Jesse Root Grant II (February 6, 1858 – June 8, 1934) was an American politician. He was the youngest son of President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

and First Lady

Julia Grant Julia Boggs Grant (née Dent; January 26, 1826 – December 14, 1902) was the first lady of the United States and wife of President Ulysses S. Grant. As first lady, she became a national figure in her own right. Her memoirs, '' The Personal Mem ...

. He joined the Democratic Party and quixotically sought the party nomination for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, running against

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

in 1908. In 1925, he wrote a biography of his father.

Biography

Jesse Root Grant II was born near St. Louis, Missouri to Ulysses S. Grant and

he was named after his grandfather Jesse Root Grant I . He studied engineering at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and also attended

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

before settling in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In addition to practicing law, he was involved in several mining ventures as an engineer, stockholder, board of directors member and corporate officer. For several years he managed his brother Ulysses Jr.'s

U.S. Grant Hotel The 'U.S. Grant Hotel'' is a historic and one of the oldest hotels in downtown San Diego, California operating under a franchise of Marriott International as part of theiLuxury Collectionbrand. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Pla ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. In the 1890s, he helped to develop Tia Juana, now Tijuana, Mexico, as a gambling resort. In 1880, he married Elizabeth Chapman (1858-1945), daughter of William Chapman, one of the founders of

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

. They had two children:

Chapman Grant Chapman Grant (March 27, 1887 – January 5, 1983) was an American herpetologist, historian, and publisher. He was the last living grandson of United States President Ulysses S. Grant. He was married and had two children, one of whom survived him ...

and Nellie Grant. In 1913, Grant sued for divorce while they were living in

Goldfield, Nevada Goldfield is an unincorporated small desert city and the county seat of Esmeralda County, Nevada. It is the locus of the Goldfield CDP which had a resident population of 268 at the 2010 census, down from 440 in 2000. Goldfield is located ...

. Mrs. Grant strenuously fought his charges of desertion. She countersued, claiming he had deserted her and refused to support the family. The divorce was followed by the newspapers. When the divorce was finally granted in 1918, Grant married a widow, Lillian Burns Wilkins. American internet celebrity,

Caroline Calloway Caroline Gotschall Calloway (born December 5, 1991) is an American internet celebrity known for posting Instagram photos with long captions. She gained popularity while a student at the University of Cambridge. Early life Caroline Calloway ...

, is a descendant of Wilkins. US Grant family c1872

Grant died in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth occurred between 1950 and 1980. Originally ...

in 1934 and was buried at the cemetery at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

. He was the last surviving child of Ulysses S. Grant.

Political and literary career

Grant joined the Democratic party and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1908, though he was not considered a viable contender. In 1925, he wrote a biography of his father, ''In the Days of My Father General Grant''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Jesse Root 1858 births 1934 deaths

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

Children of presidents of the United States Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Ulysses S. Grant Grant family Writers from Missouri Missouri Democrats California Democrats Columbia Law School alumni 20th-century American biographers