Jared Ellison Groce was one of the Old Three Hundred (Austins first colony), who emigrated to Texas in January 1822. He was born in Halifax County, Virginia, October 12, 1782, the youngest son of Jared Ellison Groce I , and his wife, Sarah Sheppard, a daughter of Colonel Jacob Sheppard of Surrry County, North Carolina. Wealthy through inheritance and his own efforts, he lost a fortune in the mercantile business in Augusta, Georgia, regained it again in the timber business in Alabama, and was a person of wealth and influence when he emigrated to Texas.
This biographical manuscript of the life of Jared Ellison Groce II, features particular emphasis on his activities in Texas and was written in 1936 by Sarah Groce Berlet. Through the efforts of the slaves he brought with him, Groce built his home, quarters for the slaves, and cleared the land for planting. The manuscript details the hardships the early settlers faced, both from drought and from hostile Indians. Groce was a member of the band of colonists raised by Colonel Austin for a punitive expedition against the Carancuas Indians, a campaign briefly described herein. Following a successful season growing corn, Groce changed crops and became the first cotton planter in Texas. Prior to his death he divided his property between his sons Leonard Waller Groce and Jared E. Junior. Manuscript also contains information on the ancestry and life of son, Leonard.
This material is open for research.
Permission to publish from the Groce biographical manuscript, MS 179, must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
Jared Ellison Groce biographical manuscript, 1936, MS 179, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
Gift of Mrs. M. Jourdan Atkinson, July, 1968.