Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 – December 31, 1822) was an early
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Francis Granger
Francis Granger (December 1, 1792 – August 31, 1868) was an American politician who represented Ontario County, New York, in the United States House of Representatives for three non-consecutive terms. He was a leading figure in the state and ...
.
Early life
Granger was born in
Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...
on July 19, 1767. He was the son of Gideon Granger (1735–1800) and Tryphosia (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Kent) Granger (1738–1796).
He attended and graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and became a lawyer.
Career
Granger was considered a brilliant political essayist. Using the pseudonyms
Algernon Sydney
Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England ...
and
Epaminondas
Epaminondas (; grc-gre, Ἐπαμεινώνδας; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent posit ...
many of his writings, defending
Jeffersonian principles, were published in many pamphlets.
He was a member of the
Connecticut House of Representatives
The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...
and ran unsuccessfully for the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
in 1798. A staunch supporter of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, Granger was appointed as
Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...
at the start of his term in 1801. He served in this post until 1814 when Jefferson's successor,
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, replaced him.
He is the longest serving Postmaster General as of 2022.
After leaving
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Granger settled in
Canandaigua, New York
Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...
, where he built a
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
that would be "unrivaled in all the nation" from which he could administer the many land tracts he had acquired farther to the west. Today his home is a museum. He became a member of the
New York Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate.
Partisan compo ...
and continued to be influential in politics and law including being a key figure in the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
project.
Personal life
On June 14, 1790, Granger was married to Mindwell Pease (1770–1860), the daughter of Joseph Pease.
Together, they were the parents of three sons, including:
*
Francis Granger
Francis Granger (December 1, 1792 – August 31, 1868) was an American politician who represented Ontario County, New York, in the United States House of Representatives for three non-consecutive terms. He was a leading figure in the state and ...
(1792–1868), who married Cornelia Rutsen Van Rensselaer (1798–1823), the granddaughter of Brigadier General
Robert Van Rensselaer
Robert Van Rensselaer (December 16, 1740 – September 11, 1802) was Brigadier General during the American Revolutionary War, a member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1775 to 1777 and later a member of the New York State Assembly in the ...
,
[Spooner]
pp. 197 who was a member of the
New York Provincial Congress
The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...
from 1775 to 1777 and later a member of the New York State Assembly in the
1st,
2nd and
4th New York State Legislatures.
* John Albert Granger (1795–1870),
who married Harriet Jackson (1804–1868), the daughter of Amasa Jackson, the first president of the Union Bank of New York, and Mary (née Phelps) Jackson, the only daughter and heiress of
Oliver Phelps
Oliver Phelps (October 21, 1749February 21, 1809) was early in life a tavern keeper in Granville, Massachusetts. During the Revolution he was Deputy Commissary of the Continental Army and served until the end of the war. After the war ended, h ...
. Her paternal grandfather was General
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, who commanded a regiment of
minutemen
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
in the
Battle of Lexington
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...
.
Ill health forced him to retire early in 1821 and he died the next year on December 31, 1822. He was interred in
Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua. Granger is the namesake of
Granger Township, Ohio.
References
External links
Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Gideon
1767 births
1822 deaths
Connecticut Land Company
Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
New York (state) lawyers
New York (state) state senators
Politicians from Canandaigua, New York
People from Suffield, Connecticut
United States Postmasters General
Yale University alumni
New York (state) Democratic-Republicans
18th-century American politicians
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers