Kirk A. Bado and Jake Lowary

The Tennessean

NASHVILLE — There is still a fight about where to bury President James K. Polk.

Nearly 168 years after he died and more than a century since the last time his body was exhumed and relocated, there's yet another battle underway over whether to move his remains — this time, from the state Capitol in Nashville to the Polk family home 50 miles south in Columbia.

The dispute has pitted descendants against one another, with one saying the move is a "step toward grave robbery." But supporters, including some state lawmakers, say relocating his body will better preserve his legacy. The state Senate is expected to take up a resolution next week, a first step in relocating Polk's remains.

"He’s a president from Tennessee, and he deserves respect," said Tom Price, the curator of the James K. Polk Home and Museum in Columbia.

So how did it come to this, the latest chapter in the bizarre saga behind Polk’s remains? There's even a new Twitter account — Polk Journey Home — set up this month to support the move to Columbia.

Born in North Carolina, Polk grew up in Columbia. He served in the state House, U.S. House and later became Tennessee's ninth governor before his election to the presidency. After leaving office, Polk settled in Nashville only to die suddenly of cholera in 1849, just a few months after leaving the White House.

To prevent further spread of the cholera epidemic, the former president was buried — with honors — in the Nashville City Cemetery. But about a year later, his body was exhumed and moved to Polk Place, his Nashville home. His wife, Sarah Childress Polk, insisted the casket be opened so she could confirm that the body unearthed from the “makeshift mausoleum” was indeed the nation's 11th president.

A couple of years after her death in 1891, a family disagreement forced the courts to toss out the former president's will — which called for his burial at Polk Place — and order the home sold. It was then that Polk's remains moved to the Capitol.

Today, Polk is buried among a grove of trees on the east lawn of the Capitol, the northernmost on a row of memorials to Tennessee’s most influential political figures. Polk Place no longer exists, long since razed. A hotel now sits on the site.

The possibility of another move has many family members distraught.

"Every step they take is one step toward grave robbery,” said Teresa Elam, a seventh-generation niece of Polk from Wilson County. “It would be like taking someone out of Arlington (National Cemetery) and taking them to the family farm and putting them behind the barn."

Elam and sixth-generation first cousin Bill Mason are among several descendants who are opposing the move, saying it’s “degrading” to the memory of Polk.

Academics and historians say there's a peculiar, perhaps metaphorical link between the fight over where his body should lie and the type of person and leader Polk was when he was alive.

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As president, Polk is regarded as one who accomplished everything he promised to do — a rhetoric commonly found in American politics, even today — but often loses when compared with Andrew Jackson, the nation's seventh president, in terms of significance.

Most suggest Tennessee's greatest president is Jackson, but "you could make a powerful case that Polk was a more consequential president than Jackson," said Thomas Schwarz, a Vanderbilt University history professor.

And the debate over his remains parallels that endless and existential conversation, he said.

"It’s the desire to be identified with a president who accomplished a great deal," Schwarz said.

Why they want to move Polk

For the past 20 years, Price has worked to preserve Polk's legacy.

“One of the questions we would get is ‘Well, where is he buried?' ” Price said.

After residents and guests of the Polk museum approached him about moving the body from Nashville to Columbia a few months ago, Price made presentations and held town halls to gauge community interest. He approached state lawmakers to begin the long process of potentially moving the body.

In death, Polk still falls behind his predecessor and good friend Jackson. The Hermitage, Jackson's nearby home, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The Polk home gets only a few dozen.

Price hopes moving the body back to Columbia will change that.

But he dismisses criticism that the move is a business decision to bring more tourism to Maury County.

“We are doing our best to preserve and interpret the legacy of James K. Polk, because that’s what he would have wanted in his will," Price said.

“This is really our attempt at changing that and raising awareness."

Polk’s will originally stated that he was to be buried at the garden at Polk Place.

“He wanted to be buried at Polk Place, and the will has been thrown out by the Davidson County court,” State Librarian Eddie Weeks said.

While initially hesitant to move the remains, Polk's fourth great-nephew James K. Polk Van Zandt came around after talking with Price and examining the president's diaries. He wants his ancestor to go back with his legacy and memorabilia.

“The only home that he lived in that’s still standing is his home in Columbia," he said. "Except the White House, and I don’t think they’ll want him there.”

Why they want Polk to stay

Mason said calling the residence in Columbia Polk's "boyhood home" is not accurate because Polk left for college when it was built.

"How can you make the case that it's his boyhood home when it wasn't built until he was 21 years old when he was away at law school?" Mason said. “That argument, I think, is ridiculous on its face."

Polk did grow up in Columbia but lived in multiple homes.

Elam said there's also a "family rumor" that the reason Polk moved to Nashville after his presidency was to stay involved in Tennessee politics, making the city a logical location for his remains. She said the family Bible confirms historical records that the Polks were creating a sort of museumlike estate at Polk Place for when they died.

Elam said she's spoken to more than a dozen other descendants who are just as upset as she is. She described relocating the remains as "despicable" and only "using remains for a pony show." Mason said it's rare for any set of remains to be moved, much less three times.

"I wouldn't want any relative of mine — lowly or high-born — treated that way," Mason said.

Elam and Mason said there are very few ideas in their mind that would sway them. The only suggestion Elam offered would be to create a "complete total perfect replica" in Columbia of the memorial that lies on the Capitol grounds.

"All three of our presidents are lined up in honor down there," Mason said. "To me, that's a wonderful thing."