Abraham Grooms
This was taken from a book titled, "Adams Co.
(Ohio) History" written ca. 1989
submitted by
1. ABRAHAM GROOMS, was
born about 1740 near Gunpowder Falls, Maryland and died in Adams Co.
c1840. He married Margaret _______. In the 1830 census of Tiffin
Twp., Adams Co., he is listed as 80 years old with no wife. He lived next
door to (or with) his son, Abraham, Jr. According to the application he
made on June 7, l832 for a Revolutionary Way pension, he affirmed that he was
aged 93, and the official records list his age as 94 in 1834. His pension of
$20.00 a year was paid to Sept. 1839, therefore he was about 99 yrars old when
he died.
He stated that when he
was young, he moved with his father to York Co., Va. (now in W. Va.) just
across the river from Maryland. In Aug. 1777, he was drafted into the
Virginia Militia in Berkeley Co. and served three months under Capt. Baylor,
who gave him his discharge. He was again drafted about July l, 1781 and
immediately entered service under Capt. Wm. Vandeveer and was discharged in
Oct. 178l. He marched from Berkeley Co. to Paunkey, then to Williamsburg
where he joined the French Forces. He remembered seeing Gen. Lafayette on
horseback, commanding his troops.
In the 1790 census of
Maryland, we find an Abraham Grooms listed in Washington Co., which is just
across the Potomac River from Berkeley Co. This Abraham Grooms is listed
as having one male child over 16, one male under 16 and 2 females. We
know that John, William and Zachariah were his sons. There may have been
other children.
Sometime between 1795
and 1798, he moved to Adams Co., settling on Soldiers Run, where he built a
water mill. (There is also an unverified story that he, his father and
two brothers traveled by log raft down the river, settling in Adams Co.,
Ohio) He bought land in Survey 1501 from Robert Rankin. He was a
large landholder in Adams Co, and he and his wife, Margaret, sold a total of
506 acres. He is burried on the Harold Greenlee farm, but here is no
marker at the grave.
2. ZACHARIAH GROOMS
(Abraham) born in Va. between 1780 and 1790; married Fanny Shanks 2-11-1813 in
Adams Co. Records seem to indicate he was previously married, but no name
or date available. The 1830 census shows 5 children, but he had 6:
Eli, Zachariah Jr., Abraham, Mariah, Edward Tiffin and William.
3. EDWARD TIFFIN GROOMS,
(Zachariah, Abraham), born Aug. 25, l822 in Adams Co.; died May 28, 1910.
Married in Adams Co. to Eliza Copas. Married secondly to Martha
Hilterbridle. Edware was the father of William J., Reason, Leander, Mary
Frances, John and Mahala. Edward is burried in Harmony Cemetery, Poplar
Ridge, Adams Co.
4. REASON GROOMS (Edward
T., Zachariah, Abraham), born Adams Co., Apr. 6, 1850; died Adams Co. Nov. 5,
1943. Married Hannah E. Rader (born Adams Co., 1852, died Adams Co.
c1919; daughter of Andrew and Mary Miller Rader). Both are burried in
IOOF Cemetery, West Union, Adams Co. Ohio. They had eight children:
Sherman, Sheridan, Wheeler, Minnie, Sanford Tiffin, Cleveland, Elnora and
Homer.
5. SANFORD TIFFIN GROOMS
(Reason, Edward Tiffin, Zachariah, Abraham) born Adams Co. Mar. 27, 1880; died
Jan. 5, 1952. Married Jan, 29, 1908 to Etta Sharlotte Credit (born Adams
Co. June 3, 1888; died Mar. 3, 1972 (daughter of James and Sharlotte Ann Rader
Credit) They had two children, Bruce P. Grooms and Geneva Grooms Evans.
If you have any questions, email me at |
