Samuel Osgood ( February 3, 1747 , Andover , Essex , Massachusetts - August 12, 1813 , New York , USA ) is an American businessman and statesman born in Andover, the British colony of Massachusetts Bay . His family home still stands at 440 Osgood in North Andover, and his home in New York became the country's first presidential mansion.
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Osgood was a member of the legislatures of the states of Massachusetts and New York, represented Massachusetts at the Continental Congress and, during the first presidency of his friend George Washington, became the first general postmaster of the United States.
In 1812, he was elected the first president of the newly created City Bank of New York, which later became Citibank - the forerunner of today's Citigroup.
Biography
Early years
In 1638, John Osgood moved to Massachusetts from Andover to England. In 1646, he founded a new settlement and named it Andover in honor of his hometown. Four generations later, in 1748, a third son was born to his descendant, captain Peter Osgood, also living in Andover, who was named Samuel.
Samuel attended the Dummer Academy , now the Governor’s Academy, and then Harvard College , [4] where he studied theology and graduated in 1770. After completing his education, he returned to Andover and chose a career related to trade. Osgood joined the local militia, was chosen to represent the city in a colonial assembly, and, in 1775, at the , which during the Revolutionary War functioned as the state's revolutionary government. [five]
Revolution
Osgood led a local detachment of minutemans at the battles of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775. [6] , participated in the persecution of the retreating British and in the siege of Boston . While serving in Cambridge, he became a brigade commander with the rank of major. Osgood then became Assistant General and was promoted to colonel. When the siege ended in the spring of 1776, Osgood left the army and returned to participate again in the provincial congress.
Until 1780, when the provincial government was reorganized, Congressman Osgood served on the Massachusetts Board of War . In 1779-1780, he was simultaneously a delegate to the state constituent assembly. In 1780, under the new Constitution, Osgood was elected to the , where he served two terms. The new government chose Samuel as one of its delegates to the Continental Congress, where he served from 1782 to 1784. [7]
In 1784, Osgood was elected to , and in the next 1785 the governor appointed him judge, but he soon resigned, and in the same year the National Congress made him commissioner of finance. He moved to New York to take up this position, which he held until the end of government.
New York Career
In 1789, the first US president, George Washington, appointed Osgood the first general postmaster under the new US constitution , replacing , who was postmaster at the Continental Congress. [8] [9] Osgood served as postmaster from 1789 to 1791. [10] One of the first things he did after the appointment was the replacement of Baltimore post office superintendent with John White, [11] stating that this work was too hard for a woman.
In those years, the federal government was located in New York. The president’s official residence was located on 3 Cherry Street, in the home of Samuel Osgood and his family. Osgood himself proposed a mansion to Washington, believing that the president and his wife should live in a house that in those years was considered the best in the city. Thus, the house of Osgood became the first residence of the President of America. [6]
In 1791, the federal government moved to Philadelphia , Osgood decided to stay in New York and resigned. In 1792, Osgood was one of the electors and voted for George Washington and George Clinton .
In 1800-1801 and 1802, Osgood was a member of the New York State Assembly , while in 1800-1801 he served as speaker. In 1803, he was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson to the position of Naval Officer of the Port of New York , who he held until his death. In addition, in the last year of his life, Osgood was the president of the new City Bank of New York . [6]
Osgood was a member of the American Philosophical Society . He died at his home in New York in 1813 and was buried in the Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, [10] on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty Seventh Street.
In his homeland, in honor of the Osgoods, the street on which his family’s house stands is named. The Osgood family house in North Andover and Samuel's residence in New York are included in the National Register of Historic Places . The portrait of Colonel Osgood after the Lincoln presidency was placed in the presidential hall of the US Capitol . [6]
Notes
- ↑ http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000116
- ↑ 1 2 SNAC - 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 Find a Grave - 1995. - ed. size: 165000000
- ↑ University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs Archived July 7, 2010.
- ↑ A list of Civil Officers of the Revolutionary Period
second quarter of the Town's Second Century
Representatives to the General Court. (inaccessible link) . Andover, Massachusetts / Andover Historical Society. Date of treatment October 16, 2010. Archived July 23, 2011. - ↑ 1 2 3 4 SAMUEL OSGOOD . Osgoode Family Association. Date of treatment October 16, 2010.
- ↑ Osgood Biographies . Osgood Family History Site. Date of treatment October 17, 2010.
- ↑ American Philosophical Society: Ebenezer Hazard papers, 1766-1813
- ↑ Neither Snow nor Rain ... . HistoryNet, Weider History Group. Date of treatment October 16, 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 Find a Grave
- ↑ Women in the US Postal System . Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Date of treatment October 16, 2010.
Literature
- Samuel Osgood. Sketch of the Life of Samuel Osgood (Neopr.) // The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries / Mrs. William C. Eddy (granddaughter). - 1889. - April ( t. 21 , No. 4 ). - S. 324-328 .
Links
- Osgood, Samuel in the Biographical Directory of the US Congress
- Osgood, Samuel on the Find a Grave website