Preceded by William Vare Party Republican Party Political party Republican | Name Joseph Grundy Succeeded by James J. Davis Education Swarth College Resigned December 1, 1930 | |
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Born January 13, 1863
Camden, New Jersey ( 1863-01-13 ) Role Former United States Senator Died March 3, 1961, Nassau, Bahamas | ||
Previous office Senator (PA) 1929–1930 | ||
Joseph Ridgway Grundy (January 13, 1863 – March 3, 1961) was an American textile manufacturer and Republican Party politician from Bristol, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate.
Biography
He was educated at Swarthmore College. Grundy had a summer home on the Neshaminy Creek called Walnut Grove and one in the city of Bristol Borough.
Grundy was the President of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association and a strong advocate of protectionism. He was a longtime Republican activist and an ally of Pennsylvania Republican leaders including Boies Penrose and Andrew Mellon. Grundy was appointed on December 11, 1929, by Governor John Stuchell Fisher to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the refusal of the Senate to seat William S. Vare. He served from December 11, 1929, to December 1, 1930, when a duly elected successor, James J. Davis, qualified. On March 1, 1958, he became the oldest living former senator; he was the last living senator who was alive during the Civil War.
When he died in the Bahamas, he left no heirs. The Bristol Borough home of Senator Grundy, as stated in his will, was left to be preserved as a museum and memorial library named after his only sister, Margaret Ridgway Grundy, in her and their family's honor and is open to the public for touring free of charge. The Victorian home includes a complete collection of the Grundy family's original possessions from both their Walnut Grove home and Bristol Borough home as well as exquisite wood detailing throughout.