Presley Groves | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Mississippi State Senate from the 17th district | |
| In office January 1904 –January 1908 | |
| In office January 1888 –January 1892 | |
| Member of the MississippiHouseofRepresentatives from the Leake County district | |
| In office January 1900 –January 1904 | |
| In office January 1886 –January 1888 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 30,1841 |
| Died | May 16,1915 (aged 73) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Relations | Greenwood Leflore (great-uncle) Ferr Smith (great-grandson) |
| Children | 11 |
Presley Groves (August 30,1841 - May 16,1915) was an American lawyer and politician. He served in both houses of the Mississippi Legislature between 1886 and 1908.
Presley Groves was born on August 30,1841,in Ofahoma,Mississippi. [1] He was the son of Iredel C. Groves,of Scotch-Irish descent,and Sarah (Leflore) Groves,the daughter of Benjamin Leflore and niece of Choctaw chief Greenwood Leflore,who negotiated the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. [1] [2] Presley attended the public schools of Leake County and attended the University of Mississippi,studying law and getting admitted to the bar upon graduation. [1] Groves served under A. P. Hill in the Confederate Army in the Civil War. [1] He was wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor. [1] During early Reconstruction,he served as a Captain of horsemen under governor William Sharkey. [2]
Groves served as a justice of the peace for four years in the early 1880s. [1] [2] He was elected to represent Leake County in the Mississippi House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1886. [2] In 1887,he was elected to represent the 17th District in the Mississippi State Senate for the 1888–1892 term. [3] [1] In 1899,Groves was once again elected to the House for the 1900-1904 term. [4] On November 3,1903,Groves was elected to represent the Senate's 17th District for the 1904–1908 term. [1] During that term,Groves served on the following committees:Finance;Agriculture;Commerce and Manufactures;Public Works;Claims;Unfinished Business;Public Lands;and Pensions. [1] Groves died on May 16,1915,in Jackson,Mississippi. [5]
Groves married Marie Josephine Charles in March 1861. [1] They had seven children:Louis,Mignon,Mamie,Laura,Alpha,Myrtle,and I. C. [1] Groves also had four children by a black mistress surnamed Smith,acknowledged by the family. [6] His great-grandson from that side,Ferr Smith,later also served in the Mississippi House of Representatives. [6]