THE
GRUWELL FAMILY
Pages
76-82
Peter Gruwell, the
grandfather of Elizabeth Clement Gruwell Gaskill, was killed as a soldier in
the Revolutionary War, within a few months of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence.
Peter's grandfather
or his great-grandfather died in Kent county, Delaware between January 23 and
March 5, 1733-4, leaving four sons, Jacob, Abraham, John and Peter.(*)
John Gruwell, first of his line in America, must have settled in Delaware near
the beginning of the eighteenth century. He first lived at St. John's Neck,
Kent county, and later moved to South Murderkill Hundred, where he bought land.**
John
Grewell is reported in the Delaware and Ohio histories to have been born in
France, but details are not given, nor is there any explanation of how a French
family happened to settle in Delaware, which was then populated by Swedes,
Dutch, and English.
The name
"Grewell" suggests Dutch rather than French origin, but it does not
appear among the lists of early Dutch settlers in Delaware. The name of John
Grewell does appear, however, in the membership lists of the Dutch church in
London, covering the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries:
1585--A Cathalog or
Roule of the names of all those which are of the Duche Churche or Congrigacion
in London, made the nyntenth daye of the monethe of July in the yeare of our
Lorde God a Thowsand fyve houndreth fowreskore and fyve, and in the seaven and
twentithe yeare of the Raigne of our most gracious and soveraigne Lady
Elizabeth by the grace God Queene of Englande, France, & Ireland,
Defendresse of the Faythe, &cc--
In the Parishe of
St. Olave in Shorte
Southworke
John Gruell
(*)Archives of Kent County, Delaware, will of John Gruwell, dated Jan.
23, published |
**History
of Delaware, J. M. Runk & Co., 1899, Vol. 11, p. 813. |
Tax levies for the following dates:
7 August, 36 Elizabeth (1594)
31 August, 40 Elizabeth (1598)
29 August, 41 Elizabeth (1599)
27 August, 42 Elizabeth (1600)
The Borough of Southwark--St. Olaves Parishe--Straungers
John Grewell j pole viij d.
(This indicates one person subject to the pole tax, and the amount, viij or 8
pence.)
Denizations (Naturalizations) 11 James I, December 23, 1613
John Greywell, a subject of the Duke of Brabant, born in the town of
Hunsbrooke.
Dutch Church
Register, 1617, Members being Handecraftmen-- Without the Citye--Joyners.
Denysons--Jan Gruwel Dwelled here .... yrs.
(Jan Gruwell is listed at another place in the same register as a
"Schrynwercker", with his "Vaderland" given as
"Valckenborg.")
Dutch Church Members 1617
(?)
In
the Suburbs of London--St. Plaus Parish, Southwarke--Jan Gruwell, joyner, his
wife an Englishwoman.
Return 18 September
1618--by the Constables of St. Olave's Southwark, of the Straungers residing
within their district.
In Smythes Alley
A
free dennisone John Grewell, by trade a joynner, bornne in Valkenborowe, vnder
the Arch Ducke, byn in England 40 yeares. (Signed) John Gruwell.
Return 19 March
1621-2 by the Masters and Wardens of the Joiners, Ceilers and Carvers Company
of all the strangers using their trade within the Borough of Southwark.
The Masters The Servants
John Grvell
etc
Tax Assessment, 24
June 1624. John Gruell in Smythe's Alley. j pole viij d.
Tax Assessment 9
March 1625--same as above.
The above records
all appear to refer to the same individual, and indicate that John Gruwell came
to England from the Netherlands in 1578, married an Englishwoman, and became a
master joiner, or carpenter. The connection between this John Gruwell and the
John Gruwell who was Peter's grandfather cannot be established. Their births
occurred about a century apart.
The wide variation
is the spelling of the name of the same individual in the old London records
will have been noted. There are other records mentioning persons with similar
names:
1568. John
Connygrave and his wife, a denison and goeth to the parishe church; James
Gruwell, his servant, goethe to the Dutche churche.
January 1568.
Natives of the lands of King Phillippe--Members of French church--Pierre Gruel.
(Philip was King of
Spain and the Netherlands).
1568. Jacklyng
Gruell, Burgonyan, silkweaver; goeth to the French churche--Douche persone.
1568. Henrick
Gruell, born in Brabant; go to the parishe churche, and are servantes with
Francis Hilles, joyner. Dutch persons.
(A year before
Henrick Gruell was listed as a servant to Peter Mane, and as "new
come.")
1568. Tussan
Levassure, hatmaker . . . Anthonye Grewell, French servant, . . to French
church.
1571. Bysshoppsgate
Warde--Sainte Botholphes. Anthony Gruell, hatmaker, and Jacabyn his wife, and
Osterlinge his aunte, all of French nacion, in Englande tenne yeares, and hath
dwelt in this warde but nyne monethes. French, 3.
The people
mentioned in these records, with the possible exception of the Frenchman,
Anthony Gruell, left the Netherlands or nearby provinces during the period of
the rebellion of the Prince of Orange, which won the independence of Holland
and Belgium from the Spanish crown. The war, and the persecutions of the
protestants, caused great suffering, and has left in history such names as the
Duke of Alva and the Spanish Inquisition, the mention of which is enough to cause
a feeling of horror.
Being protestants,
as indicated by their London church attendance, these people had reason enough
to flee Europe.
While it cannot be
established that the London records concern the family of Peter Gruwell, they
throw some doubt on the tradition that his grandfather was a native of France.
The definite possibility is raised that the ancestors of his grandfather fled
from war and persecution on the European continent several generations earlier,
and took refuge in England, and that John was born and emigrated from there to
America.
The Kent county
records contain the will of John Gruwell (1733-4) already mentioned, listing
his sons, and the will of Mary Gruwell, dated March 27, 1748, giving her heirs
as her daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and her son Jacob who was the executor.
Mary Gruwell must have been John's widow, and Jacob the eldest son and
principal heir, the other sons having doubtless received their smaller shares
from their father's estate, with the bulk of the father's property remaining
for the eldest son after the widow's death. John Gruwell may have died rather
young, since the two daughters were unmarried 15 years later. The son Peter
died before April 6, 1774, the date when administration was granted on his
estate. The son John died before May 10, 1764, when Jonathan Gruwell (his son?)
was named administrator of his estate. This John is probably identical with the
John Grewell(*) who on April 25, 1757 enlisted in a militia company,
which was presumably to engage in the French and Indian War. A paper found in
the Prothonotary's office at Dover, endorsed on the back "Muster Roll of
Captain Caton's Company, Coln. John Vinnig's Regement" reads as follows:
"A true trs. of those inlisted in the company of which John Caton is captain
and Joseph Caldwell Lieutenant and James Caldwell Ensign." (There follow
names and enlistment dates, including John Grewell, April 25th, 1757). This is
published on page 13 of the Delaware Archives, Military.
The Delaware
histories say that Peter, who died in the Revolution was a son of Jacob, and a
grandson of John Grewell. If so, the Gruwell line is probably: John (died
1733-4) -- Jacob (adult 1748) -- Peter (killed 1776) -- Timothy; and the John
who enlisted in 1757 was Peter's uncle. There is a possibility that a
generation is missing, and that the line should be: John (died 1733-4) -- John
(died 1764) -- Jacob -- Peter. In this event, the John who enlisted in 1757 was
Peter's grandfather rather than his uncle. Jacob Gruwell, Peter's father, brother
or cousin, also enlisted in the Delaware Militia in April, 1776, and a
facsimile of the enlistment with his signature affixed is printed on page 1238
of the Archives. Jacob agreed to serve under the rules of the Continental
Congress in the "Militia Light Infantry Company of Dover." These same
Archives give the military record of Peter Gruwell, showing his enlistment on
January 17, 1776, and
(*)The spelling Grewell is as frequent as Gruwell. Other forms such as
Gruell are also |
giving the Muster Roll of his company dated "8ber, 20th, 1776," where
Peter's name is followed by the word "dead."
Peter Gruwell's
enlistment at Dover, Delaware, continued the family military tradition. He
became a member of the regiment of which John Haslet was elected Colonel by the
Continental Congress on January 19, 1776, two days after Peter's enlistment.
The regiment was composed of eight companies, including one composed of 90 privates,
commanded by Captain Jonathan Caldwell. Peter Gruwell was one of these
privates.
A few days after
the news of the signing of the Declaration of Independence reached Dover,
Haslet's regiment left for the army headquarters in New York, arriving about the
middle of August. The men marched without tents, and are presumed to have
supplied themselves with provisions along the route. On August 27, 1776, the
regiment took part in the Battle of Brooklyn, sometimes called the Battle of
Long Island, and the men are said to have behaved with the courage and bravery
of veterans. The Marylanders in the same battle became divided into small
groups, and lost 259 men . . . but "the Delawares being well trained, kept
and fought in a compact body the whole time, and when obliged to retreat, kept
their ranks, and entered the lines in that order, and were obliged frequently
while retreating, to fight their way through the enemy."
Since Peter Gruwell
took part in the battle, this eye-witness account of the bravery of the Delaware
men taken from a letter written by one Caesar Rodney to Thomas Rodney in the
fall of 1776, is of interest:
"The Delaware
and Maryland Regiments stood firm to the last; they stood for four hours drawn
up on a hill, in close array, their colors flying, the enemy's artillery
playing upon them; nor did they think of quitting their station until an expres
order from the General commanded them to retreat.--the standard was torn with
shot in Ensign Stephens' hands."(*)
Military records
show that Haslett's regiment lost 31 men, including two officers in this
battle. It then fought in the battle of White Plains.
While the regiment
of Peter Gruwell was destined to partake in the crossing of the Delaware with
George Washington and the defeat of the British Army at Princeton, New Jersey,
Peter did not live to witness these historic events. He probably fell in one of
the first two battles. Colonel Haslet himself was killed in the battle of
Princeton on January 3, 1777, and his regiment, depleted through battle, sickness
and desertions to less than 100 men, was not reorganized. It had counted 800
men when it left Dover the July before.**
It was from the
company of which Peter Gruwell was a member that the Revolutionary soldiers of
Delaware acquired the peculiar name of "Blue Hen's Chickens." Captain
Caldwell's company is said to have taken on its march some specimens of game
chickens from the brood of the blue hen, celebrated in Kent County for their
fighting qualities. When not fighting the enemy, the officers and men of this
company amused themselves fighting chickens.
(*)Historical and Biographical Papers, His. Soc. of Delaware, 1896, Vol.
II, XIV, p. 15. |
**"Revolutionary
Soldiers in Delaware", by Hon. William G. Whitely, published by the |
While the lists of
persons assessed in North and South Murderkill, West Dover, Delaware in 1785
includes the names of Jacob Grewell, John Grewell and John Grewell Jr.,(*)
there is no further record of the widow of Peter Gruwell, nor of his son,
Timothy, who was born two years to the day before the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, which was the signal for his father to march to
his death.
Peter Gruwell was
obviously not a Quaker, since he volunteered for military service. The earliest
record of the Gruwell family in the Friends records of Kent county is from the
year 1789, when Rachel Gruwell, widow of Jonathan, requests that her two
children, Elizabeth, born 9 mo. 6, 1777 and John, born 3 mo. 31, 1782 be taken under
care of Friends. They are received 5 mo. 23, 1789. The Duck Creek, Kent county,
minutes record the disownment of Elizabeth Gruwell on 7 mo. 4, 1798 for
marriage by a "hireling minister" to a Mr. Gray. There are no records
to indicate that Peter's widow, Sarah, or his son, Timothy, were ever connected
with the Friends in Delaware. There is no known record of the marriage of Peter
Gruwell and Sarah, but the Delaware Public Archives in Dover contain a record
of the marriage of Jacob Grewell to Ann Hinman in 1800, and of Jacob Grewell to
Mrs. Cole on August 1, 1797. The names Jacob, Peter, Elizabeth and John
repeated themselves so often in the Gruwell family that it is futile to
speculate on the relationships between these people and Timothy.
If Timothy Gruwell's
mother was a Clement, as family tradition reports, she may have been a daughter
of a Samuel Clement who was mentioned in the Duck Creek Friends minutes on 4
mo. 18, 1774. But there is no subsequent record of the Clement family to
substantiate this possibility. If Sarah Gruwell came from the Quaker family of
Clement, she probably lost her membership for marriage, and never regained it,
at least not in Delaware, where she was last known to have lived. Timothy
Gruwell appeared before the Kennett, Pennsylvania, meeting on December 15,
1796, and was receievd into membership, apparently without having previously
been a Friend. Where and how he spent the 22 years between the death of his
father and his appearance in Kennett is unknown.
On October 15,
1801, Timothy requested a certificate of removal which he obtained on November
12, from Kennett to the Goose Creek meeting in Virginia. Alice Pennock had been
brought up in Roanoke County, Virginia, near Bedford County, where the Goose
Creek meeting was located. Alice made a trip to Pennsylvania in 1799, as
indicated by a certificate from the Goose Creek meeting to the Kennett meeting,
dated 3 mo. 2, 1799. The ancestral home of the Pennocks was in Kennett, and
Alice was probably visiting an uncle or other relatives. Timothy Gruwell was
presumably at Kennett at the time. Alice Pennock returned to Virginia the same
year, bringing a certificate from the Kennett to the Goose Creek meeting, dated
10 mo. 17, 1799, and as noted above, Timothy Gruwell followed in 1801. Timothy
and Alice were married on January 6, 1803. The wedding, which was recorded by
the Goose Creek meeting, was attended by Alice's parents, William and Mary
Pennock, and by her brothers and sisters, John, Hannah, William, Mary, Phoebe
and Jane. No member of the family of Timothy Gruwell attended. On April 4,
1805, Timothy, Alice and their little daughter Sarah, obtained a certificate to
the
(*)Sharf "History of Delaware", Vol. II, p. 1146. |
South River monthly meeting in Campbell
County, Virgina, and lived in that neighborhood for two years. The records of
the South River monthly meeting show that a certificate of removal was issued
on May 9, 1807 to Timothy Gruwell, with Alice his wife, and daughters Sarah and
Mary. This certificate was directed to the Salem meeting in Ohio, and stated
that the family was about to move within the limits of that meeting.
Other members of
the Gruwell family continued the military tradition. The following names appear
as members of the Delaware militia after the Revolution; Laurence Grewell,
1800; Jonathan Gruwell, 1809 and 1810; Isaac Gruwell, 1813. There is a record
of lsaac Gruwell, born in 1792, who was a cousin of Peter, but it can only be
surmised that Lawrence and Jonathan were also his cousins. In 1827 the Governor
of Delaware commissioned Isaac Gruwell as captain of a troup of horsemen
attached to the second brigade.
The Library of the
Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington, D.C., has a file of
documents concerning Peter and Timothy Gruwell, on the basis of which some of
Timothy's descendants have joined that organization. In addition to records
already mentioned, the D.A.R. file refers to Timothy Grewell's will, dated
April 19, 1847 and admitted to probate on February 22, 1851 in Stark County,
Ohio, as Record of the Clerk of Court No. 1445 O.S. The will is said to list
the children. A family bible is also mentioned in the D.A.R. file, and the
bible is stated to contain a record of the birth of Timothy, son of Peter and
Sarah Gruwell, on July 4, 1774, and his death in 1850 in Marlborough, Ohio;
also a record of the birth of his wife, Alice, daughter of William and Mary
Martin Pennock, on August 26, 1776.