Felix Grundy (September 11, 1777 – December 19, 1840) was an American politician who served as a congressman and senator from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

as well as the 13th attorney General of the United States.

Biography

Early life

Born in Berkeley County, Virginia (now

Berkeley County, West Virginia Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown- Martinsburg, MD- WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the co ...

), Grundy moved to

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war resumption of westward migration. The Tradin ...

, and then

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

with his parents. He was educated at home and at the Bardstown Academy in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

.''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 268 He then read law, was admitted to the Kentucky bar, and commenced practice in Springfield, Kentucky, in 1799. He owned slaves.

Career

In 1799, he was chosen to represent Washington County at the convention that drafted the second

Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 179 ...

. From 1800 to 1802, he represented Washington County in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He then moved to Nelson County, which he represented in the Kentucky House from 1804 to 1806. On December 10, 1806, he was commissioned an associate justice of the

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. Th ...

. He was elevated to Chief Justice of the court on April 11, 1807. Later that year, he resigned and moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, where he again took up the practice of law. Grundy's decision was in part made due to his opposition to rising Kentucky politician (and later founder of the Whig Party), Henry Clay, whose Bluegrass interests clashed with Grundy's and made the two rivals, and Grundy left partly due to Henry Clay's growing presence in the state. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the 12th and 13th Congresses and served from March 4, 1811, until his resignation in July 1814.Democracy's Lawyer: Felix Grundy of the Old Southwest, p. 113
/ref> He then became a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1819 to 1825, and in 1820 was commissioner to settle the boundary line ( state line) between

and Kentucky. He was elected as a Jacksonian in 1829 to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to fill the vacancy in the term ending March 4, 1833, caused by the resignation of John H. Eaton to join the Cabinet of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

; reelected in 1832 and served from October 19, 1829, to July 4, 1838, when he resigned to accept a Cabinet position. During this time he served as chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads ( 21st through 24th Congresses),

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, ...

(24th and 25th Congresses). He entered the Cabinet when he was appointed Attorney General of the United States by President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

in July 1838. He resigned the post in December 1839, having been elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate on November 19, 1839, to fill the vacancy in the term commencing March 4, 1839, caused by the resignation of Ephraim Foster; the question of his eligibility to election as Senator while holding the office of Attorney General of the United States having been raised, he resigned on December 14, 1839, and was reelected to the Senate the same day, serving from December 14, 1839, until his death in Nashville, a little over a year later. During this stint in the upper house of the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Revolutionary Claims in the 26th Congress.

Death

His grave can be found at the Nashville City Cemetery in

. After his death, four American counties were named in his honor. The four counties are located in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and

. Grundy Center, Iowa, located in Grundy County, Iowa are both also named in his honor. Grundy Center's annual festival, called "Felix Grundy Days", are held each July, marking the start to the annual Grundy County Fair, located in Grundy Center.

Legacy

He was a mentor to future

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

. Polk purchased Grundy's home called "Grundy Place" and changed the name to " Polk Place". He lived and died there after his presidency. It was demolished in 1901.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grundy, Felix 1777 births 1840 deaths People from Berkeley County, West Virginia American people of English descent Van Buren administration cabinet members United States Attorneys General Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Jacksonian United States senators from Tennessee Democratic Party United States senators from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals American slave owners People from Bardstown, Kentucky Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania People from Springfield, Kentucky United States senators who owned slaves