Grout, John, 1731-178?

John Grout was born in Lunenburgh, Massachusetts, on June 13, 1731, the third of fourteen children of John Grout. Grout left Massachusetts sometime around 1766 and settled in Charlestown, NH. By 1768 Grout left Charlestown and settled in Windsor, VT with his wife and children. Urged to move on by Windsor's overseers of the poor, Grout eventually left Windsor in 1770 and settled in Chester, Vermont. Trained as a lawyer, Grout established his law office and became recognized as a competent attorney.

An outspoken individual with a flair for writing, Grout expressed mixed sentiments towards the cause of the Revolution. An October 1774 meeting in Chester appointed Grout to a committee preparing a report condemning recent Parlimentary acts. Later, Grout sided with Loyalists and supported New York's claims to the New Hampshire Grants.

In 1776 Grout was brought before a committee in Chester for speaking disrespectfully of the Continental Congress. Headed by Cumberland County official Thomas Chandler, the committee judged Grout to be an enemy to the country and he was subsequently imprisoned on December 27, 1776. By June of 1777 Grout was released whereupon he moved to Canada and continued his law practice. Sometime in the mid 1780's, Grout left Canada on business and disappeared. Some years later, a convicted criminal confessed to the murder of Grout.