Joseph Habersham

Joseph Habersham ( born July 28, 1751 Savannah, Georgia, † November 17, 1815 ) was an American businessman, delegate to the Continental Congress, a soldier in the Continental Army, and Postmaster General of the United States.

Career

Joseph Habersham was born in Savannah. He attended a private school as well as the Princeton College and became a successful merchant and planter. Habersham was a member of the Security Council of Georgia and Provincial Council in 1775. Moreover, he was Major of a battalion of the militia of Georgia and later colonel in the Continental Army.

1785 Habersham took as his younger brother, John, in part as a delegate of his country to the Continental Congress; three years later he was a member of the Assembly, which ratified the Constitution of the United States for Georgia. From 1792 to 1793 he was mayor of Savannah. He was then in 1795 Postmaster General in the Cabinet of President George Washington. He held this office until the beginning of the reign of Thomas Jefferson 1801. Thereafter, he served from 1802 until his death in November 1815, the president of the branch of the Bank of the United States in Savannah.

Legacy

The Habersham County in northeastern Georgia, founded in 1818, has been named in honor Habershams after him, as well as numerous squares and streets across the state. His nephew Richard was also politicians and sat from 1839 to 1842 for Georgia House of Representatives of the United States.