Aaron H. Grout

Aaron Hinman Grout
27th Vermont Secretary of State
In office
April 21, 1923 – March 4, 1927
Preceded by Harry W. Black
Succeeded by Rawson C. Myrick
Personal details
Born (1879-01-18)January 18, 1879
Rock Island, Illinois
Died December 29, 1966(1966-12-29) (aged 87)
Burlington, Vermont
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Edith Goddard Hart (1881–1941)[1]
Children Eleanor (1911–1937)
Nancy (1913–1987)
Education University of Vermont
Profession Attorney
Judge
Religion Congregational

Aaron Hinman Grout (January 18, 1879 – December 29, 1966) was a Vermont judge and political figure who served as Secretary of State of Vermont.

Early life

Aaron H. Grout was born in Rock Island, Illinois on January 18, 1879.[2] He was the son of Governor Josiah Grout and Harriet Hinman Grout. He was also the nephew of Congressman William W. Grout.[3]

Aaron Grout was raised in Derby and Newport, Vermont, and graduated from Derby Academy in 1896.[4]

Military service

In 1893 he joined the National Guard. Enlisting in Company I, 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment as a Private, he attained the rank of Corporal before receiving his commission as a Captain and serving as an aide to brigade commander Brigadier General Julius J. Estey. During the Spanish–American War he aided Estey in organizing and mustering the National Guard soldiers who made up the unit federalized as the 1st Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He left the National Guard in 1901.[5][6]

Start of career

Grout graduated from the University of Vermont in 1901, studied law, and attained admission to the bar in 1901. He practiced in Newport, first as an associate of the firm Young and Young, and later in partnership with his father.[7][8] A Republican, Grout served as a messenger in the Governor's office during his father’s term in office, 1896 to 1898. During the governorship of Fletcher D. Proctor (1906–1908) he was the governor's executive clerk, and he served as Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) to Governor George H. Prouty (1908 to 1910).[9][10][11]

Grout was Chairman of the Orleans County Republican Convention in 1908, a Delegate to the Republican state convention in 1908 and 1910, and President of the Newport Republican Club in 1908 and 1910.[12] From 1912 to 1916 Grout served as Orleans County State’s Attorney, a position previously held by his uncles Theophilus and William Grout.[13][14]

Continued military service

During his service on Governor Prouty's staff Grout also served as Prouty's military secretary with the rank of Major, and he continued his military service after 1910 as the Judge Advocate of the Vermont National Guard.[15][16]

During World War I he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Vermont Volunteer Militia, the home guard organization formed to handle the National Guard's domestic missions while its soldiers were deployed overseas.[17]

Later career

Grout served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1922 to 1923.[18] In 1923 the Secretary of State, Harry A. Black, died in office. Grout was appointed to fill the vacancy. He was elected to a full two-year term in 1924, and was re-elected in 1926. He served as Secretary of State from the time of his appointment in April, 1923 until resigning in May, 1927.[19][20]

Grout resigned as Secretary of State to relocate to Burlington and become Treasurer and Manager of the Vermont Acceptance Corporation, a company that made loans to finance the purchase of homes, automobiles and other items.[21]

From 1933 to 1941 Grout was Judge of Burlington's Municipal Court.[22][23]

Civic memberships

Grout was a member of the Congregational church.[24] He was a member of the Grange and the Memphremagog Yacht Club, President of the Burlington Rotary Club and a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.[25][26]

Grout was an active member of the Masons. He attained the 33rd Degree of the Scottish Rite, and served as Vermont's Masonic Grand Master.[27][28]

Death and burial

Aaron Grout died in Burlington on December 29, 1966.[29][30] He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.[31]

Family

In 1907 Grout married Edith Goddard Hart of Chelsea, Massachusetts.[32][33] Their children included daughters Eleanor (1911–1937) and Nancy (1913–1987).[34][35][36]

Other

Grout's home at 370 Main Street in Burlington was built in 1881. It is still standing, and has gone through several owners and remodelings. Since 2000 it has been operated as the Lang House Bed & Breakfast.[37]

References

  1. ↑ Edith Goddard Hart Grout at Find a Grave
  2. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1888, page 429
  3. ↑ James Terry White, The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1898, page 331
  4. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1929, page 442
  5. ↑ Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, 1912, page 207
  6. ↑ The Vermonter magazine, Vermont in the Spanish-American War, June 1898, page 249
  7. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1915, page 569
  8. ↑ Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
  9. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1896, page 267
  10. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Acts and Laws, Passed by the Legislature of the State of Vermont, 1908, page 586
  11. ↑ Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the Vermont General Assembly, 1908, page 17
  12. ↑ Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
  13. ↑ J.C. Schwarz, Who's Who in Law, Volume 1, 1937, page 380
  14. ↑ Ebenezer Mack Treman, The History of the Treman, Tremaine, Truman Family in America, Volume 2, 1901, page 1613
  15. ↑ Walton's Vermont Register, Vermont Military Department, 1910, page 43
  16. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1915, pages 454, 569
  17. ↑ John T. Cushing, Harold Pearl Sheldon, Vermont in the World War, 1928, pages 499-500
  18. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1929, page 442
  19. ↑ National Association of Secretaries of State, Handbook, 1977, page 101
  20. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Secretaries of State, Terms of Service, 2011, page 2
  21. ↑ Who’s Who in Law
  22. ↑ Essex County Republican, Vermont Notes Archived January 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., February 10, 1933
  23. ↑ Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the Vermont General Assembly, 1967, page 92
  24. ↑ Vermont Legislative Directory, 1915
  25. ↑ Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
  26. ↑ University of Vermont, Consuelo Northrup Bailey Papers, Burlington Zonta Club Charter Night Dinner, December 17, 1930, retrieved January 7, 2014
  27. ↑ Scottish Rite Council of Deliberation, Proceedings of Michigan Council of Deliberation, 1967, page 19
  28. ↑ Order of the Eastern Star, Grand Chapter of Vermont, Proceedings of the Sixtieth Annual Session, 1932, pages 11, 98
  29. ↑ Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, entry for Aaron H. Grout, retrieved November 7, 2014
  30. ↑ U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, entry for Aaron H. Grout, retrieved January 7, 2014
  31. ↑ Aaron H. Grout at Find a Grave, retrieved January 7, 2014
  32. ↑ Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1840-1915, entry for Aaron H Grout and Edith Goddard Hart, retrieved January 7, 2014
  33. ↑ Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908, marriage record for Aaron Hinman Grout and Edith Goddard Hart, retrieved January 7, 2014
  34. ↑ 1920 United States Federal Census, entry for Aaron H. Grout, retrieved January 7, 2014
  35. ↑ Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, entry for Eleanor Hart Grout, retrieved January 7, 2014
  36. ↑ Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, entry for Nancy Stewart Grout Churchill, retrieved January 7, 2014
  37. ↑ University of Vermont, Historic Burlington: 360 Main Street, retrieved January 7, 2014
Political offices
Preceded by
Harry A. Black		 Vermont Secretary of State
1923–1927 		Succeeded by
Rawson C. Myrick
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