Josiah Bushnell Grinnell

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Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (born December 22, 1821; died March 31, 1891) was a U.S. Congressman from Iowa, ordained Congregational minister, founder of Grinnell, Iowa and benefactor of Grinnell College.

J.B. Grinnell was born in New Haven, Vermont in 1821. Grinnell studied the Classics and graduated from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1847. He held pastorates in Washington, D.C. and New York City before moving to Iowa. He was the young man to whom Horace Greeley is incorrectly quoted as having given the famous advice, "Go West, young man." In Iowa, Grinnell studied law and was elected to the Iowa State Senate and U.S. House of Representatives where he was a member of the 38th and 39th Congress (1863-1867). Grinnell was also involved in railway building and was instrumental in the move of Grinnell College, known at the time as Iowa College, from Davenport to the newly established town of Grinnell. On June 14, 1866, he was assaulted by fellow congressman Lovell Rousseau for insulting him and his home state of Kentucky during a House debate.

Grinnell was also a 'conductor' on the underground railroad and was associated with John Brown. Articles on J.B. Grinnell's Underground Railroad activities and his association with John Brown can be found on this PDF articles. He provided shelter to John Brown in 1859 after Brown's anti-slavery raids in Kansas and Missouri.^[1]

Articles on his life and his obituary are available from the online resources from Stewart Library in Grinnell, Iowa. Many additional materials are available in the Grinnell Room Archives at Stewart Library.

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Preceded by (none)

U.S. House of Representatives, 4th Iowa District 1863–1867

Succeeded by William Loughridge