The son of Sampson and Bethsheba (Winder) Grimes, Texas judge and legislator Jesse Grimes (1788-1866) was born in Duplin County, North Carolina. In 1817, he moved to Washington County, Alabama. Grimes’ first wife, and the mother of nine of his children, Martha Smith, died in 1824. In 1826, he married Rosanna Ward, with whom he had six children, and the family moved to Texas. After a temporary stay in Stephen F. Austin’s colony, the family settled on Grimes Prairie, now in Grimes County.
In 1829, Grimes was named first lieutenant of the First Company, Battalion of Austin and quickly became involved in local politics, serving as treasurer of the Viesca district (1832) and as Judge for the jurisdiction of Austin (1834), among other positions. Named a member of the General Council of the provisional government, Grimes represented the Washington municipality at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. That same year, the Texas government appointed him to organize a Washington County militia. Grimes served in the Texas Congress (1836-1837, 1841-1845) representing Washington, Montgomery, and Brazos counties. After annexation, he was a member of the Senate of the First through Fourth Texas Legislatures (1846-1853).
Source:
Kemp, L. W. “
Photostats and transcripts of letters comprise the Jesse Grimes Papers, 1834-1854, which document Grimes’ military and political career in Texas. The five letters written to Grimes (1834-1854) relate to his military service, support of Anson Jones and Thomas J. Rusk, and appointment as a judge. Correspondents include Jones, Rusk, David G. Burnet, and Sam Houston. Additionally, a letter from Andrew Jackson to Sam Houston (1842) gives Jackson’s opinions on an invasion of Mexico and other Texas military issues.
This collection is open for research use.
Jesse Grimes Papers, 1834-1854, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
See also The Jesse Grimes Papers in the