Galusha A. Grow

This 1891 portrait of Galusha A. Grow by William A. Greaves belongs to the collection of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1891, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania commissioned artist William A. Greaves, a well-regarded portrait artist from the state, to complete portraits of former Speakers Galusha Grow and Samuel J. Randall. Grow posed for his portrait nearly 30 years after he served as Speaker. Both portraits were presented to the House of Representatives on January 22, 1892. The three-quarter length portrait depicts Grow as an older man than he was during his tenure as Speaker. The strident, firm pose, however, captures the spirit of Grow’s confrontational positions—particularly on the issue of slavery—that defined his early career. -- U.S. House of Representatives.

See:  Addresses on the Presentation of the Portraits of Speakers Grow and Randall, late representatives from the State of Pennsylvania : delivered in the House of Representatives, Fifty-second Congress, first session, United States. Congress (52nd, 1st session : 1891-1892).

When Galusha Grow was elected to the 32nd Congress as a Free Soil Democrat in 1850, he became the youngest member of Congress. He switched to the newly-formed Republican party for the 1856 election. This photo of Grow appeared in The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz by Carl Schurz, Frederick Bancroft, and William Archibald Dunning , 1907-08.

In 1858 Grow was involved in an incident that pre-saged the coming civil war.

During the 35th United States Congress, on February 5, 1858, he was physically attacked by Democrat Laurence M. Keitt in the House chambers, leading to a brawl between northerners and southerners. Keitt, offended by Grow's having stepped over to his side of the House chamber, dismissively demanded that Grow sit down, calling him a "black Republican puppy". Grow responded by telling Keitt that "No negro-driver shall crack his whip over me." Keitt became enraged and went for Grow's throat, shouting that he would "choke [him] for that". A large brawl involving approximately fifty representatives erupted on the House floor, ending only when a missed punch from Rep. Cadwallader Washburn upended the hairpiece of Rep. William Barksdale. The embarrassed Barksdale accidentally replaced the wig backwards, causing both sides to erupt in spontaneous laughter. -- Wikipedia

Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper for Februray 20, 1858 had this picture of the “Congressional Row”:

Congressional Row, in the U. S. House of Representatives,

Midnight  of Friday, February 5th,  1858

At the very beginning of the Civil War, Grow was elected Speaker of the House on April 12, 1861, beating out Francis Preston Blair jr. This image appeared in Harper's Weekly July 20 1861.

Speaker Grow. -- Photographed by Brady

With southern Democrats gone from Congress, Republicans under the leadership of Galusha Grow managed to pass the Land Grant College Act, the Pacific Railway Act and the Homestead Act. Grow became known as “The Father of the Homestead Act.”  When Grow was defeated in the 1862 elections, he became only the second sitting Speaker to loose his seat. He moved to Texas and became the president of the International Great Northern Railroad.

After a long interregnum, Grow returned to the Congress in 1894 and served until 1903, during which time he was the oldest member of  Congress. This picture appeared in various newspapers in 1901.

And this one accompanied an article entitled “Galusha A. Grow, The Oldest Man in Congress.” in The Emmett (Ohio) Index, April 19, 1901, with an admirable summary of the life of Galusha Grow up until then.

Galusha A. Grow, The Oldest Member of Congress 

Congressman Galusha A. Grow, the oldest member of Congress, celebrated a golden jubilee the other day. It is just fifty years ago since he first became a member of the national legislative body. In the last half century he has been elected and re-elected to Congress twelve times, being defeated once —in 1862— when a gerrymander threw him into a new and strange district. Previous to that he had served six terms, three as a Free Soil Democrat and three as a Republican. At one of these elections previous to his one defeat he received every vote cast in his district, there being no opposition. He was Speaker of the House during the first two years of the Civil War. When he entered Congress in 1851 he was the youngest member. In his third and fifth terms be was chairman of the important committee on territories. In 1804 he was chosen one of the two members-at-large for the State, and has since been re-elected with increasing pluralities, once with a plurality of 297,446, the largest ever given a candidate for any office in any State. Mr. Grow was born in 1823 in Susquehanna County, Pa. His father died when he was 3, and his primary education was received at winter school after the farm labor of the summer was done with. Later he was enabled to attend Amherst College, and graduated from that institution in 1844. His home is at Glenwood. From 1871 to 1876 he was president of the International and Great Northern Railroad.  -- The Emmet Index, April 19, 1901.

Thomas Fleming in his 1902 book Around the Capital with Uncle Hank, offers this caricature of the oldest Member of Congress.

Galusha Grow, M. C. from Pa. Original discoverer of Congress, the date of his discovery is not definitely known, being far beyond the memory of the present generation. Was elected speaker in 1861, but managed to grow out of it.