Groce, Leonard W. (Leonard Waller), 1806-1873

Jared Ellison Groce (1782-1839), planter, public official and the wealthiest settler in Stephen F. Austin's colony, was born in Halifax County, VA, on October 12, 1782, the son of Jared Ellison and Sarah (Sheppard) Groce. In 1802 he moved to South Carolina, where he acquired property and married Mary Ann Waller, daughter of Texas pioneer Leonard Waller, on August 29, 1804. Later that year he moved to Lincoln County, Georgia, where he purchased a large estate. There he became a delegaate to the convention that drafted the Georgia constitution. After his wife's death in 1814, Groce moved to Alabama and established a settlement known as Fort Groce. Austin's colonization scheme drew him to Texas in 1821.

Groce reached the Brazos River in January 1822. He constructed a homestead, which soon became known as Bernardo Plantation, on the east bank four miles south of the site of present-day Hempstead. The Mexican government granted him title to ten leagues of land in 1824, which was soon augmented with other land. In 1822 he cultivated the first possible cotton crop in the Austin colony and in 1825 constructed one of the earliest gins in Texas on the Brazos River. He resided on his plantation until 1833, when the malarial environment compelled him to divide his estate among his children and move to Wallace Prairie. There on the east bank of the Brazos he constructed his home known as Groce's Retreat. He was selected as a delegate from the District of Viesca (later Milam County) to the Convention of 1832, where he opposed the resolution seeking independence for Texas. He espoused revolution but outfitted men for service in the Texas Army. The draft of the Texas Declaration of Independence was completed at Groce's Retreat and was sent to Washington-on-the-Brazos for ratification. Between March 18 and 21, 1836, Groce's Retreat served as the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. After the Battle of San Jacinto in April, 1836, Groce's Retreat was considered as a site for the permanent capital of the republic.

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