Habersham, Joseph, 1751-1815

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<li>02/24/1795 US Postmaster General Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
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<p>Joseph Habersham (July 28, 1751 – November 17, 1815) was an American businessman, Georgia politician, soldier in the Continental Army, and Postmaster General of the United States.</p>

<p>Born in Savannah, Georgia, to James Habersham and Mary Bolton, he attended preparatory schools and Princeton College and became successful merchant and planter. He was married to Isabella Rae, who was the sister-in-law of Col. Samuel Elbert. They had one son, Robert Habersham.</p>

<p>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 1st Georgia Regiment of the Continental Army. He had to resign from the army after he served as Lachlan McIntosh's second in the controversial duel that killed Button Gwinnett.</p>

HABERSHAM, Joseph, (Brother of John Habersham and uncle of Richard W. Habersham), a Delegate from Georgia; born in Savannah, Ga., July 28, 1751; attended preparatory schools and Princeton College; became successful merchant, planter, and, with his cousin Joseph Clay, engaged in the mercantile business; member of the council of safety and the Provincial Council in 1775; major of a battalion of Georgia militiamen and subsequently a colonel in the Continental Army; Delegate to the Continental Congress in 1785; member of the convention in 1788 which ratified the Federal Constitution; mayor of the city of Savannah 1792-1793; appointed Postmaster General of the United States by President Washington in 1795 and served until 1801; president of the branch bank of the United States at Savannah, Ga., from 1802 until his death on November 17, 1815; interment in Colonial Park, Savannah, Ga.