Grousbeck-Day Family
Nicholas Grousbeck, my grandfather, or my father's father, was born July 27, 1794, and died at the age of 87 years, July 8, 1881. He was a German, born in York State in the Mohawk Valley. His father's name was William, 'tis thought they came from the old country. Nicholas' brothers were Peter, Hugh, and another; his sisters were Charity and Jemima. Charity married Walter Still, Jemima married Alonzo Foster.
Nicholas fought in the War of 1812. In his day it was the style to wear ruffles on their fine shirt fronts. He used to tell his grandchildren that when they came to wash his shirt they usually found the ruffle sewed on the hind flap of his shirt with black thread, and they didn't put ruffles on his shirt any more.
On June 4, 1814, he married Lucy Day. She was born at Marlboro, Vt. Aug 13, 1791, and died when 82 years of age Nov. 7, 1872. She was a Yankee and a Seventh Day Baptist, and knew her Bible well, having read it a number of times. Lucy's brothers were Rozel, Sebalon, Solomon Arabut, Giles and perhaps others, her sisters were Phebe and Marcy. Phebe married a Day, and Jed Day is her boy. He is now 81 yrs. of age and in the Old Soldier's Home at Roseburg, Oregon, he has one brother Isaac and his sister Hepsiba married a Andrew Judd.
To Nicholas Grousbeck and Lucy Day Grousbeck were born eight children as follows:
First - Sarah A. J. Grousbeck born Apr. 23, 1819. Died June 30, 1846. Married Dec. 31, 1840 James A. Farrington. To them were born two sons both now living near the old Grousbeck home.
Geo. Farrington born July 24, 1843.
Henry " " Mar. 18, 1845.
Second - Geo. W. Grousbeck, born May 19, 1821. Died at Green Bay, Wis. Dec. 12, 1895. Married Nov. 25, 1850 at Chas. Bond's, who was then Justice of the Peace in Searsburg, Vt. to Sarah L. Crozier, who was born Apr. 23, 1831. Died May 5, 1880 in Wis. They had nine children as follows: -
Mary Maria born Sept. 27, 1851 who was a twin to a boy that died. One boy died Sept. 29, 1852.
Jed Day born Jan. 15, 1855.
Lucy Ellen May born May 7, 1858, died Jan. 6, 1863.
George Ernest born Dec. 19, 1861.
Lucy Alice " Nov. 27, 1864. Died Sept. 19, 1895.
Sarah Ellen born July 8, 1870.
Laura Adell " May 31, 1874.
Third - Phebe A. Grousbeck, born July 8, 1823, died Nov. 25, 1848. She married Hiram Doane Oct. 21, 1841. They had no children.
Fourth - Lucy Grousbeck, born Oct. 12, 1825. Died Nov. 6, 1892. Married to Harvey Thorpe, Mar. 3, 1846. To them were born three children,
Hannah Thorpe Bliss
Clifford Thorpe
Fanny Thorpe Loomis.
Harvey died and Lucy then married Joseph Spooner, there was one child from this union Hollis Spooner. Joseph had three boys and one girl - Aaron, Linas and Ed and Julia.
Fifth - Maria B. Grousbeck was born May 3, 1827 and died Mar. 22, 1894. She married Lorenzo Hicks Nov. 27, 1841. To them was born one child Almond who died March 1893. The parents separated and Maria married George Fox and they had one son. George died and she then married Hosea Mann and they had one son, Hosea Jr. who is now in Torrington, Conn. And he has one son Ralph.
Sixth - William W. Grousbeck born Feb. 27, 1829, died Sept. 5, 1851 when a young man.
Seventh - David Grousbeck born June 30, 1832, married to Harriet M. Gillett, Aug. 10, 1856 at Iron Ridge, Wis. To them were born ten children as follows -
Clarisa Ann born June 2, 1857
Erbine Gillett " Dec. 26, 1858, died Sept. 15, 1908
Edith Maria born Apr. 10, 1861
Florence Ada " June 13, 1863
Marinos Edson " Oct. 21, 1865
Eugene Wilson " Nov. 14, 1869
Gertrude Lilias " Nov. 16, 1872
Clifford " Aug. 25, 1875
Jay Guy " Jan. 19, 1879, died Dec. 16, 1882
Van Earl born June 20, 1881
Eighth - Foster Grousbeck born July 6, 1835 at Searsburg, Bennington Co., Vermont. Since he was the last and the youngest of the Grousbeck family, he had to wear all of the other boys old clothes, but they were new to him, so as is very characteristic of him, he took it very good-naturedly. He still lives with his adopted son, Clarence at Jacksonville, Vt. Clarence was born Apr. 21, 1869. Foster's wife's name was Maria LeRay; they were married in Searsburg, Vt. She died a few years ago. They had one child Gratia Antoinette, born in Searsburg in 1870. She married Ed Goddard.
This is a brief record of the children and grand-children of Nicholas and Lucy Grousbeck. Shall now give in order so far as have been able to learn a record of the great-grand-children.
Sunday Aug. 1, 1909 David Grousbeck visited at the home of his oldest sister Sarah Farrington's boys, Henry and George. They had a reunion of the Farringtons. The following is a list of the Farrington's in order and those present at the reunion except those marked with a cross. David came from his Oregon home to be there.
George Farrington, Searsburg, age 64, born July 24, 1843.
Henry Farrington age 66 born Mar. 10, 1845. His wife Ophelia Corse Farrington age 57; they were married May 5, 1868.
Children of Henry & Ophelia †Chas. L. Farrington, New York age 40, born Oct. 30, 1869. George C. Farrington, Wilmington, born May 1, 1871, his wife Flora. Arthur H. Farrington, Whitingham, born Mar. 2, 1873. †Ivan W. Farrington born May 19, 1875, died Sept. 26, 1878. Alice Farrington McCormick, New York, born Jan. 11, 1876. †Frank L. Farrington born Dec. 29, 1877, died Jan. 26, 1885. †Fred A. Farrington born May 7, 1879, Address Otho, Mass. Jas. A. Farrington, born Jan. 8, 1881, his wife Della L., live at Jacksonville, Vt. Julia W. Farrington Rice., Searsburg, born June 25, 1883. Blanche V. Farrington Johnson, Summerset, born May 6, 1885. Eva I. Farrington Bartlett, born July 22, 1887, her husband Wallace E. Bartlett, Jacksonville, Vt. Roy H. Farrington, Searsburg, born July 16, 1889. Percy M. Farrington, Searsburg, born Apr. 7, 1892. Howard S. Farrington, Searsburg, born Oct 30, 1895.
Second child of Nicholas and Lucy Grousbeck, George W. Grousbeck, had the following grandchildren. Heirs of Mary Maria Grousbeck Page - two boys.
Jay Page and Joy Page. Mary married the second time to H. W. Haines and they have the following boys. Ray Haines, Roy Haines, Hollis Haines, and one adopted girl Eva B.
Jed Day Grousbeck has one girl Inez Grousbeck. George Ernest Grousbeck has one boy George.
Lucy Alice Grousbeck married John Van Bramer in Lehigh, Iowa, from this union there were several children whose names can not be given.
Sarah Ellen Grousbeck married Jed Randall, at Neilsville, Wis. They have the following children
Verna G. Randall
Ethey May "
Kenneth Leon "
Gertrude Lilias "
George L Randall
Jed D. "
Theodore "
Laura Adell Grousbeck married Gergen and they had one boy which died. She later married B. E. Denton(?) of Dewsey(?), Oregon, they have one boy Turen aged 3 years, and one girl Loal aged 2 years.
The fourth child of Nicholas and Lucy Grousbeck, Lucy Grousbeck Thorpe had the following grand-children.
Heirs of Clifford Thorpe, Flora Thorpe, Cleia Thorpe Noble and Estella Thorpe.
Heirs of Fanny Thorpe Loomis age 55 and Russel B. Loomis age 59
Edgar R. Loomis age 29
Eva W. " " " twins
Heirs of Hollis G. Spooner and Eva l. Spooner
Hazel L. Spooner age 14
Mildred A. " " "
The fifth child of Nicholas and Lucy Grousbeck, Maria B. Grousbeck had the following grand-children.
Heirs of Almond Hicks, May A. Hicks age 42, married Frank H. Alvord age 45. Their three children are Amy C. age 23, Harriet M. age 13 and Gertrude C., age 11.
The seventh child of Nicholas and Lucy Grousbeck, David Grousbeck had the following grand-children.
Clarisa Ann Grousbeck married H. H. Morris in Minn. they have one adopted child Myrtle A. Morris age 28.
Edith Maria Grousbeck married L. C. Morris, they have the following children
Victor Morris age
Carl " "
Eunice " " 13
Florence Ada Grousbeck married Frank W. Newman, they had there children as follows, Elmer who died when a child.
Erbine H. Newman age 23
Frank W. " " 20
Marinos Edson Grousbeck married Mary L. Coleman, they had one child Paul C. age 15. Mary died and Marinos married Gussie Heckart.
Eugene W. Grousbeck whose wife's name is Hazel has no heirs.
Gertrude L. Grousbeck married Edson L. Barnett and they have no heirs.
Clifford and Van Earl Grousbeck are still single.
Eighth child of Nicholas and Lucy Grousbeck, Foster has one grand-child by his adopted son Clarence, named Harold I. Grousbeck.
So far as known this is all the record, and while it is not complete and there are mistakes yet the facts have been hard to gather, but a great pleasure has been gained by getting what we could.
Written in June 1910 by one of the grand-children.
Gertrude Lilias Grousbeck Barnett, Creswell, Ore.
Groesbeck has many spelling variations, but there is only one known family. Nicholas seems to have adopted the Grousbeck spelling when he settled in Vermont. In his baptism record it is spelled Grousbeek.
This branch of the Grousbeck family seems to have been convinced that the family was of German descent and that Nicholas of Searsburg came from Germany with his father William. In fact, the family was of Dutch descent and had been in America since the mid-1600's. Nicholas' father William was the son of Nicholas of White Creek, Wash. Co., NY and Gertrude (Gertje) Waldron. Nicholas (of White Creek) names William in his will, also his second wife Sarah Van Woert. Barrington Havens, in his published Groesbeck genealogy, has Sarah married to William's son Nicholas, (who actually married Lucy Day) but the will proves this is a mistake and that she was in fact married to William's father as his second wife.
Nicholas' brother Dow in the 1885 "Jo Daviess & Carroll County Portrait & Biographical History" gives the family Dutch ancestry, but also seems unaware of how long they were in America, saying his grandfather, Nicholas of White Creek, came over from Holland.
Nicholas settled in Searsburg, VT in 1830, but he married in 1814 to Lucy Day so most of his and Lucy's children were born elsewhere. His parents were in Ephratah, Montgomery County, NY in the 1820's. His sister Charity married Walter Still there in 1824 and they also settled in Searsburg about 1832. Nicholas and Lucy are not mentioned as being in Ephratah, however, and may have been in the Washington/Rensselaer County area of NY or in Vermont.
Jemima Groesbeck's name is actually Jacomyn in her baptism record. She did not marry Alonzo Foster but Charles C. Foster. Their son was Daniel Alonzo, who sometimes went by Daniel and sometimes by Alonzo.
Both Nicholas and his father William fought in the War of 1812, but probably not together. William went to Ohio to live with Charity and Walter sometime in the late 1840's after his wife Alida died. He is buried in Birmingham, Van Buren County, Iowa, as are Charity and Walter. According to Dow, Alida died in Washington County, NY, but I haven't been able to find where, even though I live here.
Ted Rice, 20 Jan 2003