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
March 5, 1733-4.

 

**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
noted. French words do not have a "w", and the original spelling may have been
Gruelle.


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
Historical Society of Delaware, Wilmington, 1896.

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.