Francis Grose - Early Life

Early Life

The eldest of seven children, Francis probably received a classical education but first aimed at a career in the Army. In 1747 he was in Flanders, apparently as a volunteer in Howard's (later 19th) regiment of foot: later he received a commission as cornet in Cobham's (later 10th) regiment of dragoons. Posted to Kent on excise duties in 1750 he met and married Catherine Jordan of Canterbury. They were eventually to have ten children, six of whom survived to adulthood. Their eldest son was Francis Grose, the Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales.

Grose left the army in October 1751, possibly to avoid his regiment's posting to Scotland. In 1755 his father bought him the post of Richmond Herald but Francis showed little interest in heraldry and was to sell it again in February 1763. In 1757 Grose was elected a member of the Society of Antiquaries, and 1759 he resumed his soldiering career; but this time in the militia, which meant he could avoid distant postings. He was commissioned into the Surrey regiment as a lieutenant, and it was his subsequent promotion to captain in 1765 led to his adoption of the familiar title "Captain Grose". The Surrey militia was disembodied in 1762 but this hardly affected Grose, who continued to received a salary as paymaster and adjutant even in peacetime. With bequests from his parents and from his wife, who died in 1774, added to the salary he drew as a militia captain, Grose at this time was able to live reasonably well despite the demands made on his purse by the need to raise, educate and provide for his children.