Thomas Grover

Thomas Grover (July 22, 1807 – February 20, 1886) was an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a polygamist, a Utah politician, and a Mormon pioneer. Biography Grover was born on July 22, 1807, to Thomas Grover and Polly Spaulding in Whitehall, New York. At age 12, he worked as a cabin boy on the Erie Canal, where he would eventually become a captain. In 1828, he married his first wife, Caroline Whiting, with whom he had seven daughters. In September 1834, Grover joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being baptized by Warren A. Cowdery. After joining the church, he and his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, to join the main body of Latter Day Saints. Grover moved his family from Kirtland to Far West, Missouri. After Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an order for Mormons to be exterminated from Missouri, Grover and his family fled to Nauvoo, Illinois. Along the way, Caroline became ill. She died on October 17, 1840. That same month, Grover and Caroline's infant daughter Emma died. At age 33, Grover became a widower with five young children to care for. While in Nauvoo, Grover farmed for a living. He was also a bodyguard to Joseph Smith and a captain in the Nauvoo Legion.