William Grymes Pettus (1794–1867) was a

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

Biography

William Grymes Pettus was born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia on December 31, 1794. In 1818, he arrived in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, where he served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. While a

land office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

clerk in St. Louis, he was elected secretary of the State Convention which wrote the

Missouri Constitution The Missouri Constitution is the state constitution of the U.S. State of Missouri. It is the supreme law formulating the law and government of Missouri, subject only to the federal Constitution, and the people. The fourth and current Missouri ...

when it was admitted into the United States in 1821. His public service included Secretary of State in the

Alexander McNair Alexander McNair (May 5, 1775 – March 18, 1826) was an American frontiersman and politician. He was the List of governors of Missouri, first Governor of Missouri from prior to its entry as a state in 1820, until 1824. Early life Alexander ...

administration,

Probate Judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

of St. Louis County, and in 1832 he was elected a member of the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two ye ...

for the St. Charles District. He married Caroline R. Morrison on December 31, 1826. He died in St. Louis on December 25, 1867. He was buried at

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...

References

1794 births 1867 deaths Secretaries of State of Missouri Missouri state senators 19th-century American politicians Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery {{Missouri-politician-stub