Hon. George A. Grove, one of the prominent citizens of Miamisburg, Ohio, and one who has been often honored with official position because of his eminent fitness for the places he has held, was born in Millersburg, Berks county, Pa., August 25, 1817. He is a son of Andrew and Eva (Holstein) Grove, and was reared by them in Berks county, Pa. In May, 1836, he removed to Miamisburg, where he served three years as clerk in a store, and was subsequently occupied in farming for ten years, residing on the Kercher farm until 1850. This farm many years ago became a portion of Miamisburg, and on it many of the finest residences in the place now stand. From 1850 to 1855 Mr. Grove prosecuted the gram and lumber business with Simon Huiet, owning a number of canal boats and engaging in trade along the Miami & Erie canal from Toledo to Cincinnati. In 1855 the firm of H. Groby & Co. was formed by H. Groby, Emanuel Shultz and Mr. Grove, for the purpose of entering the lumber trade, and in 1866 the well known banking establishment of H. Groby & Co. was founded by the same firm. This banking firm continued in business until 1879, when Mr. Grove withdrew.
Mr. Grove has been twice married; first to Christiana Kercher, daughter of Jacob Kercher, the founder of Miamisburg. To this marriage there were born two children, viz: John H., and Lucetta L., wife of Christian Weber. The second wife of Mr. Grove was Sallie Gebhart, daughter of Peter M. and Hannah (Ulrich) Gebhart, of Miamisburg. To this marriage also there have been born two children, Eva L. and Grace L.
In politics Mr. Grove has always been a democrat, and in 1865 was elected county commissioner, being the only candidate on his ticket that was elected, and the only democratic county officer at that time in the county. In 1868 he was re-elected by a largely increased majority, and in 1875 was elected representative of the county in the lower house of the general assembly. In 1877 he was elected to the state senate over his friend and partner in business, Hon. Emanuel Shultz. In 1880 he was elected a member of the state board of equalization, and as a member of this board rendered his county valuable service, succeeding in having the county valuation reduced nearly $4,000,000. Mr. Grove has filled many minor positions of honor and trust, always with fidelity and efficiency, and has taken a prominent part for many years in all public enterprises and undertakings calculated to advance the material, moral and religious interests of Miamisburg. To his energy and perseverance is largely due the establishment of the Miamisburg hydraulic, and he was also instrumental in securing the city park, and has been a member of the board of park commissioners since its organization in 1889. For more than sixty years Mr. Grove has been a member of the Miamisburg Lutheran church, and is universally regarded one of the best and most useful citizens of the place. In 1896 Mr. Grove was reappointed one of the commissioners of the soldiers' relief committee, this being his third term of three years and closing in 1899.
Source: Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens Together with the Biographies and Portraits of the Presidents of the United States and Biographies of the Governors of Ohio, ed. by Frank Conover, A.W. Bowen & Co., 1897, pp. 977-978.