John Thomas Grigsby (January 5, 1890 – January 14, 1977) was an American politician. Between 1929 and 1931 he served as Lieutenant Governor of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Early life and Grigsby family

John Grigsby was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was a brother of Sioux K. Grigsby (1873–1968) who was Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota between 1945 and 1949 and of George Barnes Grigsby (1974–1962) a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Territory of Alaska. Politically he joined the

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. His father

Melvin Grigsby Melvin Grigsby (June 8, 1845 – February 15, 1917) was an American attorney, politician, and military leader from South Dakota. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, Grigsby was most notable for his service as South Dakota Attorney Ge ...

, was a veteran of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and

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who served as Attorney General of South Dakota.

Career

Grigsby graduated in 1903 from the University of South Dakota College of Law. He practiced law in Sioux Falls and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, attaining the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was an assistant U.S. Attorney during the administration of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, and served as city attorney of Redfield. In addition, Grigsby served on the board of directors of the state veterans home. After the death of Lieutenant Governor Clarence E. Coyne on May 27, 1929 he was appointed to complete Coyne's unfinished term and served until January 1931. As lieutenant to Governor William J. Bulow, Grigsby's main function was to preside over the South Dakota Senate. He did not run for a full term, and returned to practicing law. He later moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to work as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1969, Grigsby retired to Carthage, Missouri. He died at the State Chest Hospital in

Mount Vernon, Missouri Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,575 as of the 2010 census. It was estimated to be 4,960 by the City of Mount Vernon on July 1, 2020. History Mount Vernon was platte ...

on January 14, 1977 and was buried on the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Neosho, Missouri.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigsby, John Thomas 1890 births 1977 deaths Lieutenant Governors of South Dakota South Dakota Democrats Politicians from Sioux Falls, South Dakota