American school teacher and bryologist interested in the pleurocarpus mosses, particularly of the genus Brachythecium Schimp. Abel Joel Grout published several popular works on the common mosses of the United States (including Mosses with a Hand-Lens. A Non-Technical Handbook of the Common and More Easily Recognised Mosses (1900)) and so introduced many amateur naturalists to the study of bryology. He was also the key instigator in the creation of the Sullivant Moss Chapter and is considered the founder of the journal The Bryologist.
Born near Newfane, Vermont, Grout was brought up in that state and attended high school in Brattleboro, before entering the University of Vermont. On receiving a bachelor's degree in 1890 he began a lifelong career as a teacher in Manchester, Vermont, and it was around this time that he began to take an interest in mosses. Drawn towards this field of botany because he was able to pursue it though the winter months, Grout entered into correspondence with Elizabeth G. Britton who helped him a great deal with his study.
In 1895 Grout attended Columbia University and Nathaniel Britton then encouraged him to undertake algal research for his doctoral thesis. He soon returned to the mosses when he realised that wading in the coastal waters of New York was not for him, and told Britton that he was more of a mountain boy. In 1897 Grout received his PhD for work on the genus Brachythecium and he returned to teaching, working at the State Normal School in Plymouth, New Hampshire (1897-1899), the Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York (1899-1908) and finally at Curtis High School on Staten Island, where he remained until his retirement in 1930. At the same time he blossomed as a bryological researcher, undertaking summer collecting trips to Mount Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado and Puerto Rico. His interest in the pleurocarpus mosses led to monographs of the genera Eurhynchium Bruch & Schimp. (1898) and Scleropodium Bruch & Schimp. (1899), and later his Check List of the Pleurocarpous Mosses of North America, North of Mexico (1929). Between 1928 and 1940, however, Grout's studies broadened while he prepared his greatest work, the Moss Flora of North America, North of Mexico (1940).
After his retirement in 1930, Grout continued to teach at the Biological Laboratory at Coldspring Harbour, Long Island, New York, and his success there led to the creation of a bryological summer school, which was associated with the laboratory but taught from his house and laboratory in Newfane. At this time he also bought a winter home in Manatee, Florida, and it was in that state that he died just days after his 80th birthday. He was married to Grace Preston Grout.
Sources:
W.C. Steere, 1948, "Abel Joel Grout (1867-1947)", The Bryologist, 51(4): 201-212
S. Flowers, 1947, "A visit with Dr. Grout", The Bryologist, 50(2): 208-212
I.M. Haring, 1947, "Abel Joel Grout-Vermonter and Bryologist", Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 48: 163-165
I. Schnooberger, 1947, "Moss Rock Cabin", The Bryologist, 50(2): 213-217.
