Gideon Granger

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. Representative Francis Granger.

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).

He attended and graduated from Yale University and became a lawyer. A staunch supporter of Thomas Jefferson, Granger was appointed as Postmaster General in the first year of his first term in November 1801. He served in this post until 1814 when Jefferson's successor, James Madison, replaced him. Together, they were the parents of three sons, including: who was a member of the New York Provincial Congress 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. Her paternal grandfather was General Michael Jackson, who commanded a regiment of minutemen in the Battle of Lexington.

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.