General Notes

James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States (1845-49), under whose leadership the country fought a victorious war with Mexico and greatly increased its territory by annexing Texas and all the land west of the Rocky Mountains. His mother was a descendant of the famous Scottish religious reformer John Knox. When he was 11 years old, Polk and his family moved to Tennessee, the state in which he achieved prominence. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he developed a lucrative law practice in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. His career received a strong boost when he married the socially prominent Sarah Childress. An ardent supporter of President Andrew Jackson, Polk rose steadily within the ranks of the Democratic party of Tennessee. He served two years in the state legislature and then, between 1825 and 1839, in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Speaker of the House during the last four years of his congressional term. 1
Birth: 2 NOV 1795 in Pineville, (Mecklenburg Co.) North Carolina
Note: near a place called "Little Sugar Creek" 1 2
Death: 15 JUN 1849 in Nashville, (Davidson Co.), Tennessee
Note: President Polk died just a few weeks after leaving office. 1 2



Sources:
Abbrev: Encarta '95
Title: Encarta '95
Publication: MicroSoft 1995
Page: "Polk, James Knox," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
Quality: 3
Abbrev: WFT Vol. 2
Title: CD-ROM World Family Tree, Volume 2, pre-1600 to present
Author: Broderbund Software, Inc.
Publication: Copyright 1995
Quality: 2
Abbrev: WFT Vol. 2
Title: CD-ROM World Family Tree, Volume 2, pre-1600 to present
Author: Broderbund Software, Inc.
Publication: Copyright 1995