boilers and engines were washed away. In factJames never saw the boilers again. This of course ruined the wells and put an end toJames’ Oil City investments.

In 1864 James and Squire Gill bought three pieces of land in Wallaceville from W.W.Wallace, the man from whom the town took its name. They paid $8000 for the 62 acresof land and buildings. Then in March, 1865, they bought another four-acre property fromDaniel Ware for $1000. They then had control of the large flouring mill and five houses,one of which contained the town store. Grove and Gill first took in a third partner in thestore operation, who was William Henry Cowen. The store was under the firm name of(Grove, Gill & Cowen). Soon Cowen sold his interest to the other two. Gill and Grovehad the store until July, 1866, when Gill gave a quit-claim deed to Grove for over 42 acreson the west side of the road. Then Grove had the store himself, and his family lived in thelarge house on the corner in which was the store. In turn, Grove gave a quit-claim deed toGill for the property on the east side of the road which took in the mill.

James ran the store for nearly a year and a half, when he sold it and 21 acres to SamuelRichey for $3,000 in December, 1867. It was a sudden and unexpected transaction. James had not put it up for sale at all. Richey wanted it and they agreed on a price andthat was it.

Speaking of land transactions, James once did a good one. He bought what was latter theNelson Cheers place north of Chapmanville one morning, and sold it that evening, makinga profit of $1,000!

For a few years James’ family lived down in the hollow west of his father’s farmstead. James’ brother, William, had previously lived in the hollow until his death in 1859. Afterliving there a few years, James moved the house up on the hill across the road from hisfather’s house. James then lived up there for years. It is the present house owned by Mr.and Mrs. Lawrence Rhoades and family, but formerly owned by J.O. Grove, now living atChapmanville. Mr. Grove’s grandfather was James R. Grove. The barn still standing wasbuilt long ago by James. It was originally a horse barn with a drive through it lengthwise. In 1910 or 11, J.O. Grove moved it a bit closer to the road and put the basement under it.

James and Rebecca Grove had three children who were: William R. Grove, Mrs. KateMcClelland, and Mrs. Ella Proper.

William married Miss Emma Mark in September, 1885. They began housekeeping on theMcIntosh farm east of Wallaceville. Later they moved into his father’s house, staying therea few years before moving up to the Watt place on the corners. William, or Billy, mainlyfarmed. He did do some drilling for oil too. Billy died suddenly in 1939 at the home ofhis daughter, Mrs. Helen Alcorn at Fairview. There were several children.

Kate married Jasper McClelland, They probably went to housekeeping at Grand Valleywhere he had a team of oxen which he used every day to move big boilers. He madeconsiderable money doing this. Later the McClellands operated a hotel in Ohio. Theyended up at Alliance, O. where they are buried. Kate died sometime during the 1930’s. They have some children living in the Sugar Lake region today.

Ella married Elmer R. Proper of Wallaceville, and they first lived at his father’s place. Ellahad two operations for a tumor, after which they went to Woodville, O. From there theywent to Wheeling, W. Va., where she died on June 1, 1906, after a third operation. Shewas 39. They had no children.

James R. Grove was a fairly large man. He was at least six feet tall and weighed 200pounds easily. He was partly bald and what hair he did have didn’t become gray until hislast years. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he had no beard. He had a good set ofteeth right up until his death. He probably hadn’t lost more than two or three teeth. Thisgood photograph of him is possessed by a granddaughter, Mrs. Helen Alcorn.

Although James never bound himself to church membership, he did attend both theMethodist and Second Advent Churches of Wallaceville. He also contributed financiallytowards both, and he is remembered as having been very attentive to the sermons. He wasnamed one of the trustees in the deed when the Advents acquired their lot from HiramMiles.

There was once a certain preacher whom James highly thought of at first. He listened tohis sermons several times. One day James happened to drive over to this preacher’s placefor a call. The preacher didn’t see James coming. As James walked in the preacher wasbusy at some work and apparently things weren’t going right because he uttered somewords that aren’t spoken from the pulpit. James was profoundly shocked and he turnedaround and went back home. He never made it a point to listen to this preacher again.

James was independent in politics. He wasn’t exactly a Republican, nor was he exactly aDemocrat. He was a man who voted for the candidate whom he thought the best,regardless of what party. However, being independent caused James to get into a fewarguments at the village store. He was a Plum school director for many years and had alsobeen township treasurer for a time.

James belonged to the Dempseytown I. O. O. F for several years. He joined it on May 20,1869.

He was what might be termed a professional hunter. He used to go out to Michigan aboutevery fall where he had a contract with a large sawmill outfit to supply the mill hands inmeat. He shot many deer there.

Indians were roaming the country out there yet at that time. James told about a certainday when a lumberman was grinding his ax and several Indians gathered so close abouthim that he could hardly sharpen his ax. He swung his ax among them, scattering them. He did not injure them though. A short while later they came back full of fight, and themill hands had quite a time quieting them down. It seems there had been one bad Indianwho led this quarrel. A few days later he was found dead behind a log. It was presumedthat some of his own tribe had murdered him.

James told too how clever the Indian girls were out there. They would run to a creekbank seven or eight feet high, jump into a birch bark canoe, landing squarely, and rowaway. They would make bets with the lumbermen whether they (lumbermen) could do it. None could. These Indian girls could also play poker as good as any of the white menthere.

The fall of 1882 was the last season James hunted there, or ever hunted again. Hisnephew, Marion Grove, was accidentally shot and killed out there that fall and Jamesnever took to the sport again.

It was about the mid 1880’s that James operated for a while a stave mill in Wallaceville,located beside the flouring mill. Back during the 1860’s, James had sold a lot of his timberto stave buyers in Titusville.

On May 1, 1883, Mrs. Rebecca Grove died from what was termed as kidney trouble. Shewas a slender woman, perhaps of average height. She was hard of hearing.

After James’ aged parents died in 1887 and 88, he moved into their house across the roadand always remained there.

James had some wells for oil sunk down on his farm. Probably sometime during the1880’s a well know oil producer named T. W. Phillips put down a well on the westernside of the farm. Some oil and gas were found, but not enough to pay pumping in thosetimes when they practically wanted gushers. When the men drove the casing down itdryed up the spring on the present Rhoades place. After the casing was pulled up thespring commenced flowing again. Then in 1889 Miles & Guild drilled a well on the farm. It was poor. Still later Billy Grove drilled three wells, but they yielded nothing.

During the latter 1880’s and early 1890’s James carried mail from the Wallaceville postoffice to the Sunville postoffice, and from there to Chapmanville, then making stops atDiamond and Gresham, and finally Titusville. He drove a team of ponies, one a gentleroan pony weighing 1000 pounds, and the other a spirited fast cream-colored pony. Jamesused to put his grandson, Oakley on the gentle one to ride sometimes. Probably a mannamed Phillips succeeded him in carrying the mail.

In 1893 James took the privilege of attending the World’s Fair in Chicago with hisson-in-law, Jasper McClelland.

During James’ last years he had a type of kidney trouble. Then one night he suffered astroke and lived around two years. His spinster sister, Miss Amanda Grove, helped tocare for him. His grandson, Oakley, regularly shaved him. Dr. W. J. Richey was thefamily doctor. James finally took a summer cold which he had five days when he diedunexpectedly on the afternoon of Aug. 26, 1909.

Obsequies in his memory were held in his late home on the 30th. He was buried in thelong Grove Family row in the Wallaceville Cemetery.

Nothing remains anymore of his home only the foundations and some tall evergreen yardtrees, then brush surround these today.

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.