Joseph McMinn

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Joseph McMinn (1758 – 1824) was governor of Tennessee from 1815 to 1821.

A native of Pennsylvania and a Quaker, he arrived in Tennessee in 1787. He was twice elected to serve in the legislature of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio ("Southwest Territory"), in 1794 and 1796. He was also a delegate to the 1796 constitutional convention and helped write the state constitution that came into effect when Tennessee was admitted to the Union effective June 1, 1796.

He served in the Tennessee State Senate from 1807 - 1809, and became governor in 1815. While governor, he concentrated on peaceful relationships with Native Americans in order to ease the way for more white settlement, particularly to the west. The Chickasaw Purchase Treaty, in which most of what is now West Tennessee was acquired, was accomplished during his tenure as governor. Fourteen new counties were created.

Upon his retirement as governor due to the term limits in the 1796 constitution that he had helped to draft, he became an agent for the Cherokees until the time of his death. The town of McMinnville, Tennessee and McMinn County, Tennessee are named in his honor.