Aaron Hinman Grout (January 18, 1879 – December 29, 1966) was an American judge and political figure who served as Secretary of State of Vermont.

Early life Grout was born in Rock Island, Illinois, on January 18, 1879.Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1888, page 429 He was the son of Governor Josiah Grout and Harriet Hinman Grout. He was also the nephew of Congressman William W. Grout.James Terry White, The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1898, page 331

Grout was raised in Derby and Newport, Vermont, and graduated from Derby Academy in 1896.Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1929, page 442

Military service In 1893, he joined the National Guard. Enlisting in Company I, 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment as a private, he attained the rank of corporal before receiving his commission as a captain and serving as an aide to brigade commander Brigadier General Julius J. Estey. During the Spanish–American War, he aided Estey in organizing and mustering the National Guard soldiers who made up the unit federalized as the 1st Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He left the National Guard in 1901.Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, 1912, page 207- The Vermonter magazine, Vermont in the Spanish–American War, June 1898, page 249

Start of career Grout graduated from the University of Vermont in 1901, studied law with Newport attorney John W. Redmond, and attained admission to the bar in 1904.Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1915, page 569- Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography He practiced in Newport, first as an associate of the firm Young and Young, and later in partnership with his father. A Republican, Grout served as a messenger in the Governor's office during his father’s term in office, 1896 to 1898. During the governorship of Fletcher D. Proctor (1906–1908), he was the governor's executive clerk. He served as Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) to Governor George H. Prouty (1908 to 1910).Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1896, page 267- Vermont Secretary of State, Acts and Laws, Passed by the Legislature of the State of Vermont, 1908, page 586- Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the Vermont General Assembly, 1908, page 17

Grout was chairman of the Orleans County Republican Convention in 1908, a delegate to the Republican state convention in 1908 and 1910, and president of the Newport Republican Club in 1908 and 1910.Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography From 1912 to 1916, Grout served as Orleans County State’s Attorney, a position previously held by his uncles Theophilus and William Grout.J.C. Schwarz, Who's Who in Law, Volume 1, 1937, page 380- Ebenezer Mack Treman, The History of the Treman, Tremaine, Truman Family in America, Volume 2, 1901, page 1613

Continued military service During his service on Governor Prouty's staff, Grout also served as Prouty's military secretary with the rank of major, and he continued his military service after 1910 as the Judge Advocate of the Vermont National Guard.Walton's Vermont Register, Vermont Military Department, 1910, page 43- Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1915, pages 454, 569

During World War I, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Vermont Volunteer Militia, the home guard organization formed to handle the National Guard's domestic missions while its soldiers were deployed overseas.John T. Cushing, Harold Pearl Sheldon, Vermont in the World War, 1928, pages 499-500

Later career Grout served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1921 to 1923.Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1929, page 442 In 1923, the Secretary of State, Harry A. Black, died in office. Grout was appointed to fill the vacancy. He was elected to a full two-year term in 1924, and was re-elected in 1926. He served as Secretary of State from the time of his appointment in April 1923 until resigning in May 1927.National Association of Secretaries of State, Handbook, 1977, page 101- Vermont Secretary of State, , 2011, page 2

Grout resigned as Secretary of State to relocate to Burlington and become Treasurer and Manager of the Vermont Acceptance Corporation, a company that made loans to finance the purchase of homes, automobiles and other items.Who's Who in Law

From 1933 to 1941, Grout was Judge of Burlington's Municipal Court.Essex County Republican, Vermont Notes , February 10, 1933- Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the Vermont General Assembly, 1967, page 92 In 1948, he was elected to a term in the Vermont Senate.

Civic memberships Grout was a member of the Congregational church.Vermont Legislative Directory, 1915 He was a member of the Grange and the Memphremagog Yacht Club, president of the Burlington Rotary Club and a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography- University of Vermont, Consuelo Northrup Bailey Papers, Burlington Zonta Club Charter Night Dinner, December 17, 1930, retrieved January 7, 2014

Grout was an active member of the Masons. He served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Vermont. He was a 33° Scottish Rite mason and served on the Supreme Council, Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction.Scottish Rite Council of Deliberation, Proceedings of Michigan Council of Deliberation, 1967, page 19- Order of the Eastern Star, Grand Chapter of Vermont, Proceedings of the Sixtieth Annual Session, 1932, pages 11, 98

Death and burial Grout died in Burlington on December 29, 1966.Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, entry for Aaron H. Grout, retrieved November 7, 2014- U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, entry for Aaron H. Grout, retrieved January 7, 2014 He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.

Family In 1907, Grout married Edith Goddard Hart of Chelsea, Massachusetts.Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1840–1915, entry for Aaron H Grout and Edith Goddard Hart, retrieved January 7, 2014- Vermont, Vital Records, 1720–1908, marriage record for Aaron Hinman Grout and Edith Goddard Hart, retrieved January 7, 2014 Their children included daughters Eleanor (1911–1937) and Nancy (1913–1987).1920 United States Federal Census, entry for Aaron H. Grout, retrieved January 7, 2014- Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, entry for Eleanor Hart Grout, retrieved January 7, 2014- Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, entry for Nancy Stewart Grout Churchill, retrieved January 7, 2014

Other Grout's home at 370 Main Street in Burlington was built in 1881. It is still standing, and has gone through several owners and remodelings. Since 2000, it has been operated as the Lang House Bed & Breakfast.University of Vermont, Historic Burlington: 360 Main Street, retrieved January 7, 2014

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