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Person Page 1884

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Timothy Gruell1   father of husband of 1st cousin 5xR
b. 4 July 1774, d. 31 December 1850, #1884

One branch of the Gruwell family was founded by patriarch Timothy Gruwell (1774 - 1850), great-grandson of John Gruwell and Mary Cook of Delaware, and his wife Alice Pennock (1776 - 1868).

Born in Delaware to Peter Gruwell and Sarah Shore (lastname ?), Timothy was orphaned as a child and placed in the care of the Temple family (as detailed in the Gaskill Papers ). Eventually Timothy left Delaware with the family of his married half-sister Elizabeth Clemmons Temple and settled in the Philadelphia area. During this time, young Timothy was apprenticed to a shoemaker, a trade he would practice for the rest of his life. Philadelphia served as the capital of the newly formed United States of America from 1790 to 1800, and it was here that Timothy met Alice while attending the Friend's Monthly Meetings at nearby Kennett Square in Chester County, Pennsylvannia.

After marrying in a Quaker ceremony in 1803, the newlyweds first settled in Campbell County, Virginia with Alice's parents, William Pennock and Mary Martin. Soon thereafter both families purchased Federal land grants and migrated to Marlboro Township, Stark County, Ohio.

"Early in the spring of 1807, Timothy Gruwelle loaded his family of wife and two young daughters into a wagon and started to their new home in the trackless wilderness in the Northwest Territory. After a long, tedious journey, they crossed the Ohio River and entered what is now known as Columbiana County, and arrived at a settlement called Bull Creek near the present village of Damascus and about 50 miles west of Ft. Pitt, now Pittsburgh, Pa. Here at Bull Creek settlement, they found an abandoned log cabin and here the family remained while the husband and father pushed further westward into the wilderness to his land previously entered for him by his brother-in-law, John Pennock, and became the second settler in Marlboro Twp, Stark County, then Lexington Twp, Columbiana County."
"With the aid of the few settlers, far and near, a log cabin was built consisting of one room and loft. Gruwelle then returned to his family and they moved to their new home and for many years endured the hardships and deprivations of pioneer life." (Full Text) Correspondence of Joseph W. Gaskill.

While in Marlboro, Ohio, Timothy and Alice raised a large family of thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters. Their eldest, daughter Sarah Gruwell Elliott (1804 - 1868), was the only family member not to migrate to Iowa, rather she married a young physician, Benjamin Elliott, and settled in southern Michigan. The couple's second son, John Pennock Gruwell (1810 - 1896), was a learned physician with broad scholarly interests, having published several volumes on the alphabet and language. Twin daughters Alice Gruwell Hawley (1821 - 1897) and Ann Gruwell Heacock (1821 - 1893) were noted Quaker ministers, each travelling to surrounding communities to preach their faith. The remainder of the Gruwell children pursued agricultural interests, such as farming and threshing. The entire Gruwell family was active in the Friend's Marlboro Monthly Meeting, with both Timothy and Alice serving as elders. Although a bootmaker by trade, Timothy also farmed the small family homestead situated just to the east of Carr's Corner near Marlboro. (Link to Carrs corner's map) After Timothy's death in 1850, his adult children and their families moved westward, settling in Gower Township, Cedar County, Iowa.

"As she traveled westward with her parents one month was consumed in making the journey from Ohio to Iowa with wagons, for there were no railroads at that day. They had a wagon loaded with their household goods, while a two-seat carriage was occupied by the family. With the exception of the two youngest children, who were born here, all made the long journey across the prairies from Ohio to Iowa. Mrs. Enlow can remember the time when the town of West Branch had no existence and other flourishing towns and villages of this part of the state were little more than hamlets. She has seen the wild lands converted into fine farms and the primitive homes replaced by large and substantial dwellings, giving every evidence of the prosperity which has blessed the county as the result of the energy and business enterprise of its citizens." (Full Text) Biography of Cynthia Gruwell Enlow.

There in Cedar County, Iowa, Timothy and Alice's children (along with Alice herself who made the journey in 1858 via a Certificate of Removal from Marlboro Monthly Meeting that same year) helped to found the Quaker communities of West Branch and Springdale. Here in these new environs the family flourished, undertaking all manner of pioneer trade and business (several Gruwell buildings from these early days still remain today in the historic downtown business district of West Branch). Putting aside their industrious endeavors, the clan would periodically gather at Gruwell Family Reunions to socialize, tell family lore, and give remembrance to their forebears.
"[1 September 1883] The Gruwell Reunion at Honey Grove, on last Saturday, passed off very pleasantly. The forenoon was spent in reading communications from absent ones, and giving reminiscense of earlier days. At one o'clock the whole group sat down to the family dinner, which was divided into five different tables, and consisted of the choicest productions of the land. The afternoon was occupied in social enjoyment." (Full Text) The Tipton Advertiser.

Timothy and Alice had many notable offspring, including several men who served during the Civil War. Their grandson Joseph W. Gaskill (1843 - 1932), who was an early family historian, served in the 104th Regiment Ohio Infantry and later published his personal diary of daily life as a Union soldier called "Footprints through Dixie". Another grandson, Timothy A. Gruwell (1848 - 1865) who served in the 35th Regiment Iowa Infantry, was not as lucky to survive the conflict and died at Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia. The couple's great-granddaughter Anna Mary Heald Minthorn (1857 - c1940) was an aunt by marriage to Herbert C. Hoover, Thirty-first President of the United States and a fellow Quaker whose birthplace was also in West Branch. After more than a century, there are still Gruwell's residing in this vicinity today. An excellent resource for this Gruwell branch is The Ancestors of Charles Clement Heacock by Roger Clement Heacock.2

Name Variation Timothy Gruell was also found as Timothy Gruwell.

Birth 4 July 1774 Timothy was born on 4 July 1774 at Dover, Kent county, Delaware. His father was Peter Grouvelle /Gruwell and mother was Sarah Shores. Some say that Peter was from France.2

Marriage 6 Jan 1803 Timothy Gruell, 28 years old, married Alice Pennock, who was 26 years old, 6 January 1803 in Goose Creek Monthly Meeting, Bedford county, Virginia.1,2
Children
1.     Sarah GRUWELL b: 24 SEP 1804 in Goose Creek, Bedford Co., VA.
2.     Mary GRUWELL b: 16 DEC 1805 in Cambell Co., VA. or Bedford Co., VA.
3.     Elizabeth GRUWELL b: 16 DEC 1805 in Cambell Co., VA. or Marlboro, Stark Co., OH.
4.     William GRUWELL b: 15 DEC 1808 in Marlborough, Stark Co., OH.
5.     John Gruwell GREWELL b: 14 FEB 1810 in Prob. Marlboro, Stark Co., OH.
6.     Moses GRUWELL b: 14 APR 1811 in Marboro, Stark Co., OH.
7.     Isaac GRUWELL b: 22 DEC 1811 in Marlborough, Stark Co., OH.
8.     Hannah GREWELL b: 13 SEP 1815 in Marlborough, Stark Co., OH.
9.     Aaron GRUWELL b: 8 JUN 1817 in Marboro, Stark Co., OH.
10.     Timothy GRUWELL b: 31 OCT 1818 in Marboro, Stark Co., OH.
11.     Allis GRUWELL b: 11 SEP 1821 in Marboro, Stark Co., OH.
12.     Ann GRUWELL b: 11 SEP 1821 in Marboro, Stark Co., OH.
13.     Charity R. GRUWELL b: 27 AUG 1823 in Marlboro, Stark Co., OH.

  
Death 31 Dec 1850 Timothy died on 31 December 1850 in Marlborough township, Stark county, Ohio at age 76.3 

Family Alice Pennock   b. 30 August 1776, d. 23 April 1868
Children  1. Sarah A Gruwell+ b. 24 Oct 1804, d. 30 Aug 1868
  2. Isaac Gruell b. 22 Dec 1811, d. 15 Mar 1877
  3. Timothy Gruwell+ b. 31 Dec 1818

Citations
  1. [S359] John D. Elliott, History of Elliott Family..
  2. [S1308] Download, Family data of Royce Allen Gruwell
    Publication: Website of Royce Allen Gruwell
    Note: Royce Allen Gruwell
    4013 Sunset Lane
    Channel Islands, CA, 93035
    (805) 984-7892 http://members.aol.com/ragruwell/iahome.html.
  3. [S1308] Download, http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ggrewell&id=I5119 Gerry Grewell.
  4. http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/15932494/person/428211613?pgNum=1     troutbumcase  on ancestry.
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