Joseph McMinn

Joseph McKinn

Joseph McMinn (born June 22, 1758 in West Chester , Province of Pennsylvania , † November 17, 1824 in Calhoun , Tennessee ) was an American politician and the fifth governor of Tennessee.

resume

McMinn fought in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . After the war, he settled as a farmer in Hawkins County, what later became the state of Tennessee. In 1790 he got his first public employment in a district administration from Governor William Blount. In 1794 he became a member of parliament in what was then the Southwest Territory. In 1796 he was a member of the Tennessee Constituent Convention. He was then elected to the new state's Senate. Later he was chairman ( speaker ) of this body for three legislative terms. In 1815 he was elected fifth governor of Tennessee to succeed Willie Blount . In total, he completed three two-year terms of office until 1821. During this time the capital of Tennessee was relocated from Knoxville to Murfreesboro (1819). However, the city had to cede this function to Nashville in 1826 . The so-called Jackson Purchase expanded Tennessee by 14 counties to the west. Also, the Bank of Tennessee was founded during McMinn's tenure. After his third and final term in office in 1821, he bought a farm near the town of Calhoun. In 1823 he was appointed Indian agent with the Cherokee . He died on November 17, 1824 in his Indian agency.

McMinn was married three times. In 1785 he married Hannah Cooper, who died in 1811. In 1812 Rebecca Kincade became his second wife, but she died in 1815. His third wife was Nancy Williams, whom he married in 1818 and from whom he was later divorced.

literature

• Charles W. Crawford (Ed.): Governors of Tennessee. Volume 1: 1790-1835 (= Tennessee Series. 3). Memphis State University Press, Memphis TN 1979, ISBN 0-87870-075-7 .

Web links

• Joseph McMinn in the National Governors Association (English)
• The governors of Tennessee (English)
• Joseph McMinn in the database of Find a Grave (English)