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Grose History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Grose History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The name Grose comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It was a name for a person who because of their physical characteristics was referred to as the gross man or the heavy man. At times, it was a personal name and variant of Grace. 1

Early Origins of the Grose family

The surname Grose was first found in Cornwall where the first record of the family was found in "Trescobays, or Triscobays, [which] was formerly inherited by the family of Grosse; after which it was purchased by Sir Peter Killigrew, together with the barton of Howard as a parcel of Tregangy." 2

"During [the reign of Elizabeth] four-fifths [of the manor of Rosmoddris] was granted to St. George Carye, and sold by him to Ezekiel Grosse, Esq. whose family had an ancient seat at Triclodevas in this parish." 2

"Leah or Leigh, [in the parish of St. Buryan, Cornwall] now occupied by a farmer, was anciently a seat of the Grosse family, and afterwards of the Usticks." 2

Not withstanding the Cornish origin of the name, some of the family may have originated elsewhere. By example, Willelmus filius grosse was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 in Suffolk. The same source also lists Willelmus Grossus in Norfolk. 3

Later in Yorkshire, Geraldus filius Grossi was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1176. Adam le Gros was listed at Holme in Norfolk 1186-1210 and Wiliam le Groos was listed in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1314. 1

Early History of the Grose family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grose research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1190, 1596, 1618, 1632, 1633 and 1654 are included under the topic Early Grose History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grose Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Grose has undergone many spelling variations, including Gross, Grosse, Grose and others.

Early Notables of the Grose family

Notables of the family at this time include Alexander Grosse (1596?-1654), English Presbyterian divine, born about 1596, the son of William Grosse, husbandman of Christow, Devonshire. "After attending Exeter school for five years, he was admitted sizar of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, on 26 July 1618, and proceeded M.A. (College Admission Register, ed. Venn, p. 138). He became a preacher at...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grose Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grose Ranking

In the United States, the name Grose is the 6,542^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Grose migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Grose were among those contributors:

Grose Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anne Grose, who landed in Virginia in 1702 5
Geo Grose, who arrived in Virginia in 1703 5
John Grose, who landed in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1749 5

Grose Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. W. Grose, (b. 1812), aged 29, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth aboard the ship "Cornwall" arriving in the United States on 3 June 1841 6
Mr. William Grose, (b. 1817), aged 34, Cornish miner departing from Penzance aboard the ship "Mecca" arriving in the United States on 31 July 1851 6
Mrs. Elizabeth Grose, (b. 1827), aged 24, Cornish miner departing from Penzance aboard the ship "Mecca" arriving in the United States on 31 July 1851 6

Grose migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Grose Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Hickey Grose, (b. 1789), aged 26, English glazier who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for grand larceny, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1849 7
William Grose, a painter, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. Richard Grose, (b. 1807), aged 28, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 6th January 1835, sentenced for 7 years for stealing 500 pounds of tin ore, transported aboard the ship "Royal Sovereign" on 25th July 1835 to New South Wales, Australia 8
Grose, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sir Charles Forbes" in 1839 9
Elizabeth Grose, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sir Charles Forbes" in 1839 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Grose migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Grose Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. W. Grose, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th September 1869 10
Mr. William Grose, (b. 1823), aged 50, Cornish farm labourer departing on 2nd November 1873 aboard the ship "Isles of the South" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 2nd February 1874 11
Mr. William Thos Grose, (b. 1864), aged 9, Cornish settler departing on 2nd November 1873 aboard the ship "Isles of the South" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 2nd February 1874 11
Mrs. Christiana Grose, (b. 1836), aged 38, Cornish settler departing on 7th May 1874 aboard the ship "Eastern Monarch" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 22nd July 1874 11
Miss Eliza J. Grose, (b. 1861), aged 12, Cornish settler departing on 2nd November 1873 aboard the ship "Isles of the South" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 2nd February 1874 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Grose (post 1700) +

William Grose (1812-1900), American lawyer, politician, author, and brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War
George Richmond Grose (1869-1953), American Methodist bishop
David Grose (1944-2004), American archaeologist
Ingebrikt Fredrick Grose (1862-1939), American author, college professor and founding president of Concordia College, Minnesota
Sir Nash Grose (1740-1814), English judge, son of Edward Grose of London
John Henry Grose (1750-1783), English civil servant of the East India Company, younger brother of Francis Grose [q. v.], left England in March 1750 for Bombay
John Grose (1758-1821), English divine, baptised on 26 Feb. 1758 at Richmond, Surrey, the eldest son of John Henry Grose [q. v.] of Richmond
Francis Grose (1731-1791), English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer, born about 1731 at Greenford, Middlesex, the eldest son of Francis Grose or Grosse (d. 1769) 12
Mike Grose, British bass guitar for the rock band Queen in 1970
Ivan Grose (b. 1928), Canadian businessman and politician
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SIR CHARLES FORBES (originally Charles Forbes) 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839SirCharlesForbes.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020