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UPSHUR COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
Valerie & Tommy Crook
vfcrook@earthlink.net
July 6, 2000
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 452-453
WALTER R. GROSE is a leader in educational affairs in
West Virginia, and for the past ten years has been super-
intendent of the Buckhannon City Schools. He is member
of a family that has been in West Virginia since pioneer
times, and in the various generations they have played a
worthy part in the building of homes, the development of
the land, and also in the learned professions.
Superintendent Grose was born in Nicholas County, West
Virginia, October 10, 1871, son of William and Rebecca
Ann (Stephenson) Grose. His parents were also born and
reared in Nicholas County. His great-grandfather came
from Warm Springs, Virginia, to Nicholas County, having
acquired a grant of land direct from the government of
Virginia an account of his services in the War of 1812.
He located on this land shortly after the War of 1812,
and lived out his life there. He was buried on his estate.
William Grose, grandfather of Superintendent Grose, mar-
ried a Miss Koontz, a native of Nicholas County.
William Grose, father of Superintendent Grose, grew up
in Nicholas County on a farm, attended the old subscrip-
tion schools, and did considerable work in his early life
as a teacher. Later he became a prominent merchant and
farmer, owning a farm near Summersville, and conducted
a general store near that village. He was a republican,
a stanch Union man in sentiment, and one of the three in
his district who voted against secession. He and his wife
were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of
their ten children four are living: B. F. Grose, a farmer
and stockman on the old homestead in Nicholas County;
Rev. Logan S. Grose, who graduated A. B. from Bethany
College, and is now pastor of the Zane Street Methodist
[obviously, there is a line of text missing from the original]
olas County, attended the common schools there and later
graduated A. B. from the Wesleyan College of Buckhannon
and did post-graduate work in the University of Pitts-
burgh. Mr. Grose began teaching at the age of nineteen,
and continued to teach in the intervals of his college and
university career. Since 1904 his time has been fully taken
up with school work. He was superintendent of schools
at Richwood from 1906 to 1912, and since 1912 has been
head of the city school system at Buckhannon. Mr. Grose
is an enthusiastic educator, is an inspiring worker among
his fellow teachers and among young people, has been in
great demand as an instructor in county teachers' insti-
tutes, and is active in the various professional organiza-
tions.
On October 13, 1892, he married Maria S. Rader. They
were schoolmates in Nicholas County. They have two
children. Neva Pearle, born November 10, 1893, is a grad-
uate of the Richwood High School, received her A. B.
degree from Wesleyan College at Buckhannon, and is now
teacher of foreign languages in the high school at Hunt-
ington, West Virginia. The son, Clarence Herman Grose,
was born August 30, 1896, graduated from the Richwood
High School and from West Virginia Wesleyan College,
with the Bachelor of Science degree, and is now teacher
of chemistry in the Huntington High School. At the close
of the World war he was in the Artillery Officers Training
School at Camp Taylor, Louisville.
The Grose family are members of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church. Mr. Grose is affiliated with Richwood Lodge
No. 102, A. F. and A. M., is a charter member of Rich-
wood Chapter No. 37, R A. M., a charter member of
Buckhannon Commandery, Knights Templar, and he and
Mrs. Grose and their daughter are members of the Eastern
Star. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the
Rotary Club, Buckhannon Chamber of Commerce and the
Country Club.
Both Superintendent and Mrs. Grose are direct descend-
ants of Sergeant Benjamin Lemasters, who was a soldier
of the Revolution, enlisting in 1776 and serving for three
years. He was with Washington at Valley Forge, and
participated in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Prince-
ton, Brandywine, Germantown, Fort Mifflin and Monmouth,
and was wounded at Princeton. During the siege of Fort
Mifflin he carried dispatches for General Washington.
Shortly after the close of the war he moved to Nicholas
County, West Virginia, taking possession of his land grant
on Bucks Garden Creek. He became a large landholder
there, and most of his possessions are still owned by his
descendants. He and his wife had ten daughters, and
all of them married and reared families.
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