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