President James K. Polk

Photo courtesy James K. Polk Home – Columbia, TN

Birth. November 2, 1795, in Mecklenburg County, N.C. Eldest son of the ten children of Samuel and Jane Knox Polk. Family moved to Maury County, Tennessee in 1806. Married Sarah Childress on January 1, 1824 Political career. State legislator, Representative to Congress, Speaker of the House, Governor of Tennessee. Elected 11th President in 1844. Retired after one term and returned to Tennessee. The Polks moved into their newly decorated home, Polk Place, in downtown Nashville. in April 1849. Death. At 53 years. Friday, June 15, 1849, at Polk Place. Interment records state cause of death “Complicated.” At the time there was a Cholera epidemic raging in Nashville. Burial. Saturday, June 16, 1849, in City Cemetery. On President Polk’s last birthday, November 2, 1848, he turned 53 years old. The Sexton at City Cemetery incorrectly listed his age as “64” in the Interment Book.

• Re-Burial. May 22, 1850, on the grounds of Polk Place.
  The monument, designed by William Strickland,
  had been completed at the grave site.
• Death of Sarah Childress Polk, age 87, on August 14, 1891,
  42 years after her husband. Burial Polk Place
• Re-location of graves, September 19, 1893, of
  President & Mrs. Polk to the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol.
  The monument was also moved to their final resting place.
• Polk Place was sold in 1898 and razed in 1901.

For more information on James K. and Sarah Childress Polk, visit websites:

• James K. Polk Home, Columbia, TN., and Tennessee Encyclopedia.

James K. Polk. Death and Burial Sites

To learn more about the death and burial sites for James K. Polk,

• Interment Books of the City Cemetery state that “President James K. Polk was buried  on June 16, 1849.” To follow see this entry, go to Interments on this website, and when you click on link to Nashville entries for the Interment Books, enter Polk to see full (and inaccurate in terms of age–he was actually 53 years old) information.
• Death at Polk Place. Burial at Nashville City Cemetery Daily Union, June 18, 1849
• Procession for Re-Burial to Polk Place, American, May 23, 1850
• Re-Burial Ceremony at Polk Place, Nashville Daily Gazette, May 23, 1850
• Re-Burial at Polk Place Address by Bishop James H. OteyDaily Nashville Union, May 23, 1850
• Relocation of graves of President and Mrs. Polk to Tennessee State Capitol grounds
  Daily American, September 20, 1893

Prepared by Fletch Coke. 11-11-2009

Eyewitness Accounts of the burials of James K. Polk are being sought. Please, send any information to this web site info@thenashvillecitycemetery.org