Josiah Grout

Josiah Grout

Josiah Grout Jr. (born May 28, 1841 in Québec , Canada , †  July 19, 1925 in Derby Line , Vermont ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Vermont from 1896 to 1898 .

Early years and political advancement

At the age of seven, Josiah Grout came to Kirby with his parents , where he attended local schools. During the civil war he was an officer in the Union army . In the course of the war he rose to major . He took part in several battles and was wounded. After the war he studied law.

Grout became a member of the Republican Party . Between 1866 and 1869 he was in charge of Customs in Iceland Pond . From 1872 to 1874 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Vermont , where he was its president since 1873. In 1874 he moved first to Chicago and later to Moline , Illinois , where he became President of the Moline Scale Company . In 1880 he returned to Vermont, where he worked as a lawyer. He also bought a farm where he raised horses. He bought more farms in different counties of Vermont and was involved in raising cattle and sheep. In the years 1884, 1886 and 1888 he was again a member and temporarily president of the House of Representatives of his state. In 1892 he was also a member of the State Senate .

Vermont governor

In 1898 Grout was elected the new governor of his state. In the intra-party nomination, he had won by only three votes ahead of the future Governor William W. Stickney . Grout began his two-year term on October 8, 1896. During his tenure, the Spanish-American War fell , to which Vermont also had to make its contribution. However, because of the brevity of the war, the troops from this state did not see any fighting. It was then that Vermont introduced a five percent inheritance tax.

After his term in office on October 6, 1898, Grout returned to his practice as a lawyer and his agricultural activities. In 1904 he was again a member of the House of Representatives from Vermont. Then he withdrew from politics. Josiah Grout died in July 1925. With his wife, Harriet Hinman, he had the son Aaron , who was to become Secretary of State of Vermont between 1923 and 1927 . Josiah's brother William was a general in the Civil War and between 1881 and 1900 a member of Congress several times .

Web links

• Josiah Grout in the National Governors Association (English)
• Josiah Grout in the database of Find a Grave (English)