An interesting branch of the Gruwell family was founded by two brothers, John Gruelle (c1769 - 1833) and Isaac Gruelle (c1775 - 1845), great-grandsons of John Gruwell and Mary Cook of Delaware, and siblings to Timothy Gruwell of the Iowa branch. Born in Delaware to Peter Gruwell and Sarah Shore (?), family tradition relates that these brothers were orphaned as young boys and placed in separate foster homes. Many legends have evolved concerning when and why John and Isaac's father, Peter Gruwell, came to America. Namely that he was a French soldier under command of LaFayette during the American Revolution, or that he was a French gold and silk merchant of minor nobility escaping religious persecution. The most probable circumstance is that Peter was born into the Delaware farming family of the Gruwell's as mentioned above. However, some descendants still believe that Peter and his children were not part of the Delaware Gruwell's but rather were all born in France, possibly to the Grouvelle family, and that Peter and his family immigrated to America in the early 1770's. It has also been told that perhaps one of the boys was actually born during the crossing. These traditions are primarily supported by the Gaskill Papers which were a set of correspondences between Joseph W. Gaskill and John Pennock Gruwell in the 1890's regarding the family's origin.

"Father often spoke of his cousin, Phillipe Grouvelle, a fine French Scholar from France who for several years resided in Philadelphia while Father worked there at his trade (Bootmaking). He always spelled the name Grou-velle, accented very strongly on the last syllable, French has no "W". I suppose this brilliant young Frenchman must have been a son of Phillipe Antoine Grouvelle, the distinguished French Statesman, who flourished about 100 years ago." (Full Text) Correspondence of John Pennock Gruwell.

Little else is known of John and Isaac's childhood in Delaware. Eventually the two brothers left Delaware and moved to Kentucky circa 1800, finally settling near the village of Cynthiana, Harrison County. It was the second generation of this branch which changed the surname to Gruelle. While most of Isaac's descendants remained in Kentucky, a large number of John's, led by son John Beauchamp Gruelle (1809 - 1876), moved north to Douglas and Coles Counties, Illinois. John's eldest son Asa Gruelle (c1800 - ?) moved instead to St. Louis County, Missouri, in the 1820's and some of his descendant later settled in Northern California. Undoubtedly, the most famous of all Gruwell family members are descendants of the Kentucky branch, Richard Buckner Gruelle (1851 - 1914), and his two sons Johnny Barton Gruelle (1880 - 1938), the creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy, and Justin Carlyle Gruelle (1889 - 1978), another successful illustrator.

"A member of the Society of Western Artists, the Art Association of Indianapolis, and the New Canaan Society of Artists, Richard B. Gruelle was known primarily for his pastoral landscapes. With the exception of the 1894 Hoosier group show in Chicago, the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, and Society of Western Artists annuals, he rarely displayed his work in national shows. Instead, he focused on one-man exhibitions in Indianapolis and New Canaan. Gruelle died in Indianapolis while visitng his wife's family." Biography of R. B. Gruelle.

Richard Buckner Gruelle's handwritten autobiographical manuscript is on file in the Indiana State Archives. A terrific biography of Johnny Barton Gruelle, including an interesting family tree, is Johnny Gruelle Creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy written by Patricia Hall and published by Pelican Publishing Company in 1993. A new Museum was recently dedicated in honor of Johnny and his ragdoll creations in Arcola, Illinois. As the birthplace of Johnny Gruelle, Arcola also hosts the annual Raggedy Ann and Andy Festival each spring.