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 Presbyterian clergyman, 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, DC 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) [1]. 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.

Grinnell was also a 'conductor' on the underground railroad and was associated with John Brown.