Spencer Darwin Pettis
| Spencer Pettis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1802 (Exact date unknown) Culpeper County, Virginia |
| Died | August 28, 1831 (aged 29) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Cause of death | Gunshot during a Duel |
| Resting place | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation |
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| Known for |
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Spencer Darwin Pettis (1802 – August 28, 1831), U.S. Representative from Missouri and the fourth Missouri Secretary of State. He is best known, however, for being a participant in a fatal duel with Major Thomas Biddle. Pettis County, Missouri, is named in his honor.
Spencer Pettis was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, to parents John and Martha (Reynolds) Pettis in 1802. His father was a veteran of the American Revolution, serving with the 1st Regiment, Virginia Line at the Battle of Guilford Court House and elsewhere. Spencer Pettis' exact date of birth and much about his childhood is unknown. Genealogy records indicate he did have at least two sisters, one of whom, Sally, was the mother of American Civil War naval officer Thornton A. Jenkins. Spencer Pettis received at least enough education to study for the law and become a practicing attorney. Pettis moved west in 1821, settling in central Missouri's Boonslick region, opening a law practice in the Howard County seat of Fayette, Missouri.
Despite his youth – he did not meet the minimum age of 24 required by the Missouri Constitution – Spencer Pettis was elected to the Missouri General Assembly in 1824 by an overwhelming margin. He would serve less than one full term in the legislature however. In July, 1826 Missouri Governor John Miller appointed Pettis the Missouri Secretary of State. It was while in that position he became a friend and protege' of U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton and an ardent Jacksonian Democrat. Through these new connections Pettis won election in 1828 as Missouri's sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives. At the time most of Missouri's population was centered along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Pettis, seeking every vote possible, had a large number of handbills printed promoting his campaign and distributed them far and wide across the most remote areas of the state. During his brief time in Congress Pettis cast several votes of some historical interest. Among them were "aye" on a bill to continue work on the Cumberland Road and a resolution urging the U.S. President negotiate with other nations for the abolition of the African slave trade Pettis would be reelected to a second term in Congress in 1830, but by then the die had been cast in a conflict that would rock Missouri politics and take Pettis' life.
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