{{Short description|American preservationist (1926–2021)}} {{Infobox person | name = Cornelia Groves | image = Cornelia Groves.png | caption = Groves pictured around 2015 | birth_name = Cornelia Susan Rankin | birth_date = April 23, 1926 | birth_place = Savannah, Georgia, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|10|31|1926|4|23}} | death_place = Savannah, Georgia, U.S. | resting_place = Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S. | occupation = Preservationist | spouse = Robert Walker Groves Jr. (married unknown–2000) | education = Randolph-Macon Woman's College }}
'''Cornelia Rankin Groves''' (April 23, 1926 – October 31, 2021) was an American preservationist. She was one of the founders of Savannah Country Day School and was awarded the highest honor of the Historic Savannah Foundation, the Davenport Award, for her efforts in support of the Isaiah Davenport House.<ref name=":1" />
== Life and career == [[File:Isaiah Davenport House, Savannah, GA, US (2).jpg|thumb|Groves was a tireless supporter of the Isaiah Davenport House in Savannah's Columbia Square]] Cornelia Susan Rankin was born on April 23, 1926, in Savannah, Georgia, to William Scott Rankin and Hannay Ellis.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Savannah Morning News Obituaries in Savannah, GA {{!}} Savannah Morning News |url=https://savannahnow.com/obituaries/p0161297 |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=savannahnow.com |language=en}}</ref> Her father died when she was five years old; her mother lived until the age of 98.
She went on to graduate from Savannah's Pape School and Randolph-Macon Woman's College, located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Rankin married Robert Walker Groves Jr., and together they had two children.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Averitt |first=Jack Nelson |title=Families of Southeastern Georgia |year=2009 |isbn=9780806350998 |pages=13}}</ref>
Groves fought in support of the Historic Savannah Foundation to get funding for the restoration of the Isaiah Davenport House in Columbia Square of Savannah. She was also a member of the Trustees' Garden,<ref name=":0" /> and, along with her sister Ruth, the Colonial Dames of Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruth Rankin Owen Obituary (1927 - 2018) Savannah Morning News |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/savannah/name/ruth-owen-obituary?id=19609736 |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
During World War II, Groves "rolled bandages and ran the canteen."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Sickler |first=Linda |title=Cornelia Rankin Groves witnessed Savannah's preservation movement come to life and was dedicated to bringing it forward |url=https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2017/07/15/cornelia-rankin-groves-witnessed-savannah-s-preservation-movement-come-life/13874005007/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Savannah Morning News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Foltz Photography Studio (Savannah, Ga.), photographs, 1899-1960 - Print, Photographic {{!}} Georgia Historical Society - Library |url=https://georgiahistory.pastperfectonline.com/photo/41020D81-DF18-4A7E-8D89-311227897109 |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=georgiahistory.pastperfectonline.com}}</ref>
In 1955, Groves was one of the parents involved in the founding of the Savannah Country Day School, which originated from the Pape School.<ref name=":1" /> Groves and her husband were also involved in the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games event.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Endowment – Grandfather Mountain Highland Games |url=https://gmhg.org/endowment/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In the 1990s, when the Davenport House was in need of funding, Groves and Clare Ellis established an endowment. They regularly met at Groves' home to formulate fundraising ideas, hoping to raise a total of $1 million.<ref name=":1" /> Groves founded the Friends of the Davenport House in 2003.<ref name=":1" /> The Historic Savannah Foundation awarded Groves its highest honor, the Davenport Award, in 2008.<ref name=":1" />
In 2000, Rankin's husband died at age 82.<ref name=":2" />
Groves was used as a source for Polly Cooper and Laura Lawton's book ''Savannah's Preservation Story'' (2016).<ref name=":1" />
== Death and legacy == Groves died on October 31, 2021, aged 95. She is interred in Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery, alongside her husband.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groves, Cornelia}} Category:1926 births Category:2021 deaths Category:People from Savannah, Georgia Category:Randolph College alumni Category:American historic preservationists Category:20th-century American women Category:21st-century American women