Governor Josiah Grout

A descendant of English immigrants to Massachusetts, JOSIAH GROUT was born in Compton in the Canadian Province of Quebec. After being educated in the public schools, he studied in his brother’s law office and was admitted to the Vermont Bar in 1865. He managed the Custom Houses at Island Pond, St. Albans, and Newport, Vermont. He lived in Illinois for a number of years, and upon returning to Vermont was elected to represent Newport in the state legislature in 1872 and 1874. He then represented Derby, Vermont in the legislature in 1884, 1886, 1888, and 1904, serving as Speaker of the House during the first three of those years. He was also a state Senator from Orleans County in 1891. During his term as governor, a Board of Normal School Examiners was established, a collateral inheritance tax of five percent was levied, and Vermont men were called to serve in the Spanish-American War. After leaving office, Grout returned to his law practice.