Joseph Habersham - Definition

Joseph Habersham

Joseph Habersham (July 28, 1751–November 17, 1815) was an American businessman, Continental Congressman, soldier in the Continental Army and Postmaster General of the United States.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, he attended preparatory schools and Princeton College and became successful merchant and planter.

He was a member of the council of safety and the Georgia Provincial Council in 1775 and a major of a battalion of Georgia militiamen and subsequently a colonel in the Continental Army.

He was a Delegate to the Continental Congress in 1785 and then a member of the convention in 1788 which ratified the U.S. Constitution.

He served as mayor of Savannah from 1792 to 1793 and then was appointed Postmaster General by President George Washington in 1795 and served until the beginning of Thomas Jefferson's administration in 1801.

He died in 1815.

External link

• New Georgia Encyclopedia: The Habersham Family (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-661)
• Habersham’s Congressional biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000002)

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.