Sava Grujić was born on 25 November 1840 in Kolari, a village in the district of Smederevo, just ten years after Serbia became a semi-independent principality after three and a half centuries of Turkish occupation. His paternal grandfather was Gruja Ilić, brother and aide-de-camp of Vule Ilić, a well-known Vojvoda (military commander) who distinguished himself at the battle of Suvobor and at the siege of Belgrade during the First Serbian Uprising.