Jesse Grimes was born to Sampson and Bethsheba Grimes in Duplin County, North Carolina. According to his tombstone he was born in 1788, but he was mentioned by name in his grandfather’s will in 1781, leading historians to believe that his real year of birth was 1781 or earlier.

Grimes fought in the War of 1812, and in 1813 the North Carolina State Legislature appointed him justice of the peace. In the same year, Grimes married his first wife, Martha Smith. The couple had nine children, six of whom survived to adulthood. In 1817 he moved his family to Washington County, Alabama, where he against served as justice of the peace. When Martha died in 1824, Grimes married Rosanna Ward Britton with whom he had six more children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

In 1826 Grimes uprooted his new wife and children and moved to the Republic of Texas, where he lived briefly on the banks of the San Jacinto River before settling in Washington County (now Grimes County). In 1829, Grimes was elected first lieutenant of the First Company, Battalion of Austin. He also served as the appointed sindico procurador of the precinct of Viesca, Department of Bexar and as regidor of the Ayuntamiento of San Felipe de Austin. However, as tensions between the government in Mexico City and their outlying areas arose prior to the Texas Revolution in 1835, Grimes began to favor the idea of separation.

Starting 1835, Grimes attended the Consultation at San Felipe as a delegate and continued on as a member of the General Council of the Provisional Government of Texas. In 1836 Grimes served as judge for Washington County and on March 17th, 1836, Grimes was one of the signers to the Texas Declaration of Independence and the state’s first constitution. During this time, Grimes’ son, Albert, served in the Texas army and was killed at the Battle of the Alamo. After this tragedy, Grimes enrolled in the volunteer service in the Texas army for three months.

After the war, Grimes continued to serve the Republic of Texas. He was a member of the Republic of Texas Senate in the First and Ninth Congresses, and a member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Congresses. After Texas became a state in 1845, Grimes served as a member of the senate for the state legislature until 1853, and again from 1855 to 1861. During this time, Grimes held Democratic party views, but sided with Sam Houston in opposition to secession. In 1857, Sam Houston ran for Texas governor with Grimes nominated as his lieutenant governor, but the two were defeated due to Houston’s abolitionist sympathies. 

Grimes passed away on March 15th, 1866. He was buried in the John McGintry Cemetery near Navasota, Texas. His wife passed in 1870 and was buried alongside him. The cemetery was later abandoned, and Grimes and his wife were reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas in 1929. Grimes County, Texas is named in his honor.