Gresham, John Jones

John Jones Gresham was born in Burke County, Georgia, January 21, 1812, the son of Job and Mary Jones Gresham. He attended school at Waynesboro and Richmond Bath, Georgia before entering the University of Georgia in 1830. After a private study of law, he was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1834 and opened a practice in Waynesboro but soon moved to Macon. In the 1840s, Gresham relinquished his law practice to devote more attention to other matters, including his farm. He was elected mayor of Macon in 1843 and 1847. A Presbyterian, Gresham was made a ruling elder in 1847. In 1850, he established the Macon Manufacturing Company and served as its president. Following the Civil War, Gresham briefly practiced law with his son Thomas but soon turned his attention to politics and business. He was elected to the state senate in 1865 and to two terms in the state house of representatives. He was heavily involved in education at the local and state level, serving as treasurer of the Macon Free School, president of the Alexander Free School, member of the Macon County Board of Education, president of the University of Georgia board of trustees, director of the Theological Seminary at Columbia and trustee and treasurer of Oglethorpe University. He also served as director of the Southwestern Railroad and the Central Georgia Bank. Gresham married Mary E. Baxter (daughter of Thomas W. Baxter of Athens, Georgia) on May 24, 1843. They had five children: Thomas B., Minnie Gresham Machen, LeRoy W., and two sons who died in infancy. Gresham died on October 16, 1891, while visiting his daughter in Baltimore. His wife preceded him in death.