Reverend Aaron Burt Grosh (1803 – March 27, 1884), a Universalist minister, was one of the eight founders of the

National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

, a fraternal organization in the United States. He had a major part in the design of the Grange ritual and was also responsible for the various songs used during various celebrations of the Grange. Grosh accepted a position in the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

soon after its establishment, where he served as the first Department Librarian of the

United States National Agricultural Library The United States National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a national library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture. Located ...

from 1867 until 1869.Paskoff, Beth M. 1990
"History and characteristics of agricultural libraries and information in the United States"
''Library Trends'' 38(3):331-349. He wrote a volume for members of the Grange to give them a better understanding of the organization and its teachings. He also wrote the ''Odd Fellows Improved Manual'' for the same purpose.

Legacy

The other founders of the Grange were

Oliver Hudson Kelley Oliver Hudson Kelley (January 7, 1826 – January 20, 1913) was one of the key founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization in the United States.William D. Barns, "Oliver Hudson Kelley and the ge ...

, William Saunders, Francis M. McDowell, John Trimble,

John R. Thompson John Richardson Thompson (July 28, 1834 – February 12, 1894) was one of the eight founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization in the United States. Biography Thompson was born on July 28, 1834, ...

, William M. Ireland and Caroline A. Hall. The

is located in

Beltsville, Maryland Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...

. The Aaron B. Grosh Mentoring Award is named for him.

References

''The Founders of the Grange''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosh, Aaron B. American librarians 1803 births 1884 deaths Clergy of the Universalist Church of America National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry United States Department of Agriculture officials United States National Agricultural Library 19th-century American clergy