Samuel Polk
{{Short description|American Surveyor (1772–1827)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Samuel Polk
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| birth_date = July 5, 1772{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6659646/samuel-polk|title=Samuel Polk|website=Find a Grave|accessdate=July 23, 2020}}
| birth_place = Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, British America
| death_date = December 3, 1827 (aged 55)
| death_place = Columbia, Tennessee, U.S.
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| resting_place = Greenwood Cemetery,{{cite news |title=President Polk's Mother |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118994440/?terms=%22samuel%2Bpolk%22 |accessdate=June 4, 2018 |work=The Daily American |date=July 20, 1884|page=3|location=Nashville, Tennessee|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} Columbia, Tennessee, U.S.
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| occupation = Surveyor, Farmer
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| spouse = Jane Knox (m. 1794)
| children = {{hlist|James|Jane|Lydia|Franklin|Marshall|John|Naomi|Ophelia|William|Samuel}}
| mother = Mary Jane Winslow Wilson
| father = Ezekiel Polk
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}}
Samuel Polk (July 5, 1772 – December 3, 1827) was an American surveyor and the father of U.S. President James K. Polk.{{cite news |title=Died. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/56873046/?terms=%22samuel%2Bpolk%22 |accessdate=June 4, 2018 |work=The Raleigh Register |date=December 14, 1827|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} His slaves included Elias Polk.{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/enslaved-and-entrenched|title=Enslaved and Entrenched: The Complex Life of Elias Polk|last1=Kinslow|first1=Zacharie W.|website=White House Historical Association|accessdate=June 1, 2018}}
Polk was the second cousin of U.S. Presidents Zachary Taylor and James Madison.
Life
Samuel Polk was born in 1772 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.{{cite web|url=http://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/BibleRecords/Polk%202/Polk%201.pdf|title=Bible record|accessdate=July 23, 2020}} He was the son of Ezekiel Polk
and Mary Jane Winslow Wilson. Polk married Jane Gracey Knox (1776-1852) on Christmas Day 1794 in Hopewell Church in Mecklenburg County. Jane was the daughter of Captain James Knox and Lydia (Gillespie) Knox.{{cite book|title=Faith of Our Mothers: The Stories of Presidential Mothers from Mary Washington to Barbara Bush|first=Harold I.|last=Gullan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/faithofourmother0000gull/page/65 65-66]|year=2001|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0802849267|url=https://archive.org/details/faithofourmother0000gull/page/65}} Their first child, James Knox Polk, was born on November 2 of the following year. Though Polk consented to naming the child after his father-in-law, he opposed having James baptized as Presbyterian, as he himself would have to admit his faith. During their marriage, the couple participated in debates with neighbors regarding the future of the United States, with the discussions often being held in front of James. Other children included: Jane Maria Polk, Lydia Eliza Polk, Franklin Ezekiel Polk, Marshall Tate Polk, John Lee Polk, Naomi Tate Polk, Ophelia Clarissa Polk, William Hawkins Polk and Samuel Washington Polk. The family moved from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina to Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee in 1806, where both Samuel and Jane died and were buried in the Greenwood Cemetery.{{cite book|title=Faith of Our Mothers: The Stories of Presidential Mothers from Mary Washington to Barbara Bush|first=Harold I.|last=Gullan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/faithofourmother0000gull/page/68 68]|year=2001|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0802849267|url=https://archive.org/details/faithofourmother0000gull/page/68}}{{cite book|author=Roberts, Gary Boyd|title=Ancestors of American Presidents|publisher=Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society|year=2000|isbn=0936124199}}
References
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{{James K. Polk|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Samuel}}
Category:People from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Category:People from Columbia, Tennessee
Category:American slave owners
Category:Fathers of presidents of the United States
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