Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 – December 31, 1822) was an early
American politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and
U.S. RepresentativeFrancis Granger.[1]
Early life
Granger was born in
Suffield, Connecticut on July 19, 1767. He was the son of Gideon Granger (1735–1800) and Tryphosia (
née Kent) Granger (1738–1796).[2][3]
Granger was considered a brilliant political essayist. Using the pseudonyms
Algernon Sydney and
Epaminondas many of his writings, defending
Jeffersonian principles, were published in many pamphlets.
After leaving
Washington, D.C., Granger settled in
Canandaigua, New York, where he built a
homestead 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 and continued to be influential in politics and law including being a key figure in the
Erie Canal project.
Personal life
On June 14, 1790, Granger was married to Mindwell Pease (1770–1860), the daughter of Joseph Pease.[5] Together, they were the parents of three sons, including:[3]
John Albert Granger (1795–1870),[4] 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. Her paternal grandfather was General
Michael Jackson, who commanded a regiment of
minutemen in the
Battle of Lexington.[10]
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.[11]