Josiah Bushnell Grinnell

Josiah Bushnell Grinnell

Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (born December 22, 1821 in New Haven , Vermont , † March 31, 1891 in Grinnell , Iowa ) was an American politician . Between 1863 and 1867 he represented the state of Iowa in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Josiah Grinnell attended his home public schools and the Oneida Institute . He then studied theology at Auburn Theological Seminary until 1847 . After graduating, he was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church. In the following years he worked as a pastor in Washington, DC and New York City, among others . In 1854 he moved to Iowa, where he founded the city named after him in Grinnell in Poweshiek County . He was also the founder of Grinnell College there .

Politically, he became a member of the Republican Party founded in 1854 . Grinnell served in the Iowa Senate between 1856 and 1860 . After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1858, he began to practice in his new profession. In May 1860, he took part as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Chicago , at which Abraham Lincoln was nominated as a presidential candidate. For the next two years, Grinnell was employed by the Post Office.

In 1862, Grinnell was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington in the newly created fourth constituency of Iowa. After re-election in 1864, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress between March 4, 1863 and March 3, 1867 . These were shaped by the events of the civil war and the beginning of the reconstruction . There was also conflict between his party and President Andrew Johnson . In 1865 and 1868, the 13th and 14th amendments to the constitution were passed. It was about the abolition of slavery and the extension of civil rights to former slaves and African-Americans .

In 1866, Grinnell turned down another candidacy. In the following years he worked again as a lawyer and became involved in the railroad business. He became a director of the Rock Island Railroad and President of the Horticultural Society of Iowa. He was also President of the First National Bank in Grinnell. Josiah Grinnell died on March 31, 1891 in the place he founded Grinnell and was buried there.

Web links

• Josiah Bushnell Grinnell in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Josiah Bushnell Grinnell in the database of Find a Grave (English)