Amanda Sophia Isaacson Isaacs Groves, November 15, 1881

 My Grandma Groves, my father's mother, was born in Forest City, Iowa on November 15, 1881.  She was the eighth child in a family of 12 children.  Her name at birth was Amanda Sophia Isaacson.  Her father was John Isaacson who had been born in Norway on March 12, 1840.  He came to the United States with his family in 1855.  He enlisted in a WI Regiment which fought in the Civil War from 1862 - 1865. He died in Forest City, Iowa on November 1, 1919.  Her mother was Carrie (Karen) Olson who was born in Telemark, Norway on April 5, 1845.  She came to the United States with her family when she was 2 years old.  She lived until January 8,1930 and died in Forest City, Iowa. 

Wedding Photo of Billy & Amanda

Amanda moved to Montana around 1909 or 1910 in order to be a Homesteader.  There she met my Grandfather, William Floyd Groves.  He had gone to Montana to work in the harvest.  His parents had been Homesteaders in Nebraska at the time of his birth in 1885.   They were married on November 28, 1910 in Billings, Montana.  This photo is their wedding photo.  I think my grandmother was very beautiful. 

Montana Homestead site

How I wish I had spent more time with her to know much more about her than I do.  I wish I knew why she decided to leave her job in Forest City, Iowa and move to Montana as a Homesteader.  What a courageous woman she was. 

November 1, 1948..

 I, Grandma Lee, am remembering that today, November 1, 2020, is the 72nd anniversary of the day I and my family moved from a farm near Viroqua, WI to a farm 75 miles away near Fountain City, WI.  It was a cold, rainy, blustery day which made the move very treacherous and difficult.  

Let me share some of my memories.

This farm was where my father, James Burton Groves, was farming with his father, William, and his brother, Hubert Groves, at the time my parents married on June 7, 1941.  The farm belonged to my Great-Grandmother, Minnie B. Groves.  My father's parents, William and Amanda Groves, lived in the big house with Hubert until he moved to Chicago in the early 1940's to attend school and become a Methodist minister.  My parents continued to farm but lived in "the little house" after they married which was across the road from the "big house".   Following my brother's birth on March 29, 1942, and I was on my way, my Grandparents decided to move to Chicago.  I arrived December 7, 1944 and lived with my parents, brother and my Great-Grandmother for nearly three more years before my parents decided to buy a farm of their own.  The farm my parents bought was 75 miles away from Viroqua.