George Washington Grover (1819-1901), Galveston merchant and city leader, participated in the Texan Santa Fe expedition in 1841, an effort to bring New Mexico under Texas’ jurisdiction. Prior to the expedition, Grover, who moved to Texas in 1839, served in the battle of Plum Creek, 1840, with Mathew Caldwell. During the Texan Santa Fe expedition, Grover, along with other members of the expedition, was captured near San Miguel, New Mexico, and imprisoned in Mexico City. During his incarceration, Grover edited a manuscript newspaper, The True Blue, under the name Simon Pure. Grover intended The True Blue, which included foreign news and short stories, to lighten the mood of his fellow Texan prisoners. After his release in April 1842, Grover wrote a memoir of his experiences, entitled Minutes of Adventure from June, 1841 . He joined the California Gold Rush in the later half of the 1840s, but eventually returned to Texas to engage in the mercantile business. A civic leader, Grover served as an alderman, 1861, and as mayor pro tem. Grover died in Galveston in 1901.
Source: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Grover, George Washington," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/fgr78.html (accessed July 15, 2010).
From the guide to the Grover, George W. Papers 1934., 1841-1842, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
