- Josiah Bushnell Grinnell
Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (born
December 22 ,1821 ; diedMarch 31 ,1891 ) was a U.S. Congressman fromIowa , ordained Congregational minister, founder ofGrinnell, Iowa and benefactor ofGrinnell College .J.B. Grinnell was born in
New Haven, Vermont in 1821. Grinnell studied theClassics and graduated from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1847. He held pastorates inWashington, D.C. andNew York City before moving to Iowa. He was the young man to whomHorace 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 andU.S. House of Representatives where he was [http://www.infoplease.com/biography/us/congress/grinnell-josiah-bushnell.html a member of the 38th and 39th Congress (1863-1867)] . Grinnell was also involved in railway building and was instrumental in the move ofGrinnell College , known at the time as Iowa College, from Davenport to the newly established town of Grinnell. OnJune 14 ,1866 , he was assaulted by fellow congressmanLovell Rousseau for insulting him and his home state ofKentucky during a House debate.Grinnell was also a 'conductor' on the
underground railroad and was associated with John Brown. Articles on [http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/files/PDF-files/JB%20Grinnell%20and%20Underground%20RR.pdf J.B. Grinnell's Underground Railroad activities] and [http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/files/PDF-files/Underground%20Railroad%20Chapter.pdf 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.cite news|title=Tidbits: Did You Know|publisher=American Profile|accessdate=2007-07-21|date=2007-07-15]Articles on [http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/files/PDF-files/JB%20Grinnell%20article.pdf his life] and [http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/files/PDF-files/JB%20Grinnell%20article.pdf 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 [http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/files/grinnell-room.htm Stewart Library] .
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