Groves, James O. 1877 – 1916
GROVES, CHRISTOPHER, RYAN, LAPHAM
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 3/16/2015 at 09:06:45
JAMES O. GROVES.
A native son of Decorah, James O. Groves, as owner of the Decorah Drug Company, has attained a success of which he may well be proud and is conducting a business which is a credit to himself and to the community. Born in Decorah in June, 1877, in the house in which he now lives, James O. Groves is a son of Andrew and Juliette (Christopher) Groves, natives of Norway, both of whom came to this country in their childhood with their respective parents. The father, after having reached manhood, engaged in the implement business in Decorah and conducted an establishment of this kind for several years. He eventually sold out and became connected with life insurance, being so engaged until his death, which occurred in 1908. The mother survived until November, 1911. The former also has a distinguished military record to his credit, having enlisted at Decorah, in the Twelfth Iowa Infantry, for service in the Civil war. He participated in a number of the more important battles and skirmishes and was captured at Pittsburg Landing, being held prisoner for some time before he was exchanged, when he came home. Brave and courageous, he always could be found in the front ranks of those fighting for the unity of their country and during the campaign so impaired his health that he ever after was a sufferer from the hardship which he had endured.
James O. Groves was reared under the parental roof, being grounded by his parents in the virtues of industry and honesty and educated in the city schools until he entered the School of Pharmacy of Northwestern University at Chicago, in order to prepare himself for a career as druggist, graduating from that institution with the class of 1901. Returning to Decorah, he worked in a local drug store for six months and then proceeded to Kansas, where he was connected with his line of business for three years, at the end of that period removing to Minnesota, where for a year and a half he acted as manager of a similar establishment. Returning to Decorah, he then worked in the drug store of R. A. Engbertson for six years and, having accumulated by thrift and industry the means, then bought the Decorah Drug Company, which he has since conducted with ever increasing success. Well prepared theoretically and practically, he gives particular attention to his prescription department, which he safeguarded in such a way that mistakes are practically impossible. All the medicines and drugs on hand are of the best kind and strictly fresh and Mr. Groves also has installed in his store a well selected line of sundries such as are usually carried in an establishment of this kind. The store is well kept, clean, modern and of such an attractive and inviting appearance that it is a distinct advantage to the city, and while Mr. Groves is attaining personal prosperity, he contributes by means of his establishment to the expansion of the commercial life of Decorah.
In September, 1905, Mr. Groves was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Ryan, a daughter of Joseph and Clara (Lapham) Ryan, natives of Indiana and New York respectively, who now reside in Clay Center, Kansas, where the father is engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Groves have three children: Elizabeth, aged six years; Leonore, aged three; and Donald, aged two.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist church and Mr. and Mrs. Groves give their earnest support to its work. Mr. Groves owns a handsome residence at No. 509 Jefferson street, where both he and his wife are often the center of pleasant circles of friends who like to gather at their hospitable fireside. Politically Mr. Groves is a progressive, his sympathies being in accord with the ideals of this new party, for the realization of which he incessantly works, although he is not a politician in the everyday sense of the word. An aggressive young man of modern tendencies, he has attained a success remarkable for one of his years and has become one of the important factors in the commercial life of Decorah, where he is highly respected and esteemed by all for the position which he has reached and his qualities of mind and character which have made possible his success.
Source: History of Winneshiek County, Iowa Vol. II Chicago the S. J. Clark Publishing Company 1913
Phelps Cemetery gravestone
Winneshiek Biographies maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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