John and Joseph Grove

Title: John D. Grove and Joseph H. Grove fonds

Dates of creation: 1885-2020

Physical description: 71 cm of textual records and photographs

Biographical sketch: John D. Grove (1902-1990) is the grandson of Jacob B. and Mary (Lehman) Grove and the son of Jacob L. and Frances (Diller) Grove. He married Ada Hoover (1905-1980) in 1928; the couple had five children. John and Ada Grove farmed at Lot 32, Concession 7 in Markham Township and were members of Wideman Mennonite Church where he served as deacon. John D. Grove took a great interest in local history and gained a reputation as an amateur genealogist of Markham-area Mennonite families.

Their son Joseph H. (1934-2021) grew up on the family farm in Markham Township and attended Eastern Mennonite College where he met Betty Schultz (1929-2019) from Milverton, Ontario. The couple married in 1957 and had four children. They farmed near Elmwood, Ontario for many years and were active in the Hanover Mennonite Church.

Custodial history: Donated to the Archives by Joseph H. Grove, and received from Deborah Zigler in 2021. In 2021, the Mennonite Archives of Ontario transferred a portion of the donation, 18 cm of John D. Grove notebooks containing genealogical data on Markham-area Mennonite families, to the Markham Museum via the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society of Ontario.

Scope and content: See file list, below.

Notes: See also Hist.Mss.1.262 Paul Grove collection of Grove family records (brother to Joseph H. Grove)
Original archival description created 2021 by Laureen Harder-Gissing.

File list:

1. "The Life of Joseph Grove Also Background Genealogy and History Also the Genealogy of My Wife Betty Barbara Schultz Also Some of Her Life Story," Joseph H. Grove, 2019-2020.
2. Notebook of John D. Grove, [ca. 1949-1988]
   Note: Contains genealogical data on Markham-area Mennonite families, a typescript of "The Name and Family of Grove" compiled by the Media Research Bureau, and notes for a short course on the study of India by the India Mennonite Mission (1949).
3. John D. Grove scrapbook
   Note: Contains photographs and news clippings of Grove family history, Mennonite church history and local history
4. Auction sale posters
   A.B. Grove credit sale, 1885
   Abraham Hoover credit sale, 1889
   Norman Hoover auction sale, 1958
5. John D. Grove miscellaneous
   Note: Contains various certificates related to church organizations, and the findings of a 1976 study of York County Mennonites by York University sociologist M. David Appavoo in which Ada and John Grove participated. Also includes typewritten notes on the Grove (Groff) and Hans Lehman families.
6. Obituaries
   Note: Consists of a file of memorial cards and obituaries clipped from newspapers by Joseph H. Grove. Primarily, the names are of Swiss Mennonite or Amish Mennonite family and friends from southwestern Ontario.