Thomas Grover (July 22, 1807 – February 20, 1886) was an early leader in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. He was a

polygamist Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

, a Utah politician, and a Mormon pioneer.

Biography

Grover was born on July 22, 1807, to Thomas Grover and Polly Spaulding in Whitehall, New York. At age 12, he worked as a cabin boy on the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

, where he would eventually become a captain. In 1828, he married his first wife, Caroline Whiting, with whom he had seven daughters. In September 1834, Grover joined

, being baptized by Warren A. Cowdery. After joining the church, he and his family moved to

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and the site of ...

, to join the main body of Latter Day Saints. Grover moved his family from Kirtland to

Far West, Missouri Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. I ...

. After

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 ...

Lilburn Boggs Lilburn Williams Boggs (December 14, 1796March 14, 1860) was the sixth Governor of Missouri, from 1836 to 1840. He is now most widely remembered for his interactions with Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell, and Missouri Executive Order 44, kno ...

issued an order for Mormons to be exterminated from Missouri, Grover and his family fled to

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

. Along the way, Caroline became ill. She died on October 17, 1840. That same month, Grover and Caroline's infant daughter Emma died. At age 33, Grover became a widower with five young children to care for. While in Nauvoo, Grover farmed for a living. He was also a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

and a captain in the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized Latter-day Saints Militias and Military Units, militia of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States from February 4, 1841 until January 29, 1845. Its main function was the defense of Nauvoo and surrounding Latte ...

. In 1841, Grover was called to be a member of the

presiding high council In the Latter Day Saint movement, there are two presiding high councils, one said to be "standing," and the other "traveling." The traveling high council is generally known as the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Both councils, at least in theory, presi ...

of the church in a

revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

that now appears in the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

. That same year, he began practicing

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more ...

, marrying his second wife, Caroline Eliza Nickerson Hubbard, on February 20, 1841. He later married Hannah Tupper, Laduska Tupper, Emma Walker, and Elizabeth Walker as well. He had two children with Caroline Hubbard and two sons with Hannah Tupper. From 1840 to 1844, Grover served three missions for the church in New York, Michigan, and

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. He returned to Nauvoo just after the

death of Joseph Smith Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother, Hyrum Smith, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, United States, on June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial in the town jail on charges of treason. The ...

. Grover was a captain in

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

's vanguard company of 1847 which lead the way for thousands of

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who Human migration, migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the ...

emigrating west. One of his jobs was butcher. At the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, w ...

, Grover constructed and managed a ferry that would be used by thousands of emigrants.Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868
He arrived in the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

on October 2, 1847. Once in

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

, Grover helped settle the area that is now Centerville and Farmington. He was a member of the Territorial Legislature and a Probate Judge in

Davis County, Utah Davis County is a county in northern Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 362,679, making it Utah's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Farmington, and its largest city by both population an ...

. He died on February 20, 1886, at the age of 78.

References

External links

*
homas Grover: his ancestors and descendants
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

History of Thomas GroverDocuments & Records From Nauvoo on Thomas Grover

ThomasGrover.org

Thomas Grover Biography, Pioneer of 1847"Thomas Grover"
,

Joseph Smith Papers ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a documentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint m ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grover, Thomas 1807 births 1886 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Converts to Mormonism from Methodism Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature Mormon pioneers Nauvoo Legion People from Davis County, Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States American Mormon missionaries in Canada People from Whitehall, New York Utah state court judges Bodyguards Religious leaders from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Utah