Thomas-Brooks-Bulloch County GaArchives Biographies.....Groover, James I. 1835 - living in 1913
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 20, 2004, 10:25 am

Author: William Harden
p. 838-839

   JAMES I. GROOVER, M. D. Spending the best part of his life in the practice of
medicine, James I. Groover, M. D., was for forty-five years one of the leading
physicians of the Grooversville district, where he won an extended reputation
for skill and ability, and built up a large and lucrative patronage. A son of
James Groover, he was born November 18, 1835, in that part of Thomas county now
included within the limits of Brooks county. His grandfather, John Groover, was
of Dutch ancestry, and as far as known, was born in Bulloch county, Georgia,
which was his home for many years, although his last days were spent in Brooks
county.

   Born September 6, 1798, in Bulloch county, Georgia, James Groover was there
reared and married. Subsequently, accompanied by his wife and three children, he
came to what is now Brooks county, making the entire journey in a cart drawn by
one horse, and bringing with him in the one cart all of his earthly possessions.
At the time of his arrival there were but two families in the vicinity, those of
Willis King and Henry Melton. The county was in its original wildness, bear,
deer, wolves, and game of all kinds sharing the forests with the Indians, who
frequently so terrorized the few white settlers that they banded together for
protection against their raids. There were no railroads for years after he came
to this region, and he, in common with his neighbors, used to haul all of his
produce to either Tallahassee or Newport, Florida. The land was for sale in lots
of four hundred and eighty acres each, the prices ranging from $5.00 to $50.00
each. He purchased several lots, including lot number 509, on which he built a
log house for his first residence. He subsequently whip-sawed lumber to erect a
frame house in lot number 505, in what is now the Grooverville district, and
continued his agricultural labors, with the assistance of his slaves clearing
large tracts of land. In common with his neighbors he lived in a primitive
manner, having very little farm machinery, while his wife, whose household
conveniences were very limited, used to do all of her cooking by the open
fireplace, and in addition to her other duties carded, spun, and wove all of the
material from which she fashioned the garments worn by her family. He was a man
of influence, his death, which occurred August 11, 1874, removing from his
community one of its most valued citizens. He was active in religious work, and
both he and his wives were members of the Missionary Baptist church.

   James Groover was twice married. He married first, Elizabeth Denmark, who was
born October 27, 1803, in Bulloch county, Georgia, and died in 1848, aged
forty-five years. He married second, Mrs. Sarah Ann (Hagan) Groover, widow of
Malachi Groover. His first wife bore him children as follows: Eliza, Redding J.,
Wiley W., Charles A., Thomas A., Clayton, Martha, Allen W., James I., Sally Ann,
John Burton, Mary Jane, Daniel W., Henry C., Francis M., and Clinton D. By his
second marriage he had one son, Fuller.

   Laying a solid foundation in the pioneer schools of his native district for a
good education, James I. Groover subsequently continued his studies in
Thomasville two years, during his long vacations assisting his father in the
work of the farm, when old enough going occasionally to either Tallahassee or
Newport, Florida, with loads of farm produce, being several days in making the
round trip. His natural inclinations turning him toward a professional career,
he afterwards spent three years at the University of North Carolina, and at the
age of twenty-five years was graduated from the Medical department of the New
York University with the degree of M. D. Immediately locating in the
Grooverville district, Brooks county, Doctor Groover had a long and eminently
useful career as a physician, during the forty-five years that he continued in
active practice gained to a marked degree the confidence of the community, and
built up an extremely lucrative patronage. When ready to retire from his
profession, the doctor announced his intention in church, arising in his seat
and telling his friends that they would confer a favor upon him by never calling
upon him again for professional services. At the outbreak of the Civil war
Doctor Groover enlisted in the Brooks County Volunteers, which became a part of
the Twenty-sixth Georgia Volunteer Infantry, and continued with his regiment in
all of its marches, campaigns and battles, and after the surrender resumed his
practice in Grooverville.

   Doctor Groover has been twice married. He married first, in 1860, in New York
City, Emily S. Johnson, a native of Connecticut. She died in 1885. The doctor
married second, in 1887, Mittie Groover, who was born in Grooverville district,
a daughter of Joseph Groover. By his first marriage Doctor Groover had one son,
Clarence I. Groover, now publisher of the Enquirer and Sun, at Columbus,
Georgia. He married Mary Davis, and they have two children, Emily and Herbert.
The doctor is a member of the Episcopal church, to which his first wife also
belonged.


Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913

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