Josiah Grout Jr. (May 28, 1841July 19, 1925) was an American lawyer and politician from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. A Republican, he served multiple terms in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

and

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

, including holding the leadership post of

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

from 1874 to 1876 and 1886 to 1890. He served as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

from 1896 to 1898.

Early life

Grout was born in Compton in the British Canadian Province of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

on May 28, 1841, a son of Josiah and Sophronia (Ayer) Grout. His parents were native Vermonters, and they returned to Vermont when Grout was six years old. He received his early education in the public schools and at Orleans Liberal Institute at

Glover, Vermont Glover is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 1,114. It contains two unincorporated villages, Glover and West Glover. The town is named for Brigadier General John Glover, w ...

. He was a student at St. Johnsbury Academy when the Civil War broke out, and he left to enlist in the Union Army for the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Military service

On October 2, 1861, Grout joined Company I,

1st Vermont Cavalry The 1st Vermont Cavalry Regiment was a three years' cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, Eastern Theater from November 1861 to August 1865, in the Cavalry Corp ...

as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

. On October 22, he received his commission as a second lieutenant later that month, and was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on April 25, 1862. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on April 4, 1863. Grout took part in 17 battles and was wounded in the

Skirmish at Miskel Farm The Skirmish at Miskel Farm, also known as the Fight at Miskel Farm or Gunfight at Miskel Farm, was a skirmish during the American Civil War. It took place April 1, 1863, near Broad Run in Loudoun County, Virginia, between Mosby's Rangers and ...

on April 1, 1863. Grout requested return to his regiment, but on October 1, 1863, he was discharged due to his wounds. After the Confederate St. Albans Raid in late 1864, in January 1865, Grout was commissioned as a captain and assigned to command Company M, Vermont Frontier Cavalry, which performed patrol duty along the Canadian borders with New York and Vermont. He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in March 1865 and mustered out in June 1865.

Career

After the war, Grout studied law in Barton with his brother,

William W. Grout William Wallace Grout (May 24, 1836October 7, 1902) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Grout was born in Compton in Lower Canada (now Quebec), the son of Josiah and Sophronia (Ayer ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in December 1865, and in 1866 moved to Island Pond, where he was in charge of customs collections for the districts of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

and

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

. In October 1867, he married Harriet Hinman, daughter of Aaron and Nancy (Stewart) Hinman. In 1874, he moved to Chicago, and afterward to

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

, where he was one of the supervisors of

Rock Island County Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 144,672. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

for two years. He returned to Vermont in 1880, where he took up farming, and raised some of the finest

Jersey cattle The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. The milk is high in butterf ...

, blooded

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

s and

Shropshire sheep The Shropshire breed of domestic sheep originated from the hills of Shropshire, and North Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s. The breeders in the area used the local horned black-faced sheep and crossed them with a few breeds of white-faced ...

in Vermont. A Republican, Grout represented Newport in the

in 1872 and 1874, and

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in 1884, 1886 and 1888. In 1874, 1886 and 1888 he was

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. He was elected to the

from Orleans County in 1892. Grout was also head of the Republican Club of Derby and was vice president of the Vermont League of Republican Clubs for four years, and president for one. At the Republican State Convention on June 17, 1896, Grout was narrowly nominated as the party's candidate for governor, receiving 339 votes compared to William W. Stickney's 336. He easily beat Democrat J. Henry Jackson in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, receiving 53,426 votes (76.4%) to Jackson's 14,855 (21.2%). Grout's term was highlighted by enhancement to the state's educational system, a visit to the

Tennessee Centennial Exposition The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition was an exposition held in Nashville from May 1 – October 31, 1897 in what is now Centennial Park. A year late, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of Tennessee's entry into the union in 17 ...

. The

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

broke out during Grout's term, and at the start of the war Grout tended the services of a regiment of infantry and a battery of six guns from the Vermont Militia, which was accepted by the federal government. On May 21, 1898, he dispatched a regiment of 47 officers and 980 men to the war. Due to the short duration of the war, however, the Vermont regiment saw no active service and returned to the state on August 21, where it was reviewed by Grout at Camp Ethan Allen. In October 1898, Grout was succeeded by

Edward Curtis Smith Edward Curtis Smith (January 5, 1854 – April 6, 1935) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as the 47th governor of Vermont from 1898 to 1900. Early life Edward Cu ...

. In 1898, Grout received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, and he received an honorary LL.D. from

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

in 1899. Grout again represented Derby in the Vermont House in 1904. Grout died in Newport on July 19, 1925. He was buried at Derby Center Cemetery. His son Aaron H. Grout, served as

Vermont Secretary of State The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repr ...

from 1923 to 1927.

References

Additional reading

* Crockett, Walter Hill, ''Vermont The Green Mountain State,'' New York: The Century History Company, Inc., 1921, pp. iv:162, 177, 242, 244–245, 248, 250, 257–260, 268,-269, 293, 295–296, 299. * Dodge, Prentiss C., compiler. ''Encyclopedia Vermont Biography 1912,'' Burlington, VT: Ullery Publishing Company, 1912, p. 49. * Peck, Theodore S., compiler, ''Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861–66. Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, pp. 253, 656–657. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grout, Josiah 1842 births 1925 deaths Republican Party governors of Vermont People of Vermont in the American Civil War Republican Party Vermont state senators Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont lawyers People from Derby, Vermont People from Newport (city), Vermont 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly

Early life

Military service

Career

See also

References

Additional reading