Historical note:

            Frank B. Grover (1869-1938) was born in Stoneham, Mass., the son of George H. and Laura (Townes) Grover. He settled in Providence, Rhode Island, where he became a designer and builder of high-grade cemetery memorials. Grover and his staff took the orders from families, designed the monument, arranged for the purchase of the raw granite, commissioned the finished stone from outside carvers, and handled the lettering themselves. They apparently offered several varieties of granite, and ordered from quarries as far away as Vermont and Minnesota, depending upon the family's wishes. However, they apparently worked most frequently with the Sullivan Granite Company of Westerly, R.I. for the raw stone, which was often finished by the Joseph Coduri Granite Company of Westerly. Grover died in 1938 of chronic silicosis (a common disease among stonecutters), and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, but was moved to North Burial Ground in Providence two years later.

Bibliography:

Providence directory, 1933

Rhode Island Cemetery Database

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Scope and content:

            This collection consists solely of Grover's letter file dated 1933; four letters dated 1934 were also enclosed. Letters received from customers and sub-contractors, arranged alphabetically, make up the bulk of the collection. Also includes are copies of some letters sent by Grover, and a thick folder of invoices that Grover issued to his customers.

            This collection documents a noteworthy gravestone company. While the period is probably too late to be of much interest to genealogists, it may be of interest for future gravestone researchers. The collection is also of particular interest for documenting commerce during the Great Depression, and the famous Westerly granite industry.

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Provenance:

            These records were purchased from What Cheer Antiques in 2001.

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Processing note:

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Inventory:

Folder 1. Letters received, 1933, A-C

Folder 2. Letters received, 1933, D-F

Folder 3. Letters received, 1933, G-J

Folder 4. Letters received, 1933, K-O

Folder 5. Letters received, 1933, P-R

Folder 6. Letters received, 1933, S

Folder 7. Letters received, 1933, T-W

Folder 8. Letters received, 1934

Folder 9. Letters sent, 1933

Folder 10. Invoices, 1933

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Subjects:

Coduri, Joseph

Granite industry and trade

x Gravestones - See Sepulchral monuments

Sepulchral monuments industry - Rhode Island - Providence

Sullivan Granite Company

United States - History - 1933-1945

Westerly, R.I. - Commerce

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RIHS1822